“New Religious Movement” is one of those tricky, catch-all terms that can refer to lots of different communities, including ones that have very little in common. Broadly, a New Religions Movement (NRM) is a religious group that came into existence more recently (typically somewhere around the 19th century or later). Other terms include alternative spiritualities, […]

Benjamin Zeller is chair of the religion department at Lake Forest College. He focuses on religious currents that are new or alternative, including new religions, the religious engagement with science, and the quasi-religious relationship people have with food.

In June 2022, after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Circle Sanctuary’s Pagan Spirit Gathering (PSG) was back at the Pulaski County Fort Leonard Wood Shrine Camp in Waynesville, Missouri. Featuring daily concerts, ritual workshops and scores of pagan vendors offering sacred art, jewelry, magickal tools, drums, altar paraphernalia, candles, psychic readings, […]

Patricia Karpas is co-founder of Meditation Studio, a mindfulness meditation app. She is also the host of Untangle, Meditation Studio’s original podcast that shares stories from experts and thought leaders about how mindfulness practices change us. She is a former media executive at CNBC, NBC and AOL.

Amanda Montell is a a writer, linguist, and podcast host living in Los Angeles. She is the author of the book Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism and co-host of the Spotify Top 20 podcast, “Sounds like a cult.”

Carole M. Cusack is professor of religious studies at the University of Sydney, Australia. Trained as a medievalist, Cusack has taught about contemporary religious trends, publishing on pilgrimage and tourism, modern pagan religions, new religious movements, the interface between religion and politics, and religion and popular culture since the 1990s.

Stephen Gregg is is senior lecturer in religious studies at the University of Wolverhampton and the honorable secretary of the British Association for the Study of Religions. His background is in 19th-century Hindu philosophy, but in recent years he has specialized in minority religious movements. Contact via the University of Wolverhampton’s experts portal.

David G. Bromley is a professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. He specializes in sociology of religion, with a particular emphasis on the study of New Religious Movements and the anti-cult movement. He is co-editor of Cults, Religion, and Violence.    

George D. Chryssides is a visiting research fellow in theology and religious studies, York St. John University, U.K. His research has focused on New Religious Movements, including the Jehovah’s Witnesses. He was formerly head of religious studies at the University of Wolverhampton.