The papers in this wide-ranging panel address communities such as Santa Muerte, 3HO/SDI, Asian religions in the Soviet Union, and the Latter-day Saints, issues as varied as the use of email communications to confront controversies, rhetorical delegitmization strategies, and the "spiritual but not religious" trend, and areas as disparate as Lithuania and the Americas. Across these communities, topics, and areas, the authors of these papers engage new methodologies and theories to examine how the communities they study transform in the face of social and cultural pressures and crises, giving new religions scholars the chance to reflect on how change and newness shape the new religions experience.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Soviet Union witnessed a rise in alternative new religious communities, inspired by Asian spiritual traditions. Lithuania, a former Soviet country, encountered these movements in the late 1970s, where they functioned as subcultures, fostering alternative belief systems and resistive networks against the Soviet ideology. Due to the strict control of public space and KGB surveillance, these groups were largely operating underground until the late 1980s, when Lithuania’s move towards independence allowed them to emerge into the public sphere, what sparked both public curiosity and increased media coverage in Lithuania. This paper examines media representations of the Asian-influenced alternative religious and spiritual movements during this time of crucial socio-political transformations. The paper argues that the media produced a specific “contact zone” (Pratt 2008), where discourses and debates on free speech, alternative spirituality, Orientalism, and globalization unfolded, shaping the post-independence Lithuanian identity.
The meteoric rise of the new religious movement of Santa Muerte has sparked fierce opposition from the Catholic Church and state authorities throughout the Americas. Once a clandestine folk devotion, Santa Muerte now commands a global following in the millions, attracting devotees from the marginalized fringes of society, including the urban poor, LGBTQ+ individuals, prisoners, and even cartel foot soldiers. Yet, her rapid ascent has drawn fire from the Vatican, which has branded the movement as satanic, and from law enforcement agencies that frequently associate her with criminality. This paper examines the ecclesiastical and governmental crackdown on Santa Muerte, analyzing the ideological and political forces driving this opposition and the broader implications for religious pluralism in the hemisphere.
In this paper, we examine promotional emails sent out by a Sikh New Religious movement (NRM) commonly known as 3HO/Sikh Dharma. The 3 Hs Organization, where the Hs stand for Happy, Healthy, and Holy (3HO)/Sikh Dharma International (SDI) community has been mired in controversy since 2020. Turning to organizational promotional emails, they help us understand community responses to this moment of crisis. Not only do these organizations reveal multiple strategies at cultivating a positive image, our analysis discusses how distinct religious landscapes shape organizational claims at a positive identity.
Media portrayals of New Religious Movements (NRMs) frequently employ two rhetorical strategies: delegitimization, which trivializes or ridicules, and demonization, which amplifies perceived threats. This paper explores how contemporary media representations of NRMs—particularly The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—utilize these opposing yet complementary tactics. Analyzing materials ranging from The Book of Mormon Musical and South Park to Under the Banner of Heaven and American Primeval, this study situates these portrayals within broader historical and cultural contexts. Drawing on rhetorical studies and cultural sociology, it examines how these strategies shape public perception and mobilize opposition to NRMs. Additionally, the paper considers how similar approaches have been deployed against other NRMs and how targeted groups respond to negative framing. By investigating these media dynamics, this research contributes to discussions on religious freedom, social inclusion, and the power structures that define mainstream versus marginal religious identities.
For the better part of two decades, actor and comedian Rainn Wilson has publicly pursued his passion for community-based spiritual inquiry. His recent book, Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution (2023), promotes secular-spiritual engagement with literally “anything concerning the divine”—including spiritual wisdom available through popular culture products such as television’s StarTrek and Kung Fu—as long as it contributes to the individual and social renewal that, in his view, is critical to keeping humanity from its own destruction. Especially palatable to those who affiliate as Spiritual but not Religious or “Nones,” Wilson’s sincere yet ironic, disarmingly quirky presentation of universalist grand narratives aims to engage our contemporary, mediatized moment. It will be read here through the lens of metamodern theory (per Vermeulen and van den Akker) and understood as an example of a trend of “metamodernization" that characterizes some contemporary spiritual figures.