New Religions
NEW AGE & NEO-PAGANISM
New Age thought and neo-paganism share the following similarity: Both are fairly amorphous, without either sacred texts or authoritative hierarchies; both find Christianity inadequate for their spiritual needs; and both emphasize tolerance and personal freedom. Indeed, many neo-pagans can be classified as New Age, and vice versa. Nonetheless, there are important differences.
THE NEW AGE BELONGS TO THE INDO-CHINESE TRADITION
Believers in the New Age emphasize consciousness-expanding. They practice meditation and they attend seminars in personal growth. They believe in past lives and in Chinese rather than Western medicine. (These are merely generalizations, of course.)
NEO-PAGANISM BELONGS TO THE EURO-MIDEASTERN TRADITION
Neo-pagans believe that they are reviving the religion of the Druids, which involved nature-worship. The most prominent strand of neo-paganism is Wicca (witchcraft), which involves outdoor celebrations of the solstices and equinoxes. It is thus influenced by religious practices in pre-Christian Europe.
It also involves a repudiation of Original Sin and the Christian ethic of self-denial, emphasizing the importance of human happiness and pleasure. In its self-conscious reaction to Christianity, it belongs to the Middle Eastern tradition. In this respect, it resembles Satanism.
OTHER NEW RELIGIONS
There are other new religions that do not stem out of any of the old traditions, for example Scientology.
And then there are religious groups that are violent and dangerous.