Lesson Objectives At the end of this lesson you should be able to:

1. Lesson Objectives At the end of this lesson you should be able to: • understand what scholars mean by the term New Religious Movement • reflect on the appeal of NRMs for some people. • appreciate the many and varied types of people who are interested in NRMs. • consider and understand the features used to identify a NRM. New Religious Movements

2. New Religious Movements • The term was introduced in the 1980s by scholars as an alternative to the older term cult, which during the 1970s became a negative term, and was used in a prejudiced way by some critics to discredit and belittle belief systems they saw as unusual or anti-Christian. • Some scholars use the term "new religious movement" (NRM) to describe any non-mainstream religion. Other scholars use NRM for the majority of harmless, alternative religions, and reserve "cult" to label groups—whether religious, psychotherapeutic, political or commercial—they believe to be extremely manipulative and exploitative. • While there is no one criteria for when a group is described as a "new" religious movement, it usually refers to ‘of recent origin’ and ‘different from existing religions’.

3. New Religious Movements • Members • Britain: 6,000 • World: 6,000,000 (1999) Baha’i

4. New Religious Movements ISKCON • Members • Britain: 10,000 • World: 1,000,000 (1998)

5. New Religious Movements The Family • Members • Britain: 290 (1995) • World: 10,183 (1999)

6. New Religious Movements Rastafarians • Members • Britain: 5,000 (1987) • World: 700,000 (1998)

7. New Religious Movements Sai Baba • Members • Britain: 4,000 • World: 10,000,000 (1999)

8. New Religious Movements Scientology • Members • Britain: 300,000 (1987) • World: 1,000,000 – 8,000,000 (1999)

9. New Religious Movements Soka Gakkai • Members • Britain: 5,000 • World: 12,000,000 (1996) [Courtney Love and Orlando Bloom]

10. New Religious Movements Theosophy • Members • Britain: 1,000 • World: 34,000 (1998)

11. New Religious Movements Transcendental Meditation • Members • Britain: 150,000 • World: 3,000,000 (1999)

12. New Religious Movements Jehovah’s Witnesses • Members • Britain: 214,351 • World: 13,896,312 (1998)

13. New Religious Movements Heaven’s Gate • Members • World: 39 deceased • San Diego(1997)

14. New Religious Movements People’s Temple • Members • World: 919 deceased Guyana (1978)

15. New Religious Movements Branch Davidians • Members • World: 82 deceased • Waco Texas(1993)

16. Old Religious Movements Masada Jews 960 Jews committed suicide in the 1st Century C.E. at Masada in Israel. They did this because the Romans were about to defeat them.

17. New Religious Movements Jesus Army • Members • Britain: 2,600 • Outside Britain: nil (1999)

18. New Religious Movements Osho • Members • Britain: 600 - 3,000 • World: 200,000 (1999)

19. New Religious Movements est • Members • Britain: 8,000 (1987) • World: 1,000,000 (1996)

20. New Religious Movements Christian Science • Members • Britain: no figures • World: 400,000 (1998)

21. New Religious Movements Latter-day Saints Mormonism • Members • Britain: 180,000 • World: 10,000,000 (1999)

22. New Religious Movements Kabbalah Centre • Members • Claims 1,000,000 new followers every year

23. OPV Why do you think people would join a New Religious Movement? `

24. Use sheet ‘Key beliefs’ from class. • On VLE open sheet that says ‘Key Beliefs Info’. – CODE: NRM • Fill in Engrams, Exteriorization and Bridge. • Also watch Panorama video on VLE link week 2. • Also respond to that video on the VLE clicking ‘9E Panorama Documentary Feedback’ HW

25. HW: Research and bring in any information About Scientology.