Tuesday, March 19, 2002
Believe in this
Oh, Gods!: on the continued evolution of religion and the study of new religious movements.
In 1851 the French historian and philosopher Ernest Renan announced to the world that Islam was "the last religious creation of humanity." He was more than a bit premature. At about the time he was writing, the Bahai faith, Christian Science, Mormonism, the Seventh-Day Adventists, and a major Japanese religious movement known as Tenrikyo were all just coming to life. Falun Gong and Pentecostalism--both of which now have millions and millions of members--had yet to emerge. Whoops.
See also:
- University of Virginia: The Religious Movements Homepage
- Graduate Theological Union: New Religious Movements Links
- Nurelweb
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