New religious converts experience many ups and downs before and after conversion and acquire a new and alternative understanding of religion and religiosity. The paper seeks to examine their ...spiritual experiences before and after converting to NSMs and answer this question: what factors and experiences led to the emergence of such a transformation in their religious life? For this purpose, we examined the narratives of people who had converted to NSMs in Iran using narrative interviews and narrative analysis methods. The findings show that such factors and experiences as the imposition of the official and superficial interpretation of religion, the experience of deprivation in one's personal and social life, distressing experiences of encounters with evil, and the search for meaning all brought about changes in people's religious loyalties. We also identified the most meaningful aspects of the spiritual transformation of the studied converts to NSMs, these promoting "Autonomous Religiosity" over "Heteronomous Religiosity". By examining their narratives, we discovered the following coordinates as the most critical manifestations of their spiritual transformation: adherence to beliefs and rituals in early religious life; the reduction of religion to inner spirituality; anti-superficial esotericism; and maximum tolerance in all aspects of religiosity
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
While Iranian culture has long enjoyed valuable works in the field of spirituality and mysticism, currently, we are witnessing the spread of new religious movements. Increasing attention to ...spirituality has led some researchers to focus exclusively on the similarities between the teachings of the nascent spiritual movements and those of Islamic mysticism, which could have serious consequences. Taking that into consideration, and with the aim of depicting the conflicts between the teachings of the new religious movements and Islamic spirituality and mysticism, the present study addresses Osho’s teachings, as the founder of one of the nascent spiritual movements, and examines his views regarding the existence of God and the possibility and ways of knowing Him, as the most important concern of humankind. To illustrate the dissimilarities between his viewpoints and those of Muslim mystics, his teachings in this field are also compared with Rumi’s, as one of the true representatives of Islamic mysticism and spirituality. The findings of this research reveal fundamental differences between the views of Osho and Rumi’s. Lack of coherence in his view of the existence of God, as well as his different perceptions of notions such as love, freedom, and self-knowledge as ways of knowing God, which stand in contrast with the teachings of Rumi, support this issue. This seems to be due to their different origins of thoughts because unlike Osho that clearly denies the divine religions, Rumi's beliefs are rooted in the teachings of Islam.
New Age, Neopagan, and New Religious Movementsis the most extensive study to date of modern American alternative spiritual currents. Hugh B. Urban covers a range of emerging religions from the ...mid-nineteenth century to the present, including the Nation of Islam, Mormonism, Scientology, ISKCON, Wicca, the Church of Satan, Peoples Temple, and the Branch Davidians. This essential text engages students by addressing major theoretical and methodological issues in the study of new religions and is organized to guide students in their learning. Each chapter focuses on one important issue involving a particular faith group, providing readers with examples that illustrate larger issues in the study of religion and American culture.Urban addresses such questions as, Why has there been such a tremendous proliferation of new spiritual forms in the past 150 years, even as our society has become increasingly rational, scientific, technological, and secular? Why has the United States become the heartland for the explosion of new religious movements? How do we deal with complex legal debates, such as the use of peyote by the Native American Church or the practice of plural marriage by some Mormon communities? And how do we navigate issues of religious freedom and privacy in an age of religious violence, terrorism, and government surveillance?
Rad donosi promišljanja o ulozi kršćanstva u obnovi suvremene kulture. Glavna okosnica istraživanja je događaj Duhova, opisan u Djelima apostolskim, koji predočuje ujedinjenje svetog i sekularnog ...obnovom zajedničkog razumijevanja i doživljavanja. Objava Boga koju razglašava prva Crkva jest kontrapozicija narušenu jedinstvu opisanom u događaju Babilona. Duhovi, kao model obnove jedinstva čovječanstva, prototip su svakog kršćanskog navještaja, a na njega se uvelike oslanja i Drugi vatikanski koncil. Posebna pozornost u ovom radu posvećena je viziji »koncilskog kršćanstva« u radovima Željka Mardešića koji nude prvorazredni teološki korpus na crti koncilske obnove. Kršćanstvo, kako ga vidi Mardešić, odmaknuto je od bilo kakvog projekta ideologizacije, politizacije ili sekularizacije. Krize vjere modernog vremena nastale su uvelike zbog neadekvatnog odnosa prema tim izazovima. Kao simptom te krize pojavljuju se i novi duhovni pokreti, oblik eklektične i neobvezne duhovnosti koja postaje konkurent institucionaliziranim religijama. U zaključku rada posvješćuje se potreba obnove evangelizacije i dijaloga sa svijetom koji ne bi trebao biti niti osuđivački niti mimikrijski, već zreo, autentičan, nadahnut, optimističan i ispunjen dubokim povjerenjem u personalizam i slobodu.
