religion has been truly affected by new religious movements that are in fact obscuring some of the main components of faith that religion has stood on for hundreds of years, however there are those that fell that though modernization has taken hold and there is a new religious movement old beliefs still stand strong.

Researchers have discussed the new religious movement as modernity at its worse. Dawson reported that religions tend to be categorized as either traditional in form and hence no longer relevant, or changed in ways that make them more relevant yet less truly religious. These interpretive options are plausible to a point. However, the reality is more complex, especially with regard to new religious movements (NRMs). If there is an affinity of consequence, is it indicative of an even more fundamental correspondence between various NRMs and sweeping changes in the very structure of contemporary life? If so, we can imagine new religions that are adapted to modern social life and still intrinsically religious; several of the most direct attempts to address the socio-cultural significance of NRMs have pursued similar lines of analysis. They have tended, however, to remain tied to the restrictive interpretive options set in place by earlier thinkers preoccupied with the issue of secularization. In part, this is because they lacked a sufficiently comprehensive and detailed understanding of the nature of the changes gripping late modern societies. (69)

It is evident that religion still stands strong regardless of new religious movements; all that has happened is that there are individuals that view religion from a different perspective now than they may have previously, and that in fact may not be such a bad thing. Researchers also say that this new wave is bringing people into various religions that have not previously been associated with before. Depends on ones view whether that is positive or negative.

Works Cited

Dawson, Lorne L. "Chapter 3 the Sociocultural Significance of Modern New Religious Movements." The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements. Ed. James R. Lewis. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. 68-93.