Ynglism ( Russian : Инглии́зм; Ynglist runes: ), institutionally the Ancient Russian Ynglist Church of the Orthodox Old Believers–Ynglings (Древнерусская Инглиистическая Церковь Православных Староверов–Инглингов, Drevnerusskaya Ingliisticheskaya Tserkov' Pravoslavnykh Staroverov–Inglingov ), is a white nationalist branch of Slavic paganism formally established in 1992 by Aleksandr Yuryevich Khinevich (b. 1961) in Omsk , Russia , and legally recognised by the Russian state in 1998, although the movement was already in existence in unorganised forms since the 1980s. The adherents of Ynglism call themselves " Orthodox ", " Old Believers ", " Ynglings " or " Ynglists ".
217-564: The Ynglist Church was described by some scholars as having a complex and well-defined doctrine and liturgy, an authoritative leading hierarchy, and as focusing on esoteric teachings. The Ynglists regard themselves as preserving the true, orthodox (i.e. in accordance with the universal order, right), religious tradition of the Russians , of all Slavs , and of all white European " Aryans ". Other Rodnover groups in Russia are strongly critical of Ynglism; at
434-511: A veche of Russian Rodnover organisations Ynglist doctrines were formally rejected. In the mid 2000s the church faced judicial prosecutions for ethnic hatred and Khinevich himself was convicted with probation between 2009 and 2011. After the central organisation in Omsk was dissolved, the movement proliferated into multiple groups in all the regions of Russia, and also in various countries of Europe and North America . The holy writings of Ynglism are
651-406: A forensic psychologist noted for his writings on the brainwashing controversy, has defended NRMs, and in 1988 argued that involvement in such movements may often be beneficial: "There's a large research literature published in mainstream journals on the mental health effects of new religions. For the most part, the effects seem to be positive in any way that's measurable." Those who convert to
868-658: A " religion ", but rather as a " cosmic wisdom" brought by the Aryans, and preserved since ancient times in the region of Western Siberia. The scholar Elena Golovneva argued that it is accurate to classify Ynglism a " new religious movement ", or an " invented tradition ", which nonetheless contains elements drawn from very old sources. Scholars have identified influences from Hinduism , Zoroastrianism , Helena Blavatsky 's Theosophy , and German Ariosophy within Ynglism. The scholars Alexey V. Gaidukov and Kaarina Aitamurto described Ynglism as
1085-432: A "best example" of what Western esotericism should look like, against which other phenomena then had to be compared. The scholar of esotericism Kocku von Stuckrad (born 1966) noted that Faivre's taxonomy was based on his own areas of specialism—Renaissance Hermeticism, Christian Kabbalah, and Protestant Theosophy—and that it was thus not based on a wider understanding of esotericism as it has existed throughout history, from
1302-505: A "great priestess" from Omsk will lead the forces of light against the forces of darkness, which will eventually be vanquished and destroyed in the "end of the world"; as told in the Book of the Wisdom of Perun : ... he will be reborn again in one circle of years, and this will be the last time of the reign of the forces of darkness, in all parts of Midgard-Earth. The all-crushing fire of retribution of
1519-534: A "rodotheism", that is to say a "worship of the gods of the kins" which links mankind back to the supreme God of the universe, which is the supreme ancestor of the universe itself. According to Ynglist theology, the Ynglia (Инглия; Ynglist rune: [REDACTED] ), called Yngly when personified (Ингли, Инглъ; cf. the Germanic Yng, Yngwi , whose Scandinavian runic consists of square symbols → [REDACTED] , and cf.
1736-484: A "universal spiritual dimension of reality, as opposed to the merely external ('exoteric') religious institutions and dogmatic systems of established religions." This approach views Western esotericism as just one variant of a worldwide esotericism at the heart of all world religions and cultures, reflecting a hidden esoteric reality. This use is closest to the original meaning of the word in late antiquity, where it applied to secret spiritual teachings that were reserved for
1953-472: A NRM can pose a number of difficulties. It may result in their having to abandon a daily framework that they had previously adhered to. It may also generate mixed emotions as ex-members lose the feelings of absolute certainty, which they may have held while in the group. Three basic questions have been paramount in orienting theory and research on NRMs: what are the identifying markers of NRMs that distinguish them from other types of religious groups?; what are
2170-400: A NRM typically believe that in doing so they are gaining some benefit in their life. This can come in many forms, from an increasing sense of freedom to a release from drug dependency, and a feeling of self-respect and direction. Many of those who have left NRMs report that they have gained from their experience. There are various reasons as to why an individual would join and then remain part of
2387-448: A NRM, including both push and pull factors. According to Marc Galanter , professor of psychiatry at NYU, typical reasons why people join NRMs include a search for community and a spiritual quest. Sociologists Stark and Bainbridge , in discussing the process by which people join new religious groups, have questioned the utility of the concept of conversion , suggesting that affiliation is
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#17328591173132604-516: A capacity must be present, and this always remains something esoteric, so that there has never been anything purely exoteric about what philosophers say. In any case, drawing from the tradition of discourses that supposedly revealed a vision of the Absolute and truth present in mythology and initiatory rites of mystery religions , Plato and his philosophy began the Western perception of esotericism, to
2821-530: A category of esotericism —ranging from ancient Gnosticism and Hermeticism through to Rosicrucianism and the Kabbalah and on to more recent phenomenon such as the New Age movement. Nevertheless, esotericism itself remains a controversial term, with scholars specialising in the subject disagreeing as to how best to define it. Some scholars have used Western esotericism to refer to "inner traditions" concerned with
3038-411: A claim to possessing "wisdom that is superior to other interpretations of cosmos and history" that serves as a "master key for answering all questions of humankind." Accordingly, he believed that esoteric groups placed a great emphasis on secrecy, not because they were inherently rooted in elite groups but because the idea of concealed secrets that can be revealed was central to their discourse. Examining
3255-400: A core characteristic, "a claim to gnosis , or direct spiritual insight into cosmology or spiritual insight", and accordingly he suggested that these currents could be referred to as "Western gnostic" just as much as "Western esoteric". There are various problems with this model for understanding Western esotericism. The most significant is that it rests upon the conviction that there really
3472-496: A crucial place in time and space. Some NRMs venerate unique scriptures , while others reinterpret existing texts, utilizing a range of older elements. They frequently claim that these are not new but rather forgotten truths that are being revived. NRM scriptures often incorporate modern scientific knowledge, sometimes with the claim that they are bringing unity to science and religion. Some NRMs believe that their scriptures are received through mediums . The Urantia Book ,
3689-469: A descriptor of this phenomenon. Egil Asprem has endorsed this approach. The historian of esotericism Antoine Faivre noted that "never a precise term, [esotericism] has begun to overflow its boundaries on all sides", with both Faivre and Karen-Claire Voss stating that Western esotericism consists of "a vast spectrum of authors, trends, works of philosophy, religion, art, literature, and music". Scholars broadly agree on which currents of thought fall within
3906-543: A distinct phenomenon, the " Satanic Panic ". Consequently, scholars such as Eileen Barker, James T. Richardson , Timothy Miller and Catherine Wessinger argued that the term "cult" had become too laden with negative connotations, and "advocated dropping its use in academia". A number of alternatives to the term "new religious movement" are used by some scholars. These include "alternative religious movements" (Miller), "emergent religions" (Ellwood) and "marginal religious movements" (Harper and Le Beau). The 1960s and 1970s saw
4123-412: A financial interest in promoting the "brainwashing" explanation. Academic research, however, has demonstrated that these brainwashing techniques "simply do not exist". Many members of NRMs leave these groups of their own free will. Some of those who do so retain friends within the movement. Some of those who leave a religious community are unhappy with the time that they spent as part of it. Leaving
4340-558: A grand universal wisdom. Pope Innocent VIII condemned these ideas, criticising him for attempting to mix pagan and Jewish ideas with Christianity. Pico della Mirandola's increased interest in Jewish kabbalah led to his development of a distinct form of Christian Kabbalah . His work was built on by the German Johannes Reuchlin (1455–1522) who authored an influential text on the subject, De Arte Cabalistica . Christian Kabbalah
4557-403: A gray nature. In some Ynglist writings, the term "grays" does not define black-white mixlings, but the pre-existing deep-space demons themselves who would have penetrated some peoples of the non-white races, including both the black and the yellow races . In still other writings, the gray race of deep-space demons would try to possess and corrupt all the other races, including the white, the black,
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#17328591173134774-460: A more useful concept. A popular explanation for why people join new religious movements is that they have been "brainwashed" or subject to "mind control" by the NRM itself. This explanation provides a rationale for "deprogramming", a process in which members of NRMs are illegally kidnapped by individuals who then attempt to convince them to reject their beliefs. Professional deprogrammers, therefore, have
4991-530: A movement focused on esotericism , with an authoritative leading hierarchy and a well-defined doctrine and liturgy. In the 1990s Khinevich had in all likelihood an acquaintance with Viktor Bezverkhy (1930–2000), the founder and major ideologist of Peterburgian Vedism . Khinevich would have been granted the title of "honorary Wend" by the Union of Wends, the Rodnover organisation founded by Bezverkhy in 1990. Although there
5208-432: A notion that he developed against the background of contemporary socialist and Catholic discourses. "Esotericism" and "occultism" were often employed as synonyms until later scholars distinguished the concepts. In the context of Ancient Greek philosophy , the terms "esoteric" and "exoteric" were sometimes used by scholars not to denote that there was secrecy, but to distinguish two procedures of research and education:
5425-468: A part of Nav, that is to say Slav (Славь, "Glory"). Prav is the transcendental, spiritual dimension of the gods, who follow the right law (the Ynglia) of Ra-M-Kha, Yav is the material dimension in which all entities are incarnated, and Nav is the dimension of the soul/movement, which can be Bright Nav (Светлый Навь, Svetly Nav ) or Dark Nav (Темный Навь, Temny Nav ). The Bright Nav is otherwise called Slav, and
5642-494: A pejorative manner, to refer to Spiritualism and Christian Science during the 1890s. As commonly used, for instance in sensationalist tabloid articles, the term "cult" continues to have pejorative associations. The term "new religions" is a calque of shinshūkyō ( 新宗教 ) , a Japanese term developed to describe the proliferation of Japanese new religions in the years following the Second World War. From Japan this term
5859-480: A process of increasing secularisation of European governments and an embrace of modern science and rationality within intellectual circles. In turn, a "modernist occult" emerged that reflected varied ways esoteric thinkers came to terms with these developments. One of the esotericists of this period was the Swedish naturalist Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), who attempted to reconcile science and religion after experiencing
6076-459: A radical alternative to the disenchanted world views that have dominated Western culture since the scientific revolution , and must therefore always be at odds with secular culture. An early exponent of this definition was the historian of Renaissance thought Frances Yates in her discussions of a Hermetic Tradition , which she saw as an "enchanted" alternative to established religion and rationalistic science. The primary exponent of this view
6293-471: A relative of theirs joins a new religion. Although children break away from their parents for all manner of reasons, in cases where NRMs are involved, it is often the latter that are blamed for the break. Some anti-cultist groups emphasise the idea that "cults" use deceit and trickery to recruit members. The anti-cult movement adopted the term brainwashing, which had been developed by the journalist Edward Hunter and then used by Robert J. Lifton to apply to
6510-419: A result, they are "not inherently different" from mainstream and established religious movements, with the differences between the two having been greatly exaggerated by the media and popular perceptions. Melton has stated that those NRMs that "were offshoots of older religious groups... tended to resemble their parent groups far more than they resembled each other." One question that faces scholars of religion
6727-536: A secret location by the high priests of Ynglism and would contain texts composed of 186,000 " Slavic Aryan runes ", first transliterated into Cyrillic script and printed on paper in 1944. Four hundred Dacian golden copies of the original Siberian tablets are claimed to have been discovered in 1875 at the Sinaia Monastery in the Bucegi Mountains , Romania , and handed over to the king Carol I of Romania , of
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6944-496: A significant moment in its history. Over the months and years following its leader's death, the movement can die out, fragment into multiple groups, consolidate its position, or change its nature to become something quite different from what its founder intended. In some cases, a NRM moves closer to the religious mainstream after the death of its founder. A number of founders of new religions established plans for succession to prevent confusion after their deaths. Mary Baker Eddy ,
7161-528: A society's established traditional religions. Generally, Christian denominations are not seen as new religious movements; nevertheless, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, and the Shakers have been studied as NRMs. The same situation with Jewish religious movements , when Reform Judaism and newer divisions have been named among NRM. There are also problems in
7378-484: A specific elite and hidden from the masses. This definition was popularised in the published work of 19th-century esotericists like A.E. Waite , who sought to combine their own mystical beliefs with a historical interpretation of esotericism. It subsequently became a popular approach within several esoteric movements, most notably Martinism and Traditionalism . This definition, originally developed by esotericists themselves, became popular among French academics during
7595-614: A strong recruitment drive to survive. The Shakers established orphanages, hoping that the children would become members of their community. Violent incidents involving NRMs are very rare. In events having a large number of casualties, the new religion was led by a charismatic leader. Beginning in 1978, the deaths of 913 members of the Peoples Temple in Jonestown , Guyana, by both murder and suicide brought an image of "killer cults" to public attention. Several subsequent events contributed to
7812-496: A true and absolute nature of reality really existed, it would only be accessible through "esoteric" spiritual practices, and could not be discovered or measured by the "exoteric" tools of scientific and scholarly enquiry. Hanegraaff pointed out that an approach that seeks a common inner hidden core of all esoteric currents masks that such groups often differ greatly, being rooted in their own historical and social contexts and expressing mutually exclusive ideas and agendas. A third issue
8029-525: A vision of Jesus Christ . His writings focused on his visionary travels to heaven and hell and his communications with angels, claiming that the visible, materialist world parallels an invisible spiritual world, with correspondences between the two that do not reflect causal relations. Following his death, followers founded the Swedenborgian New Church —though his writings influenced a wider array of esoteric philosophies. Another major figure within
8246-456: A wide range of Western traditions and philosophies together under the term esotericism developed in 17th-century Europe. Various academics have debated numerous definitions of Western esotericism. One view adopts a definition from certain esotericist schools of thought themselves, treating "esotericism" as a perennial hidden inner tradition . A second perspective sees esotericism as a category of movements that embrace an "enchanted" worldview in
8463-515: A wise ruler. According to the Ynglist Church, the demographic decline of contemporary Russia has to be studied as a crisis of the psycho-physical heritage transmitted by Russian parents to their children, and of the environment where these children grow up. Within the Ynglist Church, the "purity of the kin ( rod ) and the blood" is considered a divine command: miscegenation and incest , as well as "perverted" sexuality without reproductive ends and
8680-448: A woman three years younger, if other aspects of her life are correct. Regarding telegony, Aleksandr Khinevich taught: ... the first lover of a woman gives her the form of the Spirit and Blood of his Rod and therefore, even if the woman gets later married to another man, her children will genetically be of her first lover. Furthermore, people are designed to live for centuries, but because of
8897-427: A world view that embraces "enchantment" in contrast to world views influenced by post- Cartesian , post- Newtonian , and positivist science that sought to " dis-enchant " the world. That approach understands esotericism as comprising those world views that eschew a belief in instrumental causality and instead adopt a belief that all parts of the universe are interrelated without a need for causal chains. It stands as
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9114-469: A younger average membership than mainstream religious congregations. Some NRMs have been formed by groups who have split from a pre-existing religious group. As these members grow older, many have children who are then brought up within the NRM. In the Third World , NRMs most often appeal to the poor and oppressed sectors of society. Within Western countries, they are more likely to appeal to members of
9331-439: Is a "universal, hidden, esoteric dimension of reality" that objectively exists. The existence of this universal inner tradition has not been discovered through scientific or scholarly enquiry; this had led some to claim that it does not exist, though Hanegraaff thought it better to adopt a view based in methodological agnosticism by stating that "we simply do not know—and cannot know" if it exists or not. He noted that, even if such
9548-435: Is a category that represents "the academy's dustbin of rejected knowledge." In this respect, it contains all of the theories and world views rejected by the mainstream intellectual community because they do not accord with "normative conceptions of religion, rationality and science." His approach is rooted within the field of the history of ideas , and stresses the role of change and transformation over time. Goodrick-Clarke
9765-417: Is a modern scholarly construct, not an autonomous tradition that already existed out there and merely needed to be discovered by historians. — The scholar of esotericism Wouter Hanegraaff, 2013. The concept of "Western esotericism" represents a modern scholarly construct rather than a pre-existing, self-defined tradition of thought. In the late 17th century, several European Christian thinkers presented
9982-423: Is confronted with the divine aspect of existence. — Historian of religion Henrik Bogdan, 2007. As an alternative to Faivre's framework, Kocku von Stuckrad developed his own variant, though he argued that this did not represent a "definition" but rather "a framework of analysis" for scholarly usage. He stated that "on the most general level of analysis", esotericism represented "the claim of higher knowledge",
10199-693: Is favouring the return of souls to the Bright Nav and the ascension to Prav. The Warps are: In addition to the Nine Great Warps, there are thirty-three commandments for each of the nine great celestial deities. The Ynglist Church is concerned with the health of the Russians, and other Slavic peoples, and of the family as any folk's fundamental unit, and its values are exceptionally conservative . They emphasise that men are innately disposed towards "public" life and spiritual quest, while women fulfill themselves in
10416-579: Is history based on Russian folk tales ( koshchuny ). They believe that " Yngling ", a name that identifies the earliest royal dynasties of Sweden and Norway , means "offspring of Yngly", and that the historical Ynglings migrated to Scandinavia from the region of Omsk, which was a spiritual centre of the early Aryans . They hold that the Saga ob Ynglingakh , their Russian version of the Scandinavian Ynglinga saga (itself composed by Snorri Sturluson on
10633-578: Is no comparable category of "Eastern" or "Oriental" esotericism. The emphasis on Western esotericism was nevertheless primarily devised to distinguish the field from a universal esotericism. Hanegraaff has characterised these as "recognisable world views and approaches to knowledge that have played an important though always controversial role in the history of Western culture". Historian of religion Henrik Bogdan asserted that Western esotericism constituted "a third pillar of Western culture" alongside "doctrinal faith and rationality", being deemed heretical by
10850-536: Is no point for Russians to destroy their own Slavic and Aryan culture with their own hands by adopting an alien pseudo-culture! Our ancestors warn us from the distant past: "... we ourselves are the grandchildren of Dazhdbog and have not aspired to sneak in the footsteps of foreigners". Ynglist doctrines emphasise a "healthy way of life", which includes eating natural and pure food, being responsible and sober, but also ideas based on theories of human biology and genetics which are "far from academic perceptions". For instance,
11067-526: Is not a natural term but an artificial category, applied retrospectively to a range of currents and ideas that were known by other names at least prior to the end of the eighteenth century. [This] means that, originally, not all those currents and ideas were necessarily seen as belonging together:... it is only as recently as the later seventeenth century that we find the first attempts at presenting them as one single, coherent field or domain, and at explaining what they have in common. In short, 'Western esotericism'
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#173285911731311284-538: Is not regarded as genuine Rodnovery by some other Rodnover groups; in 2009, two of the largest Russian Rodnover organisations, the Union of Slavic Native Belief Communities and the Circle of Pagan Tradition, issued a joint statement against Ynglism, Levashovism, and the doctrines of other authors, deeming them "pseudo-Pagan teachings, pseudo-linguistics, pseudo-science and outright speculation." Kocheganova observed that, however, also
11501-420: Is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part of a wider religion, in which case they are distinct from pre-existing denominations . Some NRMs deal with the challenges that the modernizing world poses to them by embracing individualism, while other NRMs deal with them by embracing tightly knit collective means. Scholars have estimated that NRMs number in
11718-553: Is the Iriy or Svarga and corresponds to the Bright Nav; these gods are called Ases and the Aryans would be the "heavenly kin" (небесный род, nebesny rod ). The first Aryans dwelt at the geographic North Pole , the Arctic , and because of this they are known in Greek sources as the " Hyperboreans ", the inhabitants of "Hyperborea" (literally "over the north"). Hyperborea was named Daarya (Даария) by
11935-653: Is the head of the utmost Council of Elders (Совет Старейшин, Sovet Stareyshin ) of the church. Any priest (жрец, zhrets ; священник, svyashchennik ) member of the church may be appointed to become the succeeding Pater Diy , but he must not be younger than 21 years old. Below the Pater Diy , there are five ranks in the sacerdotal hierarchy of the church: Such sacerdotal hierarchy, like the organisation of temples ( khram ) and communities, mimicks that of Eastern Orthodox Christianity . Esotericism Western esotericism , also known as esotericism , esoterism , and sometimes
12152-465: Is the orderly northern polar Svarga , the dimension of celestial deities, while the Dark Nav is the unorderly deep-space dimension of demons. In the cosmological scheme, the Bright Nav is above while the Dark Nav is below, and Yav is the boundary in-between the two and may develop according to the models of one or the other Nav. Also, Prav is spiritual, supra-mental, while Nav — consisting in the movements of
12369-601: Is to discern between bright ways and dark ways, to act as creators in accordance with the bright order of the utmost God, and to favour the sublimation of matter; if the purpose of a given incarnation in Yav is not fulfilled over the course of a lifetime, Karna makes the soul reincarnate in the same world until the goal has been completed. The Ynglists reject official historical narrative, which they believe to be manipulated, and argue that it should be replaced with history as told in their Slavo-Aryan Vedas or with koshchunosloviya , that
12586-498: Is to say white races , are considered to be the offspring of the gods of the spheres of the Svarga , the Bright Nav, while non-Aryan black races are considered to be the offspring of deep-space demons of the Dark Nav. The union of whites and blacks is held to produce wicked mixlings, the "gray race", and the Abrahamic religions and the masses they persuade are believed to be essentially of
12803-425: Is unified by its topic of interest rather than by its methodology , and is therefore interdisciplinary in nature. A sizeable body of scholarly literature on new religions has been published, most of it produced by social scientists . Among the disciplines that NRS utilises are anthropology, history, psychology, religious studies, and sociology. Of these approaches, sociology played a particularly prominent role in
13020-597: Is used in reference to devotion or dedication to a particular person or place. For instance, within the Roman Catholic Church, devotion to Mary, mother of Jesus may be termed the " Cult of Mary ". It is also used in non-religious contexts to refer to fandoms devoted to television shows like The Prisoner , The X-Files , and Buffy the Vampire Slayer . In the United States, people began to use "cult" in
13237-639: Is when a new religious movement ceases to be "new". As noted by Barker, "In the first century, Christianity was new, in the seventh century Islam was new, in the eighteenth century Methodism was new, in the nineteenth century the Seventh-day Adventists, Christadelphians, and Jehovah's Witnesses were new; in the twenty-first century the Unification Church, the ISKCON, and Scientology are beginning to look old." The Roman Catholic Church has observed that
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#173285911731313454-526: The Chaldean Oracles . Scholars are still unsure of precisely what theurgy involved, but know it involved a practice designed to make gods appear, who could then raise the theurgist's mind to the reality of the divine. After the fall of Rome , alchemy and philosophy and other aspects of the tradition were largely preserved in the Arab and Near Eastern world and reintroduced into Western Europe by Jews and by
13671-619: The Book of Light (Книга Света, Kniga Sveta ) and the first part of the Word of Wisdom of the Wise Velimudra (Слово Мудрости Волхва Велимудра, Slovo Mudrosti Volkhva Velimudra ). The third Veda comprises the Ynglism, the Ancient Faith of Slavic and Aryan Folks (Инглиiзмъ, Древняя Вера Славянскихъ и Арiйскихъ Народовъ; Ingliizm, Drevnyaya Vera Slavyanskikh i Ariyskikh Narodov ) and the second part of
13888-583: The Chaldean Oracles represented an example of a superior religion of ancient humanity that had been passed down by the Platonists . Plethon's ideas interested the ruler of Florence, Cosimo de' Medici , who employed Florentine thinker Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499) to translate Plato's works into Latin. Ficino went on to translate and publish the works of various Platonic figures, arguing that their philosophies were compatible with Christianity, and allowing for
14105-748: The Christian Reformed Church in North America , was especially influential. In the US, the Christian Research Institute was founded in 1960 by Walter Ralston Martin to counter opposition to evangelical Christianity and has come to focus on criticisms of NRMs. Presently the Christian countercult movement opposes most NRMs because of theological differences. It is closely associated with evangelical Christianity . In his book The Kingdom of
14322-666: The Donghak Peasant Revolution in 1894. In 1889, Ahmadiyya , an Islamic branch, was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad . In 1891, the Unity Church , the first New Thought denomination, was founded in the United States. In 1893, the first Parliament of the World's Religions was held in Chicago. The conference included NRMs of the time such as spiritualism , Baháʼí Faith, and Christian Science . Henry Harris Jessup , who addressed
14539-492: The Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen family, who ordered to recopy them in lead before melting most of the golden ones to replenish the royal treasury; known as the "Dacian Santies", they would be preserved in various private vaults and museums of Romania. The Vedas were effectively published by Aleksandr Khinevich since the mid 1990s, and were preceded in 1992 by the book Ynglism, Short Course in which Khinevich put forward
14756-545: The Holy Spirit Movement were killed as they approached gunfire because its leader, Alice Lakwena , told them that they would be protected from bullets by the oil of the shea tree . The history of the Latter Day Saint movement includes multiple cases of significant violence committed by or against Mormons . NRMs are typically founded and led by a charismatic leader. The death of any religion's founder represents
14973-665: The Ishim and the Tobol . This country was also called Pyatirechye (Пятиречье), and when the Aryans' domains reached the Ishim and the Tobol it became known as Semirechye (Семиречье). The Aryans built their architectures according to the pattern of Alatyr — a Slavic mythological stone or mountain which represents the world centre or the world axle —, which is the same as the image of Yngly (hooked cross), which endows human consciousness with virtue. Omsk
15190-453: The Kabbalah and Christian philosophy, resulting in the emergence of esoteric movements like Christian Kabbalah and Christian theosophy . The 17th century saw the development of initiatory societies professing esoteric knowledge such as Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry , while the Age of Enlightenment of the 18th century led to the development of new forms of esoteric thought. The 19th century saw
15407-589: The New Testament of the Holy Apostle Thomas discovered in 1945. Apart from Aleksandr Khinevich, another important Russian author of Ynglist literature is Aleksey V. Trekhlebov ( volkhv Vedagor), one of the earliest and closest disciples of the former. Trekhlebov came from the study of Indian religions , and he is a yogi ; he claimed to have received initiation in Nepal from a high lama , who advised him to seek
15624-503: The Omsk State Technical University . He began to give an organisation to Ynglism between the 1980s and the early 1990, starting from the community Dzhiva-Astra (Джива-Астра) which practised exorcism and traditional medicine , and formally founded the Ynglist Church in 1992, in Omsk. In the same year he published a book entitled Ynglism, Short Course , in which he put forward the backbone of his doctrine, and he visited
15841-490: The Shakers and more recent NRMs, inspired by Hindu traditions, see it as a lifelong commitment. Others, including the Unification Church, as a stage in spiritual development. In some Buddhist NRMs, celibacy is practiced mostly by older women who become nuns . Some people join NRMs and practice celibacy as a rite of passage in order to move beyond previous sexual problems or bad experiences. Groups that promote celibacy require
16058-513: The Slavo-Aryan Vedas as its fundamental sources. The scholar Polina P. Kocheganova noted that the "cosmic religion" proposed by Ynglism may be regarded as a " modernist " approach to Rodnovery, different from other currents which represent a " traditionalist " approach. Similarly, Gaidukov defined Ynglism as an eclectic or "polysyncratic" (i.e. mixing together elements from different sources) form of Rodnovery. For its characteristics, Ynglism
16275-566: The Ungrund , and that God himself was composed of a wrathful core, surrounded by the forces of light and love. Though condemned by Germany's Lutheran authorities, Böhme's ideas spread and formed the basis for a number of small religious communities, such as Johann Georg Gichtel 's Angelic Brethren in Amsterdam , and John Pordage and Jane Leade 's Philadelphian Society in England. From 1614 to 1616,
16492-458: The United States where he claimed to have established branch groups of the Ynglist Church. Later in the 1990s he published the Slavo-Aryan Vedas , the fundamental books of Ynglism. As the head of the Ynglist Church he is known by his followers as Pater Diy (Патер Дий, meaning "Divine Father" or "Shining Father"), or volkhv Kolovrat. He does not qualify Ynglism either as a " paganism " or as
16709-576: The Waldensians were thought to have utilized esoteric concepts. During the Renaissance , a number of European thinkers began to synthesize " pagan " (that is, not Christian) philosophies, which were then being made available through Arabic translations, with Christian thought and the Jewish kabbalah. The earliest of these individuals was the Byzantine philosopher Plethon (1355/60–1452?), who argued that
16926-554: The Western mystery tradition , is a term scholars use to classify a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society . These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthodox Judeo-Christian religion and Age of Enlightenment rationalism . It has influenced, or contributed to, various forms of Western philosophy , mysticism , religion , science , pseudoscience , art , literature , and music . The idea of grouping
17143-582: The Word of Wisdom . The fourth and last Veda of Ynglism contains the Source of Life (Источник Жизни, Istochnik Zhizni ) and the White Way (Белый Путь, Bely Put ). A fifth book, though not part of the canonical Vedas, is Slavic Worldview, Confirmation of the Book of Light (Славянское Мiропонiмание, Подтверждение Книги Света; Slavyanskoye Miroponimaniye, Podtverzhdeniye Knigi Sveta ). After they were published by Khinevich,
17360-487: The counterculture of the 1960s and later cultural tendencies, which led to the New Age phenomenon in the 1970s. The idea that these disparate movements could be classified as "Western esotericism" developed in the late 18th century, but these esoteric currents were largely ignored as a subject of academic enquiry. The academic study of Western esotericism only emerged in the late 20th century, pioneered by scholars like Frances Yates and Antoine Faivre . The concept of
17577-541: The natural world . The primary exponent of this approach was Paracelsus (1493/94–1541), who took inspiration from alchemy and folk magic to argue against the mainstream medical establishment of his time—which, as in Antiquity, still based its approach on the ideas of the second-century physician and philosopher, Galen , a Greek in the Roman Empire. Instead, Paracelsus urged doctors to learn medicine through an observation of
17794-485: The persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses , the persecution of Baháʼís , and the persecution of Falun Gong . There are also instances in which violence has been directed at new religions. In the United States the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, Joseph Smith, was killed by a lynch mob in 1844. In India there have been mob killings of members of the Ananda Marga group. Such violence can also be administered by
18011-590: The state religion of Japan, bringing about greater freedom of religion . In 1954, Scientology was founded in the United States, by L. Ron Hubbard . It can be considered a psychotherapy oriented religion and has been consistently controversial among new religious movements in the country. In 1954 the Unification Church by Sun Myung Moon was founded, in South Korea. In 1955, the Aetherius Society
18228-531: The "esoteric" originated in the 2nd century with the coining of the Ancient Greek adjective esôterikós ("belonging to an inner circle"); the earliest known example of the word appeared in a satire authored by Lucian of Samosata ( c. 125 – after 180). In the 15th and 16th centuries, differentiations in Latin between exotericus and esotericus (along with internus and externus ) were common in
18445-495: The "newness" of "new religious movements" raises problems, for it is "the very fact that NRMs are new that explains many of the key characteristics they display". George Chryssides favors "simple" definition; for him, NRM is an organization founded within the past 150 or so years, which cannot be easily classified within one of the world's main religious traditions. Scholars of religion Olav Hammer and Mikael Rothstein argued that "new religions are just young religions" and as
18662-465: The "private" life of the family at home and in the function of reproduction. Kaarina Aitamurto described the church as strongly patriarchal ; the social model that Ynglism proposes is the traditional hierarchy of the family, headed by male elders. The veche (assembly) of the church itself is conceived as the gathering of these elders, the fathers. According to Ynglist beliefs, women are "so tied to their natural task of reproduction" that they may not reach
18879-453: The "truth, order" [ Prav ]), is older than Christianity. The term, which means the right way of living in accordance with the law of the universe, was appropriated by Eastern Orthodox Christianity among the Slavs only by the 17th century, through the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow , in order to wholly absorb the indigenous religion which was then still prevalent among the population. Prior to
19096-473: The 1950s or the end of the Second World War in 1945 as the defining time, while others look as far back as the founding of the Latter Day Saint movement in 1830 and of Tenrikyo in 1838. New religions have sometimes faced opposition from established religious organisations and secular institutions. In Western nations, a secular anti-cult movement and a Christian countercult movement emerged during
19313-481: The 1970s and 1980s to oppose emergent groups. A distinct field of new religion studies developed within the academic study of religion in the 1970s. There are several scholarly organisations and peer-reviewed journals devoted to the subject. Religious studies scholars contextualize the rise of NRMs in modernity as a product of, and answer to, modern processes of secularization, globalization, detraditionalization, fragmentation, reflexivity, and individualization. In 1830,
19530-469: The 1970s and 1980s, some NRMs as well as some non-religious groups came under opposition by the newly organized anti-cult movement, which mainly charged them with psychological abuse of their own members. It actively seeks to discourage people from joining new religions (which it refers to as "cults"). It also encourages members of these groups to leave them, and at times seeking to restrict their freedom of movement. Family members are often distressed when
19747-696: The 1980s, exerting a strong influence over the scholars Mircea Eliade , Henry Corbin , and the early work of Faivre. Within the academic field of religious studies , those who study different religions in search of an inner universal dimension to them all are termed "religionists". Such religionist ideas also exerted an influence on more recent scholars like Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke and Arthur Versluis . Versluis for instance defined "Western esotericism" as "inner or hidden spiritual knowledge transmitted through Western European historical currents that in turn feed into North American and other non-European settings". He added that these Western esoteric currents all shared
19964-528: The 19th and 20th centuries, scholars increasingly saw the term "esotericism" as meaning something distinct from Christianity—as a subculture at odds with the Christian mainstream from at least the time of the Renaissance. After being introduced by Jacques Matter in French, the occultist and ceremonial magician Eliphas Lévi (1810–1875) popularized the term in the 1850s. Lévi also introduced the term l'occultisme ,
20181-546: The Age of Enlightenment, these esoteric traditions came to be regularly categorised under the labels of " superstition ", " magic ", and " the occult "—terms often used interchangeably. The modern academy , then in the process of developing, consistently rejected and ignored topics coming under "the occult", thus leaving research into them largely to enthusiasts outside of academia. Indeed, according to historian of esotericism Wouter J. Hanegraaff (born 1961), rejection of "occult" topics
20398-649: The American founder of Christian Science, spent fifteen years working on her book The Manual of the Mother Church , which laid out how the group should be run by her successors. The leadership of the Baháʼí Faith passed through a succession of individuals until 1963, when it was assumed by the Universal House of Justice , members of which are elected by the worldwide congregation. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ,
20615-456: The Aryans in their original language, and is also known by the Ynglists as "Arctida". After leaving their original homeland Daarya , the Aryans settled in what is today the vast expanse of Eurasia , where the richest occurrences of hooked cross symbolism in historical testimonies have been found, in patterns of architecture, weaponry, and tools of everyday life. The Aryans gave this vast territory
20832-714: The Chinese government, and by 1999 there were 70 million practitioners in China. But in July 1999, the government started to view the movement as a threat and began attempts to eradicate it . In the 21st century, many NRMs are using the Internet to give out information, recruit members, and sometimes to hold online meetings and rituals. That is sometimes referred to as cybersectarianism . Sabina Magliocco , professor of Anthropology and Folklore at California State University, Northridge, has discussed
21049-736: The Cults (1965), Christian scholar Walter Ralston Martin examines a large number of new religious movements; included are major groups such as Christian Science, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, Armstrongism , Theosophy , the Baháʼí Faith, Unitarian Universalism , Scientology, the Unity Church, as well as minor groups including various New Age groups and those based on Eastern religions . The beliefs of other world religions such as Islam and Buddhism are also discussed. He covers each group's history and teachings, and contrasts them with those of mainstream Christianity. In
21266-540: The Germanic suffix " -ing ", implying the action of generation and production) is the structural order of the universe and of all phenomena, characterised as a fiery radiance emanated by the supreme God, the "One Indivisible God" (Единый Неделимый Бог, Yediny Nedelimy Bog ), named Ra-M-Kha (Ра-М-Ха; Ynglist runes: [REDACTED] ) in Ynglist terminology. Ra-M-Kha is absolute , unknowable, unfathomable, and yet manifests itself as
21483-610: The Hellenistic Eastern Mediterranean, then part of the Roman Empire , during Late Antiquity . This was a milieu that mixed religious and intellectual traditions from Greece, Egypt, the Levant, Babylon, and Persia—in which globalisation , urbanisation, and multiculturalism were bringing about socio-cultural change. One component of this was Hermeticism, an Egyptian Hellenistic school of thought that takes its name from
21700-557: The Latter Day Saint movement was founded by Joseph Smith . It is one of the largest new religious movements, with over 16 million members in 2019. In Japan, 1838 marks the beginning of Tenrikyo . In 1844, Bábism was established in Iran, from which the Baháʼí Faith was founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 1863. In 1860, Donghak , later Cheondoism , was founded by Choi Jae-Woo in Korea. It later ignited
21917-614: The Renaissance—among them Paracelsianism , Weigelianism , and Christian theosophy —in his book he labelled all of these traditions under the category of "Platonic–Hermetic Christianity", portraying them as heretical to what he saw as "true" Christianity. Despite his hostile attitude toward these traditions of thought, Colberg became the first to connect these disparate philosophies and to study them under one rubric, also recognising that these ideas linked back to earlier philosophies from late antiquity . In 18th-century Europe, during
22134-673: The West and the East. As for the noun "esotericism", probably the first mention in German of Esoterismus appeared in a 1779 work by Johann Georg Hamann , and the use of Esoterik in 1790 by Johann Gottfried Eichhorn . But the word esoterisch had already existed at least since 1731–1736, as found in the works of Johann Jakob Brucker ; this author rejected everything that is characterized today as an "esoteric corpus". In this 18th century context, these terms referred to Pythagoreanism or Neoplatonic theurgy , but
22351-568: The Ynglist Vedas were sold in many thousands of copies. According to Golovneva, such popularity of the books proves that they are "far from being marginal", as they represent "the basis for a certain kind of popular knowledge of ancient history". Besides their Vedas , the Ynglists also rely upon the Book of Veles , and also upon various Gnostic scriptures, including the Secret Gospel of John and
22568-404: The Ynglists firmly condemn sex out of wedlock, as they believe that it, as all other "unnatural" ways of life, shortens the lifespan, and they espouse the theory of telegony , that is to say the idea that a woman is genetically shaped by the men with whom she has sexual intercourse, and her offspring would inherit genetic characteristics of all her bedmates. They also believe that giving birth makes
22785-460: The Ynglists to be the forefathers of the four ramifications of the Slavo-Aryans: Da'Aryans (Да'Арийцы), Kh'Aryans (Х'Арийцы), Rassenians (Расены) and Svyatorussians (Святорусы). "Rod-Forefather" (Род-Породитель, Rod-Poroditel ; Ynglist runes: [REDACTED] ; also translatable as "Kin-Progenitor") is the archetype of all the progenitors of the genealogical lineages, and is described as one and
23002-456: The afternoon, while he reserved the morning for "akroatika" (acroamatics), referring to natural philosophy and logic , taught during a walk with his students. Furthermore, the term "exoteric" for Aristotle could have another meaning, hypothetically referring to an extracosmic reality, ta exo , superior to and beyond Heaven, requiring abstraction and logic. This reality stood in contrast to what he called enkyklioi logoi, knowledge "from within
23219-482: The aim of ascending to the mental plane of Slav and ultimately having once again access to Prav. The incarnations are governed by the goddess Karna. From the matrix of life in Prav, the soul brings with itself throughout the other dimensions the energy and the information — a "figurative structure" — necessary for the completion of its cycles of incarnation; in the material dimension of Yav, the knowledge brought from Prav joins
23436-405: The ancient world to the contemporary period. Accordingly, Von Stuckrad suggested that it was a good typology for understanding "Christian esotericism in the early modern period " but lacked utility beyond that. Somewhat crudely, esotericism can be described as a Western form of spirituality that stresses the importance of the individual effort to gain spiritual knowledge, or gnosis , whereby man
23653-479: The ancient, medieval, and Renaissance traditions of esoteric thought. In France, following the social upheaval of the 1789 Revolution , various figures emerged in this occultist milieu who were heavily influenced by traditional Catholicism, the most notable of whom were Éliphas Lévi (1810–1875) and Papus (1865–1916). Also significant was René Guénon (1886–1951), whose concern with tradition led him to develop an occult viewpoint termed Traditionalism ; it espoused
23870-417: The argument that one could categorise certain traditions of Western philosophy and thought together, thus establishing the category now labelled "Western esotericism". The first to do so, Ehregott Daniel Colberg [ de ] (1659–1698), a German Lutheran theologian, wrote Platonisch-Hermetisches Christianity (1690–91). A hostile critic of various currents of Western thought that had emerged since
24087-628: The atheist Church of Satan . In 1967, the Beatles visit to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India brought public attention to the Transcendental Meditation movement . In the late 1980s and 1990s, the decline of communism and the revolutions of 1989 opened up new opportunities for NRMs. Falun Gong was first taught publicly in Northeast China in 1992 by Li Hongzhi . At first, it was accepted by
24304-489: The banks of our holy rivers and lakes; for the holy Ynglia, which brings us the light of love and joy, and illuminates our hearts and thoughts. May all our deeds be done, in your glory, now and ever from circle to circle. A hymn to Yngly declaims: Great god Yngly, keeper of the holy Ynglia! Hallow and warm our souls and our hearts, our temples and dwellings, do not leave our kins unattended, now and ever from circle to circle. In Ynglist theology, below Ra-M-Kha and Yngly, and in
24521-633: The basis of an older Ynglingatal ), proves their ideas about the origins of the Ynglings in Omsk, and that the Scandinavian Eddas are ultimately a more recent, western European and Latinised version of their own sacred books, the Slavo-Aryan Vedas . Ynglism presents itself as the true spirituality of the Aryans, a term which means "harmonious men", those who live in accordance with the laws of God and therefore manifest bright physical features and clear thoughts. The Aryans were spiritually influenced by
24738-520: The bright order of Slav, and finally ascend back to Prav. The soul is created out of the infinite light of God in Prav by Dzhiva, the goddess matrix of life; then, from Prav the soul passes to its own "sovereign star" (звезда-владыка, zvezda-vladyka ) in the astral dimension of Nav, especially Slav (the Bright Nav); then, from Nav the soul comes as a stream of light to the physical dimension of Yav on some planet, where it incarnates and develops in matter with
24955-511: The celestial asterisms — is merely astral if dark but astral and mental if bright (Slav), and Yav is physical, phenomenical. According to the Ynglists the soul of the human being is eternal and undergoes a cyclical journey which begins from the dimension of Prav, where it is identified with the radiance of the utmost God, then passing through the other dimensions of Nav, Yav and Slav, where the soul has to acquire knowledge of darkness in order to objectively recognise light, develop itself according to
25172-809: The centre of their civilisation was that which in Russian folklore is known as Belovodye (Беловодье; "White Waters"), which the Ynglists locate in Siberia and identify as the same as the Tibetan concept of Shambhala , the Scandinavian Asgard ("Gods-Realm"), and the land of the Rigvedic rivers : they identify the rivers as the Yenisei and Angara , the Lena , the Irtysh and Ob , and
25389-506: The circle", involving the intracosmic physics that surrounds everyday life. There is a report by Strabo and Plutarch , however, which states that the Lyceum's school texts were circulated internally, their publication was more controlled than the exoteric ones, and that these "esoteric" texts were rediscovered and compiled only with the efforts of Andronicus of Rhodes . Plato would have orally transmitted intramural teachings to his disciples,
25606-827: The concept was particularly sedimentated by two streams of discourses: speculations about the influences of the Egyptians on ancient philosophy and religion, and their associations with Masonic discourses and other secret societies, who claimed to keep such ancient secrets until the Enlightenment; and the emergence of orientalist academic studies , which since the 17th century identified the presence of mysteries, secrets or esoteric "ancient wisdom" in Persian, Arab, Indian and Far Eastern texts and practices (see also Early Western reception of Eastern esotericism ). The noun "esotericism", in its French form "ésotérisme", first appeared in 1828 in
25823-767: The concept. In 1994, members of the Order of the Solar Temple committed suicide in Canada and Switzerland. In 1997, 39 members of the Heaven's Gate group committed suicide in the belief that their spirits would leave the Earth and join a passing comet. There have also been cases in which members of NRMs have been killed after they engaged in dangerous actions due to mistaken belief in their own invincibility. For example, in Uganda, several hundred members of
26040-443: The consumption of alcohol and drugs, are forbidden as unhealthy threats of "modern confusion" imported from the "degenerated" West. Miscegenation, the production of gray mixlings from the union of white and black races, would cause "spiritual and intellectual decline". As a solution, Ynglists emphasise the theme of "creating beneficial descendants" (созидание благодетельного потомства, sozidanye blagodetel'nogo potomstva ), and encourage
26257-485: The core of his doctrine. The Ynglists claim that the Scandinavian Eddas are a western European Latinised version of their ancient Vedas . The first Veda comprises the Book of the Wisdom of Perun (Сантии Веды Перуна, Santy Vedy Peruna ; also translated as Книга Мудрости Перуна, Kniga Mudrosti Peruna ) and the Saga ob Inglingakh , a Russian version of the Old Norse Ynglinga saga . The second Veda comprises
26474-506: The core scripture of the Urantia Movement, was published in 1955 and is said to be the product of a continuous process of revelation from "celestial beings" which began in 1911. Some NRMs, particularly those that are forms of occultism , have a prescribed system of courses and grades through which members can progress. Some NRMs promote celibacy , the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both. Some, including
26691-609: The cosmos was established. Copernicus' theories were adopted into esoteric strains of thought by Giordano Bruno (1548–1600), whose ideas were deemed heresy by the Roman Catholic Church , which eventually publicly executed him. A distinct strain of esoteric thought developed in Germany, where it became known as Naturphilosophie . Though influenced by traditions from Late Antiquity and medieval Kabbalah, it only acknowledged two main sources of authority: Biblical scripture and
26908-521: The creation of large families of up to sixteen children, considered the number of an ideal "full circle of offspring". In a broader metaphysical discourse, all forces of globalisation coming from the West are perceived as alien models that infiltrate and spoil the spirit and language of Slavic culture. An excerpt from the Slavo-Aryan Vedas declaims: It is not appropriate for Slavs and Aryans to venerate alien idols, to pour water into an alien watermill, to give one's psychic energy to an alien egregor! There
27125-595: The cultural contact between Christians and Muslims in Sicily and southern Italy. The 12th century saw the development of the Kabbalah in southern Italy and medieval Spain . The medieval period also saw the publication of grimoires , which offered often elaborate formulas for theurgy and thaumaturgy . Many of the grimoires seem to have kabbalistic influence. Figures in alchemy from this period seem to also have authored or used grimoires. Medieval sects deemed heretical such as
27342-441: The development of the field of psychical research . Somnambulism also exerted a strong influence on the early disciplines of psychology and psychiatry ; esoteric ideas pervade the work of many early figures in this field, most notably Carl Gustav Jung —though with the rise of psychoanalysis and behaviourism in the 20th century, these disciplines distanced themselves from esotericism. Also influenced by artificial somnambulism
27559-425: The development of the field, resulting in it being initially confined largely to a narrow array of sociological questions. This came to change in later scholarship, which began to apply theories and methods initially developed for examining more mainstream religions to the study of new ones. Most research has been directed toward those new religions that attract public controversy. Less controversial NRMs tend to be
27776-422: The difference between these groups and established or mainstream religious movements while at the same time evading the problem posed by groups that are not particularly new. The 1970s was the era of the so-called "cult wars", led by "cult-watching groups". The efforts of the anti-cult movement condensed a moral panic around the concept of cults. Public fears around Satanism , in particular, came to be known as
27993-412: The different types of NRMs and how do these different types relate to the established institutional order of the host society?; and what are the most important ways that NRMs respond to the sociocultural dislocation that leads to their formation? — Sociologist of religion David G. Bromley The academic study of new religious movements is known as 'new religions studies' (NRS). The study draws from
28210-458: The disciplines of anthropology , psychiatry , history , psychology , sociology , religious studies , and theology . Barker noted that there are five sources of information on NRMs: the information provided by such groups themselves, that provided by ex-members as well as the friends and relatives of members, organisations that collect information on NRMs, the mainstream media, and academics studying such phenomena. The study of new religions
28427-502: The dominant faith in any country, many of the concepts they first introduced (often referred to as " New Age " ideas) have become part of worldwide mainstream culture. Eileen Barker has argued that NRMs should not be "lumped together," as they differ from one another on many issues. Virtually no generalisation can be made about NRMs that applies to every group, with David V. Barrett noting that "generalizations tend not to be very helpful" when studying NRMs. J. Gordon Melton expressed
28644-732: The emergence of a number of highly visible new religious movements... [These] seemed so outlandish that many people saw them as evil cults, fraudulent organizations or scams that recruited unaware people by means of mind-control techniques. Real or serious religions, it was felt, should appear in recognizable institutionalized forms, be suitably ancient, and – above all – advocate relatively familiar theological notions and modes of conduct. Most new religions failed to comply with such standards. — Religious studies scholars Olav Hammer and Mikael Rothstein There has been opposition to NRMs throughout their history. Some historical events have been: Anti-Mormonism ,
28861-653: The emergence of a wider movement in Renaissance Platonism, or Platonic Orientalism. Ficino also translated part of the Corpus Hermeticum , though the rest was translated by his contemporary, Lodovico Lazzarelli (1447–1500). Another core figure in this intellectual milieu was Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494), who achieved notability in 1486 by inviting scholars from across Europe to come and debate with him 900 theses that he had written. Pico della Mirandola argued that all of these philosophies reflected
29078-713: The emergence of new trends of esoteric thought now known as occultism . Significant groups in this century included the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia , the Theosophical Society and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn . Also important in this connection is Martinus Thomsen 's " spiritual science ". Modern paganism developed within occultism and includes religious movements such as Wicca . Esoteric ideas permeated
29295-466: The end of the Last Glacial Period (c. 13.000 BCE), with the descent of the gods from the "celestial temple" of Iriy, or with the foundation of "Asgard of Iriy". Ynglism would be the means to regather the Aryans and reconnect them to their progenitors, reawakening their pristine way to perceive the world. Ynglist doctrine proposes an apocalyptic eschatology according to which a "great priest" and
29512-442: The esoteric movement of this period was the German physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1814), who developed the theory of Animal Magnetism , which later became known more commonly as Mesmerism . Mesmer claimed that a universal life force permeated everything, including the human body, and that illnesses were caused by a disturbance or block in this force's flow; he developed techniques he claimed cleansed such blockages and restored
29729-678: The face of increasing disenchantment. A third views Western esotericism as encompassing all of Western culture's "rejected knowledge" that is accepted neither by the scientific establishment nor orthodox religious authorities. The earliest traditions of Western esotericism emerged in the Eastern Mediterranean during Late Antiquity , where Hermeticism , Gnosticism and Neoplatonism developed as schools of thought distinct from what became mainstream Christianity. Renaissance Europe saw increasing interest in many of these older ideas, with various intellectuals combining pagan philosophies with
29946-406: The first reserved for teachings that were developed "within the walls" of the philosophical school, among a circle of thinkers ("eso-" indicating what is unseen, as in the classes internal to the institution), and the second referring to those whose works were disseminated to the public in speeches and published ("exo-": outside). The initial meaning of this last word is implied when Aristotle coined
30163-414: The forces of light will burn the servants of the world of darkness and all the descendants of foreign enemies who filled the human world with soulless emptiness carrying on their banners: lies and vices, laziness and cruelty, desire and lust, fear and self-doubt. And it will be the great end of the world for the foreign enemies who came from the dark world. And the end of the time of darkness will come for all
30380-557: The former and irrational by the latter. Scholars nevertheless recognise that various non-Western traditions have exerted "a profound influence" over Western esotericism, citing the example of the Theosophical Society 's incorporation of Hindu and Buddhist concepts like reincarnation into its doctrines. Given these influences and the imprecise nature of the term "Western", the scholar of esotericism Kennet Granholm has argued that academics should cease referring to " Western esotericism" altogether, instead simply favouring "esotericism" as
30597-593: The founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness , appointed 11 "Western Gurus" to act as initiating gurus and to continue to direct the organisation. However, according to British scholar of religion Gavin Flood , "many problems followed from their appointment and the movement has since veered away from investing absolute authority in a few, fallible, human teachers." NRMs typically consist largely of first-generation believers, and thus often have
30814-542: The four Slavo-Aryan Vedas . The term "Ynglism" refers to the Ynglings , one of the early Germanic royal families , whom Ynglists believe to be descendants of the Aryan race who originated from the Omsk region of Western Siberia , Russia. This narrative runs contrary to the leading scholarly consensus of the homeland of the historical Proto-Indo-Europeans . According to the Ynglists,
31031-403: The gods are the progenitors, ancestors of all entities. The Ynglists distinguish four categories of gods: In the hierarchy of the Highest Gods there are: Vyshen (Вышень, Slavicised Vishnu ), Kryshen (Крышень, Slavicised Krishna ) and Svarog — the ecliptic north pole ; Perun , Indra and Simargl — the celestial north pole , Iriy or Svarga ; Dazhbog — the Sun; Chislobog —
31248-412: The gods generating all phenomena in accordance with the supreme order, the Ynglia. The latter is personified as Yngly, the intelligence of God, keeper of the source of the fire of the universe, and model of the earliest progenitor of humanity, Rod . Yngly-Ynglia is represented by the swastika symbol, which Ynglists call the "image of Yngly" and consider the first written symbol of humanity, as well as
31465-445: The gray-eyed Da'Aryans carriers of blood type O, and the green-eyed Kh'Aryans carriers of blood type O and rarely A; the Slavs are subdivided into the hazel-eyed Rassenians carriers of blood type A and rarely O, and the blue-eyed Svyatorussians carriers of blood type O or A. The goal of the Ases is to pass on, generation by generation and through the reincarnations , the spiritual wisdom for continuous perfection and recreation whose aim
31682-403: The great year or great time; Svetovid and Ramkhat — the year; Dzhiva and Marena — life and death; Veles — the patron of the Earth; Mokosh and Lada — aspects of the Earth; Rod and Rozhana — male and female progenitors of human kins. In the hierarchy of divinity, gods act in triads, Triglav s, of which the main one is Svarog-Perun-Svetovid, representing conscience, freedom and light. On
31899-403: The growing popularity of new religious movements on the Internet. In 2006 J. Gordon Melton , executive director of the Institute for the Study of American Religions at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told The New York Times that 40 to 45 new religious movements emerge each year in the United States. In 2007, religious scholar Elijah Siegler said that, though no NRM had become
32116-400: The growth of sects and new religious movements is one of the "most noticeable" and "highly complex" developments in recent years, and in relation to the ecumenical movement , their "desire for peaceful relations with the Catholic Church may be weak or non-existent". Some NRMs are strongly counter-cultural and 'alternative' in the society where they appear, while others are far more similar to
32333-493: The idea of a struggle between good and evil forces matching that of Zoroastrianism . The scholar Robert A. Saunders described Ynglist doctrine as influenced by late nineteenth and early twentieth-century German Ariosophy . The Ynglists themselves believe that their doctrine systematises ideas already contained in the original "Russian spiritual culture", and that it would be the way for saving mankind from degeneration. Shnirelman described Ynglist theology as esoteric , and, citing
32550-442: The idea of an original, universal tradition, and thus a rejection of modernity . His Traditionalist ideas strongly influenced later esotericists like Julius Evola (1898–1974), founder of the UR Group , and Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998). New religious movement A new religious movement ( NRM ), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion , is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and
32767-428: The justification of a theological esotericism, and Numenius wrote "On the Secrets of Plato" ( Peri tôn para Platoni aporrhèta ). Probably based on the "exôtikos/esôtikos" dichotomy, the Hellenic world developed the classical distinction between exoteric/esoteric, stimulated by criticism from various currents such as the Patristics . According to examples in Lucian, Galen and Clement of Alexandria , at that time it
32984-408: The kins of the great race and the descendants of the heavenly kin. The "Nine Great Warps" (Девять Великих Основ, Devyat' Velikikh Osnov ) constitute the ethical code of Ynglism which guides the "weft" of the destiny of the Aryans and their descendants towards perfection. Similarly to Theosophical beliefs, Khinevich taught that the different human races have different astral origins. Only Aryans, that
33201-399: The largest modern African initiated churches , was founded by Isaiah Shembe in South Africa. The early 20th century also saw a rise in interest in Asatru . The 1930s saw the rise of the Nation of Islam and the Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States; the rise of the Rastafari movement in Jamaica; the rise of Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo in Vietnam; the rise of Soka Gakkai in Japan; and
33418-434: The legendary Egyptian wise man, Hermes Trismegistus . In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, a number of texts attributed to Hermes Trismegistus appeared, including the Corpus Hermeticum , Asclepius , and The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth . Some still debate whether Hermeticism was a purely literary phenomenon or had communities of practitioners who acted on these ideas, but it has been established that these texts discuss
33635-409: The level of the cycle of the Sun, Yngly manifests itself as the eight gods who govern the eight phases of the year: Kolyada, Veles, Lelya, Yarilo , Kupalo, Perun, Mokosh and Marena. In their incarnated form, materially functioning as progenitors of genealogical lineages, the gods of the northern polar astral planes, especially of the Svarga , are known as "Ases" (Асов, Asov ) and they are believed by
33852-417: The life of our gods and of our generations, and therefore we sing glory to you, and day and night we praise you, now and ever from circle to circle. According to Ynglist cosmology, reality consists of three dimensions, recognised by common Rodnover cosmology as well: Prav (Правь, " Right "), Yav (Явь, "Manifested") and Nav (Навь, "Unmanifested"). The Ynglists, however, distinguish a fourth concept defining
34069-437: The majority of people are not wise. In their view, modern liberal democracies are dictatorships of the "biggest minorities", whereas ancient Slavic veche and mir were based on "consensual decision-making". The Ynglists propose the traditional Slavic principle of samoderzhavie , a word they interpret as "people ruling themselves", claimed to be the highest "true will of the people" which comes to be incarnated and exercised by
34286-410: The material world by a malevolent entity known as the Demiurge , who was served by demonic helpers, the Archons . It was the Gnostic belief that people, who were imbued with the divine light, should seek to attain gnosis and thus escape from the world of matter and rejoin the divine source. A third form of esotericism in Late Antiquity was Neoplatonism , a school of thought influenced by the ideas of
34503-413: The matrix into which the energy of Yngly becomes incarnated — the Earth, also called Midgard ("Middle-Realm") by the Ynglists according to Scandinavian terminology —, there are Rod — the archetype of humanity, progenitor of all the ancestors — and the multitude of the gods of nature. These gods are described as immutable, informational personal laws who harmoniously generate the different forms of life in
34720-453: The means of accessing higher knowledge, he highlighted two themes that he believed could be found within esotericism, that of mediation through contact with non-human entities, and individual experience. Accordingly, for Von Stuckrad, esotericism could be best understood as "a structural element of Western culture" rather than as a selection of different schools of thought. Hanegraaff proposed an additional definition that "Western esotericism"
34937-401: The meeting, was the first to mention the Baháʼí Faith in the United States. Also attending were Soyen Shaku , the "First American Ancestor" of Zen , the Theravāda Buddhist preacher Anagarika Dharmapala , and the Jain preacher Virchand Gandhi . This conference gave Asian religious teachers their first wide American audience. In 1911, the Nazareth Baptist Church , the first and one of
35154-409: The methods employed by Chinese to convert captured US soldiers to their cause in the Korean War . Lifton himself had doubts about the applicability of his brainwashing hypothesis to the techniques used by NRMs to convert recruits. A number of ex-members of various new religions have made false allegations about their experiences in such groups. For instance, in the late 1980s a man in Dublin, Ireland,
35371-471: The middle and upper-middle classes, with Barrett stating that new religions in the UK and US largely attract "white, middle-class late teens and twenties". There are exceptions, such as the Rastafari movement and the Nation of Islam, which have primarily attracted Black members. A popular conception, unsupported by evidence, holds that those who convert to new religions are either mentally ill or become so through their involvement with them. Dick Anthony ,
35588-463: The name "Asia" (the land of incarnated gods) or Rassenya (Рассеня), a term which would have evolved into "Ruthenia" and "Russia". The Ynglist author Trekhlebov claims that most of the ancient peoples of Eurasia, known by a variety of ethnonyms, were in fact ramifications of the Slavo-Aryans, and that the same term "Russians" and related ones come from the Aryan root ros meaning "radiance", "light" and "holiness". The precise area where they established
35805-436: The natural world, though in later work he also began to focus on overtly religious questions. His work gained significant support in both areas over the following centuries. One of those influenced by Paracelsus was the German cobbler Jakob Böhme (1575–1624), who sparked the Christian theosophy movement through his attempts to solve the problem of evil . Böhme argued that God had been created out of an unfathomable mystery,
36022-422: The northern celestial pole and its circumpolar stars , especially the astral images of the Big Dipper and Little Dipper, respectively parts of the Great Bear and Little Bear ; these constellations, spinning around the pole, draw the changing image of Yngly (the swastika ) in the four phases of the day and the year. The Aryans would be the incarnation in Yav of gods of such northern polar astral plane, which
36239-449: The opinion of his spiritual teacher, read what the Slavo-Aryan Vedas say about it, and ponder whether it seems reasonable in the light of his own experience. The scholar Victor Shnirelman observed that the Ynglist doctrine owes much to Slavic, Germanic, Iranian and Indian sources, but integrates gods and concepts from other cultures as well. For instance, Ynglist beliefs include the idea of reincarnation matching that of Hinduism , and
36456-400: The original Vedic doctrines. According to the prolific Ynglist writer Aleksey Trekhlebov, one of the closest disciples of Aleksandr Khinevich, the Slavic tradition offers three postulates for knowing truth: word ( slovo ), vision ( vedy ) and experience ( opyt ). It is therefore open to a certain degree of personal gnosiology : in estimating the validity of a given truth a person should listen
36673-450: The patient to full health. One of Mesmer's followers, the Marquis de Puységur , discovered that mesmeric treatment could induce a state of somnumbulic trance in which they claimed to enter visionary states and communicate with spirit beings. These somnambulic trance-states heavily influenced the esoteric religion of Spiritualism , which emerged in the United States in the 1840s and spread throughout North America and Europe. Spiritualism
36890-553: The pejorative undertones of terms like " cult " and " sect ". These are words that have been used in different ways by different groups. For instance, from the nineteenth century onward a number of sociologists used the terms "cult" and "sect" in very specific ways. The sociologist Ernst Troeltsch for instance differentiated "churches" from "sect" by claiming that the former term should apply to groups that stretch across social strata while "sects" typically contain converts from socially disadvantaged sectors of society. The term "cult"
37107-418: The philosopher Plato . Advocated by such figures as Plotinus , Porphyry , Iamblichus , and Proclus , Neoplatonism held that the human soul had fallen from its divine origins into the material world, but that it could progress, through a number of hierarchical spheres of being, to return to its divine origins once more. The later Neoplatonists performed theurgy , a ritual practice attested in such sources as
37324-471: The point that Kocku von Stuckrad stated "esoteric ontology and anthropology would hardly exist without Platonic philosophy." In his dialogues, he uses expressions that refer to cultic secrecy (for example, ἀπορρήτων , aporrhéton , one of the Ancient Greek expressions referring to the prohibition of revealing a secret, in the context of mysteries ). In Theaetetus 152c, there is an example of this concealment strategy: Can it be, then, that Protagoras
37541-561: The public, so several people described themselves as "Rosicrucian", claiming access to secret esoteric knowledge. A real initiatory brotherhood was established in late 16th-century Scotland through the transformation of Medieval stonemason guilds to include non-craftsmen: Freemasonry . Soon spreading into other parts of Europe, in England it largely rejected its esoteric character and embraced humanism and rationalism, while in France it embraced new esoteric concepts, particularly those from Christian theosophy. The Age of Enlightenment witnessed
37758-452: The reform, Christianity used the Greek-based loanword Ortodoksalnost (Ортодоксальность). The term "Russian" and related ones would derive instead from the Aryan root ros (рос), referring to "brightness" and "holiness". The definition " Old Believers " (Староверы, Starovery ), which today is employed to refer to Christians who preserved pre-Nikonian rituals, who are more correctly called the "Old Ritualists" (Старообрядцы, Staroobryadtsy ),
37975-418: The rise of Zailiism and Yiguandao in China. In the 1940s, Gerald Gardner began to outline the modern pagan religion of Wicca . New religious movements expanded in many nations in the 1950s and 1960s at the height of the counterculture movements . Japanese new religions became very popular after the Shinto Directive (1945) forced the Japanese government to separate itself from Shinto , which had been
38192-432: The same intellectual and spiritual achievements of men, who are naturally more prone to the abstract thinking that is needed for political assignments. Ynglism is critical of modern Western liberal democracy , and espouses instead an ideal of democracy that is more similar to ancient Greek democracy . According to the Ynglists, universal suffrage leads to unwise decisions and ultimately to the disruption of society, because
38409-408: The same with Ra-M-Kha, through Yngly. He is without image, like Ra-M-Kha, but Ynglists worship him through the symbol of Ra-M-Kha constituted by the three runes of its name. The protection of Rod flows through Prav, Yav and Nav, the three worlds of traditional Slavic cosmology. A hymn to Rod-Forefather declaims: Our great forefather Rod! Listen to those who call you! For you are the eternal source of
38626-536: The scholar Kennet Granholm stated only that Faivre's definition had been "the dominating paradigm for a long while" and that it "still exerts influence among scholars outside the study of Western esotericism". The advantage of Faivre's system is that it facilitates comparing varying esoteric traditions "with one another in a systematic fashion." Other scholars criticised his theory, pointing out various weaknesses. Hanegraaff claimed that Faivre's approach entailed "reasoning by prototype" in that it relied upon already having
38843-413: The scholar discourse on ancient philosophy. The categories of doctrina vulgaris and doctrina arcana are found among Cambridge Platonists . Perhaps for the first time in English, Thomas Stanley , between 1655 and 1660, would refer to the Pythagorean exoterick and esoterick . John Toland in 1720 would state that the so-called nowadays "esoteric distinction" was a universal phenomenon, present in both
39060-437: The specialised Rod of a kin, the progenitor deity of a given genealogical lineage, which provides the soul with a compatible body, context and information inherited from the blood of the ancestors, by means of which the soul may improve itself in its given situation, although the soul always has the free will for acquiring new abilities to improve itself towards Slav. The purpose of successive incarnations in different worlds of Yav
39277-534: The state. In Iran, followers of the Baháʼí Faith have faced persecution, while the Ahmadiyya have faced similar violence in Pakistan. Since 1999, the persecution of Falun Gong in China has been severe. Ethan Gutmann interviewed over 100 witnesses and estimated that 65,000 Falun Gong practitioners were killed for their organs from 2000 to 2008. In the 1930s, Christian critics of NRMs began referring to them as "cults". The 1938 book The Chaos of Cults by Jan Karel van Baalen (1890–1968), an ordained minister in
39494-492: The subject of less scholarly research. It has also been noted that scholars of new religions often avoid researching certain movements that scholars from other backgrounds study. The feminist spirituality movement is usually examined by scholars of women's studies , African-American new religions by scholars of Africana studies , and Native American new religions by scholars of Native American studies . J. Gordon Melton argued that "new religious movements" should be defined by
39711-404: The supposed "esoteric" content of which regarding the First Principles is particularly highlighted by the Tübingen School as distinct from the apparent written teachings conveyed in his books or public lectures. Hegel commented on the analysis of this distinction in the modern hermeneutics of Plato and Aristotle: To express an external object not much is required, but to communicate an idea
39928-435: The supreme God is also similar to that of Ramtha , the entity allegedly channelled by the American New Ager J. Z. Knight . A hymn to Ra-M-Kha declaims: Great Ra-M-Kha, one supreme creator, you are the one giving life to all worlds! We glorify you, generator of everything from small to great, in our temples and sanctuaries, in our settlements and graveyards, in our cities and villages, in our holy groves and in our oaks, on
40145-414: The symbol for the "defense of the native land and of the holy faith". Apart from the similarity of the names of the Ynglist Ra-M-Kha and the Indian Brahman , Brahma , and Rama , Ra-M-Kha is also identified with the ancient Egyptian concept of Ra central to the other Russian Rodnover movement of Vseyasvetnaya Gramota (the "Universal Script"). Alexey Gaidukov observed that the Ynglist name for
40362-545: The teachings of those Rodnover groups which criticised Ynglism are based on hypotheses about ancient Slavic religion. The central holy writings of the Ynglist movement are the Slavo-Aryan Vedas (Славяно-Арийские Веды, Slavyano-Ariyskiye Vedy ), purportedly ancient texts allegedly passed down generation by generation in Western Siberia, whose most ancient parts would be tens of thousands of years old. They were allegedly originally written on santy (сантии, сантьи, саньтии), tablets made of noble metals , which would now be kept in
40579-546: The tens of thousands worldwide. Most NRMs only have a few members, some of them have thousands of members, and a few of them have more than a million members. There is no single, agreed-upon criterion for defining a "new religious movement". Debate continues as to how the term "new" should be interpreted in this context. One perspective is that it should designate a religion that is more recent in its origins than large, well-established religions like Hinduism , Judaism , Buddhism , Christianity , and Islam . Some scholars view
40796-402: The term "exoteric speeches" ( ἐξωτερικοὶ λόγοι ), perhaps to refer to the speeches he gave outside his school. However, Aristotle never employed the term "esoteric" and there is no evidence that he dealt with specialized secrets; there is a dubious report by Aulus Gellius , according to which Aristotle disclosed the exoteric subjects of politics, rhetoric and ethics to the general public in
41013-464: The term has cosmological significance, referring to the order of the universe carried by the primordial fiery radiance — the Ynglia , personified as Yngly — emanated by the supreme God, Ra-M-Kha . They also call their religion "Orthodoxy" and "Old Belief". According to Ynglist history and terminology, the Slavic term for "Orthodoxy", Pravoslavie (Православие, that like the Greek counterpart precisely means "right honouring", or "honouring" [ slavit' ]
41230-427: The term provided a "useful generic label" for "a large and complicated group of historical phenomena that had long been perceived as sharing an air de famille ." Various academics have emphasised that esotericism is a phenomenon unique to the Western world. As Faivre stated, an "empirical perspective" would hold that "esotericism is a Western notion." As scholars such as Faivre and Hanegraaff have pointed out, there
41447-471: The three Rosicrucian Manifestos were published in Germany. These texts purported to represent a secret, initiatory brotherhood founded centuries before by a German adept named Christian Rosenkreutz . There is no evidence that Rosenkreutz was a genuine historical figure, nor that a Rosicrucian Order had ever existed before then. Instead, the manifestos are likely literary creations of Lutheran theologian Johann Valentin Andreae (1586–1654). They interested
41664-406: The true nature of God, emphasising that humans must transcend rational thought and worldly desires to find salvation and be reborn into a spiritual body of immaterial light, thereby achieving spiritual unity with divinity. Another tradition of esoteric thought in Late Antiquity was Gnosticism. Various Gnostic sects existed, and they broadly believed that the divine light had been imprisoned within
41881-427: The truth in his own native traditions. He has dedicated his life to the "spiritual and moral education of the Slavs, the spiritual revival of the Russians towards mental health and enlightenment"; for this purpose, he has written various Ynglist books, including The Blasphemers of Finist the Bright Falcon (Кощуны Финиста Ясного Сокола, Koshchuny Finista Yasnogo Sokola ). In Ukraine , a notable spreader of Ynglist ideas
42098-435: The unhealthy and unnatural way of life they nowadays tend to die prematurely. Every extramarital intercourse shortens man's life in three years. The Ynglist Church is known for its intensive proselytism , carried out through a "massive selling" of books, journals and other media. The Ynglists spread the content of the Slavo-Aryan Vedas , teach "Aryan mathematics" and ancient grammar, and also health techniques. They also spread
42315-429: The universe and support them in their course. They are all in accordance with the order (the Ynglia) begotten by the supreme God, but at the same time they may exceptionally intervene in the course of phenomena helping the spiritual evolution of mankind along the right path, if people are motivated by sincere creativity and love. An Ynglist dictum is that "the gods are our fathers, and we are their children". In other words,
42532-456: The use a system of " Slavo-Aryan runes " in which the original metallic sheets of the Slavo-Aryan Vedas were written. The scholar Alexey Gaidukov described Ynglism as having a well-defined hierarchic ecclesiastical structure and worship system. The Ynglist Church is led by the Pater Diy ("Divine Father", "Shining Father); from the 1990s throughout the 2020s the Pater Diy is Aleksandr Khinevich, also known as volkhv Kolovrat. The Pater Diy
42749-428: The use of "religion" within the term "new religious movements". This is because various groups, particularly active within the New Age milieu, have many traits in common with different NRMs but emphasise personal development and humanistic psychology , and are not clearly "religious" in nature. Since at least the early 2000s, most sociologists of religion have used the term "new religious movement" in order to avoid
42966-514: The view that there is "no single characteristic or set of characteristics" that all new religions share, "not even their newness." Bryan Wilson wrote, "Chief among the miss-directed assertions has been the tendency to speak of new religious movements as if they differed very little, if at all, one from another. The tendency has been to lump them together and indiscriminately attribute all of the characteristics which are, in fact, valid for only one or two." NRMs themselves often claim that they exist at
43183-404: The way dominant religious and secular forces within a given society treat them. According to him, NRMs constituted "those religious groups that have been found, from the perspective of the dominant religious community (and in the West that is almost always a form of Christianity), to be not just different, but unacceptably different." Barker cautioned against Melton's approach, arguing that negating
43400-472: The words of Aleksandr Khinevich himself, as "neither monotheistic nor polytheistic" as were the beliefs of the "early ancestors" — the Aryan race , whom Khinevich calls the "Slavo-Aryans". Ynglist theology is monistic : all the deities of nature and the entities that they generate are regarded as the manifestations of the energy emanated by the supreme universal God. According to Ynglist sources, Ynglist theology and Slavic spirituality in general may be defined as
43617-423: The work by Protestant historian of gnosticism Jacques Matter (1791–1864), Histoire critique du gnosticisme (3 vols.). The term "esotericism" thus came into use in the wake of the Age of Enlightenment and of its critique of institutionalised religion, during which alternative religious groups such as the Rosicrucians began to disassociate themselves from the dominant Christianity in Western Europe. During
43834-399: The yellow and the red races , by hybridising with them. Aleksandr Khinevich stressed that Ynglism is a religion exclusively for white people. The gods of the Bright Nav when incarnated in Yav are known as Ases, and they are the progenitors of all the kins of the Aryans and the Slavs, the heavenly kin. The Slavo-Aryan kins are subdivided into four major lineages: the Aryans are subdivided into
44051-668: Was Faivre, who published a series of criteria for how to define "Western esotericism" in 1992. Faivre claimed that esotericism was "identifiable by the presence of six fundamental characteristics or components", four of which were "intrinsic" and thus vital to defining something as being esoteric, while the other two were "secondary" and thus not necessarily present in every form of esotericism. He listed these characteristics as follows: Faivre's form of categorisation has been endorsed by scholars like Goodrick-Clarke, and by 2007 Bogdan could note that Faivre's had become "the standard definition" of Western esotericism in use among scholars. In 2013
44268-401: Was Volodymyr Kurovskyi, who contributed to the making of the documentary Igra Bogov ("Play of Gods"). According to the Ynglists, their beliefs represent the original religion of the Aryan race , which was preserved in the purest and most detailed forms by the Slavs and the Iranians , while the Indo-Aryans who migrated into the Indian subcontinent mixed with native Indians and corrupted
44485-483: Was a common practice among philosophers to keep secret writings and teachings. A parallel secrecy and reserved elite was also found in the contemporary environment of Gnosticism . Later, Iamblichus would present his definition (close to the modern one), as he classified the ancient Pythagoreans as either "exoteric" mathematicians or "esoteric" acousmatics, the latter being those who disseminated enigmatic teachings and hidden allegorical meanings. 'Western esotericism'
44702-438: Was a very ingenious person who threw out this obscure utterance for the unwashed like us but reserved the truth as a secret doctrine (ἐν ἀπορρήτῳ τὴν ἀλήθειαν) to be revealed to his disciples? The Neoplatonists intensified the search for a "hidden truth" under the surface of teachings, myths and texts, developing the hermeneutics and allegorical exegesis of Plato , Homer , Orpheus and others. Plutarch, for example, developed
44919-400: Was based on the concept that individuals could communicate with spirits of the deceased during séances . Most forms of Spiritualism had little theoretical depth, being largely practical affairs—but full theological worldviews based on the movement were articulated by Andrew Jackson Davis (1826–1910) and Allan Kardec (1804–1869). Scientific interest in the claims of Spiritualism resulted in
45136-501: Was critical of this approach, believing that it relegated Western esotericism to the position of "a casualty of positivist and materialist perspectives in the nineteenth-century" and thus reinforces the idea that Western esoteric traditions were of little historical importance. Bogdan similarly expressed concern regarding Hanegraaff's definition, believing that it made the category of Western esotericism "all inclusive" and thus analytically useless. The origins of Western esotericism are in
45353-408: Was expanded in the work of the German Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa (1486–1535/36), who used it as a framework to explore the philosophical and scientific traditions of Antiquity in his work De occulta philosophia libri tres . The work of Agrippa and other esoteric philosophers had been based in a pre-Copernican worldview, but following the arguments of Copernicus , a more accurate understanding of
45570-444: Was founded in England. It and some other NRMs have been called UFO religions because they combine the belief in extraterrestrial life with traditional religious principles. In 1965, Paul Twitchell founded Eckankar , an NRM derived partially from Sant Mat . In 1966, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) was founded in the United States by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada , and Anton LaVey founded
45787-432: Was imposed on the latter during the same Nikonian reform. Their previous name was "Righteous Christians" (Праведные Христиане, Pravednye Khristiane ), and "Old Believers" referred instead to indigenous Slavic religion. According to the Ynglists, these theories would be proven by 13th-century documents preserved by a sect of the Christian Old Believers. Aleksandr Y. Khinevich (b. 1961) is a native of Omsk and graduated from
46004-447: Was not a full-fledged cooperation with the Peterburgian Vedists, and they never accepted the Slavo-Aryan Vedas of Ynglism, Khinevich reportedly took inspiration from Peterburgian Vedism and reprinted many materials of the Union of Wends. In the 2000s, Nikolay Viktorovich Levashov (1961–2012), after having elaborated his own teachings widely based upon Ynglism, established another organised Rodnover current, Levashovism , which recognises
46221-425: Was seen as a "crucial identity marker" for any intellectuals seeking to affiliate themselves with the academy. Scholars established this category in the late 18th century after identifying "structural similarities" between "the ideas and world views of a wide variety of thinkers and movements" that, previously, had not been in the same analytical grouping. According to the scholar of esotericism Wouter J. Hanegraaff,
46438-463: Was that many of those currents widely recognised as esoteric never concealed their teachings, and in the 20th century came to permeate popular culture, thus problematizing the claim that esotericism could be defined by its hidden and secretive nature. He noted that when scholars adopt this definition, it shows that they subscribe to the religious doctrines espoused by the very groups they are studying. Another approach to Western esotericism treats it as
46655-534: Was the location of the capital "Asgard the Great" or "Asgard of Iriy" of the Aryan spiritual civilisation, and it is the place where the salvation of all humanity begins. In Okunevo , in the same region of Omsk, was located an important religious centre, where, according to Ynglist beliefs, original Aryan knowledge was preserved even in times of Christianisation and secretly passed down generation by generation eventually coming to Aleksandr Khinevich himself. The Ynglist chronological account of history begins either with
46872-428: Was the religion of New Thought , founded by the American mesmerist Phineas P. Quimby (1802–1866). It revolved around the concept of " mind over matter "—believing that illness and other negative conditions could be cured through the power of belief. In Europe, a movement usually termed occultism emerged as various figures attempted to find a "third way" between Christianity and positivist science while building on
47089-509: Was translated and used by several American authors, including Jacob Needleman , to describe the range of groups that appeared in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1960s. This term, amongst others, was adopted by Western scholars as an alternative to "cult". However, "new religious movements" has failed to gain widespread public usage in the manner that "cult" has. Other terms that have been employed for many NRMs are "alternative religion" and "alternative spirituality", something used to convey
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