New Age
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Church Universal and Triumphant (1975)
The Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT) is a New Age religious organization founded in 1975 by Elizabeth Clare Prophet after the death of her first husband, Mark Prophet. The group developed from the Summit Lighthouse, which Mark Prophet established in 1958. The movement’s teachings combine elements of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Theosophy, with significant influence Continue reading
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Church of World Messianity (1938)
The Church of World Messianity (Sekai Kyūsei Kyō), often abbreviated as COWM, is a Japanese new religion founded in 1935 by Mokichi Okada. In 1926, Okada reported receiving a divine revelation that, according to the religion’s teachings, enabled him to act as a channel of God’s “healing light.” Followers refer to Okada with the honorific Continue reading
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Church of the Master Angels (2017)
The Church of the Master Angels (CMA) was established in 2017 by “Master John Douglas,” who was born Srjan Marjanovic in Australia in 1971. It describes itself as “a unitary, non-denominational, faith-based community Church” that welcomes “all seekers of truth, cosmic awareness and soul-realization.” The organization states that it promotes “the selfless worship of God Continue reading
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Church of the Last Testament (1991)
Sergei Anatolyevitch Torop was born on January 14, 1961, in Krasnodar, Russia. His family moved to Minusinsk in 1968. After completing his schooling, he served his compulsory military service in the Red Army, becoming a sergeant on construction sites in Mongolia. When he returned to Siberia, he worked as a factory metal worker and later Continue reading
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Church of the Creator/TE-TA-MA Truth Foundation-Family of URI (1969)
The Church of the Creator is a small group headquartered in Ashland, Oregon, that integrates elements of New Age thought with Christianity and Jewish mystical traditions such as Kabbalah and Gematria. The organization was founded in 1969 as a church association by Grace Marama Uri and her husband, James Germain Uri. From its inception, the Continue reading
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Church of Light (1932)
The Church of Light is a religious organization incorporated in Los Angeles in November 1932. Its stated mission is to “teach, practice, and disseminate The Religion of The Stars, a way of life for the Aquarian Age, as set forth in the writings of C.C. Zain.” The church’s creation was prompted by county ordinances passed Continue reading
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Church of Jesus Christ at Armageddon/Love Israel Family (1968)
The Love Israel Family, formally incorporated as The Church of Jesus Christ at Armageddon, was a communal religious movement founded in Seattle in 1968 by Paul Erdmann, a former television salesman. After founding the group, Erdmann adopted the name “Love Israel,” and many members took on the surname “Israel” along with biblical or virtue-based first Continue reading
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Church of Eden (1996)
The Church of Eden was founded by JC Gordon after he experienced a near-death experience in 1996. Gordon, who describes himself as a “Spiritual Futurist,” defines the church’s mission as the dissolution of fear, which it calls the “hidden operating system that has enslaved humanity for over 6,000 years.” It presents itself as existing outside Continue reading
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Church of Divine Science (1888)
The Church of Divine Science was established in San Francisco in 1888 by Malinda Elliott Cramer as part of the New Thought movement that was emerging at the time. It describes itself as “an organized teaching pertaining to God and the manifestation of God in Creation,” based on the principle that “limitless Being, God, is Continue reading
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Church of Aphrodite (1938)
The Church of Aphrodite was a religious group founded in 1938 by Gleb Botkin, a Russian émigré who had settled in the United States. It is recognized as one of the early precursors to the later Goddess movement in North America. The church was monotheistic, centered on a single female divinity named after the ancient Continue reading
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Church of All Worlds (1961)
The Church of All Worlds (CAW) is an American Neopagan organization co-founded by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, then known as Timothy Zell, in the early 1960s. Its stated mission is to develop a network of mythology, information, and experience intended to foster the reawakening of Gaia, the Earth Mother Goddess, and to reunite humanity through community, stewardship, Continue reading
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Christian Science (1879)
The Christian Science movement was founded by Mary Baker Eddy in 1879. Her belief system is based in the notion that reality is purely spiritual and good, while the material world — including sickness, evil, and death — is an illusion. Eddy’s personal experiences of chronic illness played a central role in shaping her theology. Continue reading
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Deepak Chopra (c. 1989)
Deepak Chopra is an author, public speaker, and alternative medicine advocate. Over the course of several decades, he has moved from a career in conventional medicine to a prominent role in the global wellness industry. His books, public appearances, and centers for health and well-being have made him one of the most widely recognized figures Continue reading
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Centrepoint (1977)
Centrepoint was a commune established in Albany, New Zealand, in 1977 by Herbert “Bert” Potter. At its height, around 275 people lived on the property, making it one of the largest alternative communities in the country. It drew middle-class families searching for support, intimacy, and alternative approaches to living. While initially seen as a social Continue reading
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Buddhafield (c. 1980)
Jaime Gomez, later known by a variety of names including Michel, Andreas, The Teacher, and Reyji, was born in Venezuela to a wealthy rancher. He eventually moved to the United States hoping to become an actor and professional dancer. He secured a non-speaking role in the 1968 film “Rosemary’s Baby” and performed with the Oakland Continue reading
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Brotherhood of Eternal Love (1966)
The Brotherhood of Eternal Love was an organization of drug users and distributors based in Orange County, California, that operated from the mid-1960s through the late 1970s. Nicknamed the “Hippie Mafia” by law enforcement, the group aimed to spark a “psychedelic revolution” by manufacturing and distributing drugs — primarily LSD — which they regarded as Continue reading
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Breatharianism (c. 1980)
Breatharianism, also known as inedia, is the belief that a person can survive without consuming food or water, instead subsisting on prana or “life-force energy.” While the notion has roots in ancient spiritual traditions and appeared in a 17th century esoteric text, it is today associated primarily with the claims of two modern individuals. Wiley Continue reading
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Andrew Blake (c. 2002)
Andrew Blake was born in Virginia in 1983 and became immersed in the world of online fandoms in the early days of the Internet. Around 1999, the teenage Blake began posting on “Star Trek: Voyager” fan boards under the handle “Strwriter,” claiming to be a brilliant 15-year-old college student who was also an actor and Continue reading
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Avatar (1986)
Avatar, also called the “Avatar Course,” is a self-development program founded by Harry Palmer in 1986, operated through his company Star’s Edge. Since its inception, Avatar has expanded globally, with its materials translated into over 30 languages and reportedly reaching over 100,000 participants in more than 150 countries. Palmer was born in 1944 and after Continue reading
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Aumism (1969)
Gilbert Bourdin was born in Martinique in 1923 and spent his early career in the French Civil Service. His early life is otherwise mostly obscure. When he was 33, he moved to France and studied law, economics, and politics. He also developed an interest in esoteric studies and got involved with several Rosicrucian and Martinist Continue reading
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Astral Doorway (2021)
Astral Doorway is an online community focused on astral projection that was founded by Gene Hart, who claims to have been astrally projecting for more than a decade. Hart says he has achieved out-of-body experiences and astral travel that has enhanced his spiritual understanding, and that these experiences motivated him to teach others how to Continue reading
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Association for Research and Enlightenment (1931)
Edgar Cayce was born into a farming family in Kentucky in 1877 and was raised within the Disciples of Christ, a church that sought to restore original Christian teachings. He would later state that a winged woman visited him in his childhood, and that he could memorize his schoolbooks by sleeping on them. Cayce’s purported Continue reading
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Arica School (1968)
Bolivian philosopher Oscar Ichazo developed a theory that he called “protoanalysis,” out of which he developed the Enneagram of Personality. Ichazo argued that nine “ego fixations” are formed early in life, each becoming the core of a self-image and linked to a specific “passion,” or disordered emotional energy. The relationships between these fixations can be Continue reading
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Arcane School (1923)
Alice Bailey was born Alice La Trobe-Bateman in Manchester, England, in 1880. Though born wealthy, she said her childhood was isolated and unhappy. Her mother died when she was young and she described her father as indifferent. She attempted suicide three times by the age of 15. After the third attempt, she said she had Continue reading
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Antoinism (1906)
Louis-Joseph Antoine was born in Belgium in 1846 and became a coal miner at age 12, later working as a steelworker. His harsh but steady life as a laborer was disrupted when he was in his late 40s by the death of his son in 1893. Though Antoine had limited formal education, he had already Continue reading
Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religious Movements 