This page groups religions by whether they are open to anyone who wishes to join or reserved for a closely defined community. Wikipedia notes that while some religions claim to be universal, "others are intended to be practiced only by a closely defined or localized group." Browsing this way separates missionary faiths that actively seek converts from traditions that restrict who may take part.
Facts
Overview
What Defines This GroupingReligions founded in the modern era, usually around a living founder and a new revelation or a new reading of an old one. The label describes age and origin and passes no judgement on legitimacy. 2 Status
Standing as a Comparative CategoryA standard category in the sociology of religion, adopted deliberately from the 1970s in place of cult, which had come to deliver a verdict rather than a description. 2 Learn More
New religious movements
This group gathers new religious movements: religions and spiritual movements that emerged in the modern period, typically in the nineteenth, twentieth or twenty-first centuries, often around a founder, a new revelation or a fresh synthesis of older sources.
The browser will find a varied set of movements, ranging from established faiths to small and sometimes controversial groups. The atlas describes each in its own terms, records its documented history, and notes controversy where it is well attested, without either endorsing or dismissing.
Closed Practice Status
Sources
1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Tree
2. New Religious Movements: A Practical Introduction
Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptions
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