List of new religious movements
A new religious movement is a religious or spiritual group or community with practices of relatively modern origins. NRMs may be novel in origin or they may exist on the fringes of a wider religion, in which case they will be distinct from pre-existing denominations. Academics identify a variety of characteristics which they employ in categorizing groups as new religious movements. The term is broad and inclusive, rather than sharply defined. New religious movements are generally seen as syncretic, employing human and material assets to disseminate their ideas and worldviews, deviating in some degree from a society's traditional forms or doctrines, focused especially upon the self, and having a peripheral relationship that exists in a state of tension with established societal conventions.
A NRM may be one of a wide range of movements ranging from those with loose affiliations based on novel approaches to spirituality or religion to communitarian enterprises that demand a considerable amount of group conformity and a social identity that separates their adherents from mainstream society. Use of the term NRM is not universally accepted among the groups to which it is applied. Scholars have estimated that NRMs now number in the tens of thousands worldwide. Most have only a few members, some have thousands, and very few have more than a million. Academics occasionally propose amendments to technical definitions and continue to add new groups.
List
| Name | Founder | Founded | Type | References |
| 3HO | Harbhajan Singh Khalsa | 1969 | Sikh | |
| Adidam, previously the Free Daist Communion, Dawn Horse Fellowship, etc. | Adi Da | 1972 | Neo-Hindu-inspired | |
| Adonai-Shomo | Frederick T. Howland | 1861 | Adventist Communalist | |
| Adonism | Franz Sättler | 1925 | Modern Pagan | |
| Adventures in Enlightenment, A Foundation | Terry Cole-Whittaker | 1985 | Religious Science | |
| Aetherius Society | George King | 1954 | UFO-Christian | |
| The African Church | Jacob Kehinde Coker | 1901 | Anglican | |
| African initiated churches | Multiple | 1800s | Syncretic Christian-Indigenous | |
| African Theological Archministry, previously the Order of Damballah Hwedo Ancestor Priests, Shango Temple, and Yoruba Temple | Walter Eugene King | 1973 | Afro-American West African Vodun | |
| Agasha Temple of Wisdom | Richard Zenor | 1943 | Spiritualism | |
| Agni Yoga | Helena Roerich & Nicholas Roerich | 1920 | Neo-Theosophical | |
| Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light | Abdullah Hashem | 2015 | Shia Islam Millenarianism | |
| Ahmadiyya | Mirza Ghulam Ahmad | 1889 | Messianic Islam | |
| Aiyy Faith, previously Kut-Siur | Lazar Afanasyev | 1990 | Modern Pagan Neo-Tengrist | |
| Aladura | Josiah Ositelu | 1930 | Pentecostal | |
| Alamo Christian Foundation, Alamo Christian Church, Consecrated, Alamo Christian Ministries, and Music Square Church | Tony Alamo & Susan Alamo | 1969 | Fundamentalist Christianity Communalist | |
| Altruria | Edward Biron Payne | 1894 | Christian Communal | |
| American Buddhist Movement | 1980 | Western Buddhism | ||
| American Buddhist Society and Fellowship, Inc. | Robert Ernest Dickhoff | 1945 | Tibetan Buddhism | |
| American World Patriarchs | Uladyslau Ryzy-Ryski | 1972 | Eastern Orthodox | |
| Amica Temple of Radiance | Ivah Berg Whitten | 1932 | Neo-Theosophical | |
| Ananda Ashrama | Paramananda | 1923 | Neo-Hindu Neo-Vedanta | |
| Ananda Marga | Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar | 1955 | Neo-Hindu Tantric | |
| Ananda movement, including Ananda World Brotherhood Colonies and Ananda Church of Self-Realization | Kriyananda | 1968 | Neo-Hindu Self-Realization Fellowship | |
| Shree Shree Anandamayee Sangha | Anandamayi Ma | 1920s | Neo-Hindu | |
| Ancient British Church in North America | Jonathan V. Zotique | 1976 | LGBTQ-oriented Christianity Progressive Christianity | |
| Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis | H. Spencer Lewis | 1915 | Rosicrucianism | |
| Ancient Teachings of the Masters | Darwin Gross | 1983 | Sant Mat Eckankar | |
| Anglo-Saxon Federation of America | Howard B. Rand | 1928 | British Israelism | |
| Ansaaru Allah Community | Dwight York | late 1960s | Black Islam | |
| Ant Hill Kids, Holy Moses Mountain Family | Roch Thériault | 1977 | Seventh-day Adventist | |
| Anthroposophy | Rudolf Steiner | 1912 | Western esotericism | |
| Antiochian Catholic Church in America | Gordon Mar Peter | 1980s | Independent Catholicism Monophysitism | |
| Antoinism | Louis-Joseph Antoine | 1910 | Christianity Faith healing | |
| Apostles of Infinite Love, the Order of Magnificat of the Mother of God | Michel Collin & Jean-Gaston Tremblay | 1961 | Catholic | |
| Apostolic Christian Church | Samuel Heinrich Froehlich | 1906 | European Free church | |
| Apostolic Christian Church of America | Samuel Heinrich Froehlich | 1830 | European Free church | |
| Apostolic Church | Daniel Powell Williams | 1916 | Pentecostal | |
| Apostolic Church of Christ | Johnnie Draft & Wallace Snow | 1969 | Oneness Pentecostalism | |
| Apostolic Overcoming Holy Church of God | William Thomas Phillips | 1920 | Oneness Pentecostalism | |
| Arcane School, a.k.a. Lucis Trust | Foster & Alice Bailey | 1923 or 1937 | Neo-Theosophical | |
| Arica School | Oscar Ichazo | 1968 | Sufism | |
| Art of Living Foundation, a.k.a. the Association for Inner Growth and "Ved Vignan Maha Vidya Preeth" | Ravi Shankar | 1981/1982 | Neo-Hindu | |
| Arya Samaj | Dayananda Saraswati | 1875 | Neo-Hindu | |
| Aryan Nations, the Church of Jesus Christ–Christian | Wesley Swift | late 1940s | British Israelism Christian Identity | |
| Asatru Folk Assembly | Stephen McNallen | 1970s | Modern Pagan Polytheistic reconstructionism Heathenry | |
| Assemblies of God | merger | 1914 | Pentecostalism | |
| Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ | merger | 1952 | Oneness Pentecostalism | |
| Assembly of Christian Soldiers | Jessie L. Thrift | 1971 | Christian Identity Ku Klux Klan | |
| Assembly of Man | Franklin Merrell-Wolff | 1928 | Eastern and Western esotericism | |
| Association for Research and Enlightenment | Edgar Cayce | 1931 | Occult | |
| Association of Vineyard Churches, the Vineyard Movement | John Wimber | 1982 | Neo-charismatic Trinitarian Pentecostal | |
| Aumism | Gilbert Bourdin | 1969 | Syncretic esotericism-Hinduism | |
| Aum Shinrikyo, Aleph | Shoko Asahara | 1987 | Japanese Japanese Buddhism | |
| Ausar Auset Society | R.A. Straughn | mid-1970s | Rosicrucianism | |
| Azalism, a.k.a. Azali Babism | Subh-i-Azal | 1863 | Babism | |
| Bábism | Ali Muhammad Shirazi | 1844 | Shia Islam Millenarianism | |
| Baháʼí Faith | Bahá'u'lláh | 1863 | Millenarian Babism | |
| Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship | Bawa Muhaiyaddeen | 1971 | Sufism | |
| Bethel Ministerial Association | Albert Franklin Varnell | 1934 | Oneness Pentecostalism | |
| Bible Presbyterian Church | Carl McIntire | 1938 | Reformed Presbyterian | |
| Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ | schism | 1957 | Oneness Pentecostalism | |
| Biosophy | Ignaz Paul Vitalis Troxler, F. W. J. Schelling | 1806 | ||
| Blackburn Cult, the Divine Order of the Royal Arms of the Great Eleven | May Otis Blackburn | 1922 | Modern Pagan New Thought | |
| Brahma Kumaris | Dada Lekhraj | 1936/1937 | Neo-Hindu | |
| Brahmo Samaj, Adi Dharm | Ram Mohan Roy | 1828 | Neo-Hindu Unitarian Universalism | |
| Brahmoism | Debendranath Tagore | 1848 or 1850 | Neo-Hindu Unitarian Universalism | |
| Branch Davidians | Benjamin Roden | 1930 | Seventh-day Adventist Shepherd's Rod | |
| Branhamism | William M. Branham | 1951 | Oneness Pentecostalism | |
| Inedia, Breatharianism | Wiley Brooks | 1970s | Hinduism-influenced | |
| The Brethren, a.k.a. The Body of Christ and The Garbage Eaters | Jimmie T. Roberts | Unclassified Christianity | ||
| British Israelism, a.k.a. Anglo-Israelism | 1870s | |||
| Brotherhood of the Golden Arrow | Maria de Naglowska | 1932 | Occult Western esotericism Satanism | |
| Bruderhof, a.k.a. the Hutterian Brethren and Hutterian Society of Brothers | Eberhard Arnold | Communalist | ||
| Brunstad Christian Church | Johan Oscar Smith | 1905 | Evangelical nondenominational Christianity | |
| Builders of the Adytum | Paul Foster Case | 1922 | Ritual magic | |
| Burkhanism or Ak Jang | Chet Chelpan; Chugul Sarok Chandyk | 1904 | Altaian Millenarian-Indigenist Tengrist | |
| Cao Dai, a.k.a. Dai Dao Tam Ky Pho Do | Ngô Văn Chiêu & Lê Văn Trung | 1919 | Syncretistic Vietnamese millenarianism | |
| Cargo cults | 1885 | Syncretistic Millenarian-Indigenist | ||
| Carlebach movement | Shlomo Carlebach | late 1960s | Neo-Hasidic Rabbinic Judaism | |
| Celestial Church of Christ | Samuel Oshoffa | 1947 | Indigenist Pentecostal | |
| The Centers Network | 1981 | |||
| Chabad, a.k.a. Chabad-Lubavitch | Shneur Zalman of Liadi | 1775 | Hasidic Rabbinic Judaism | |
| Charismatic Movement, neo-Pentecostalism | 1950s–1960s | Charismatic Christianity | ||
| Chen Tao, a.k.a. God's Salvation Church and God Saves the Earth Flying Saucer Foundation | Hon-Ming Chen | 1955 | UFO religion | |
| Cheondoism, a.k.a. Chendogyo | Choe Je-u | 1905 | ||
| Cherubim and Seraphim, a.k.a. the Sacred Cherubim and Seraphim Society and Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim | Moses Orimolade Tunolase | African Pentecostal | ||
| Children of Thunder | Glenn Helzer | 2000 | Latter-day Saint Movement | |
| Christ Apostolic Church | Joseph Ayo Babalola | 1941 | Pentecostal | |
| Christadelphians, a.k.a. Thomasites | John Thomas | 1844 | Baptist Restorationism | |
| The Christian Community, a.k.a. the Christian Community Church and Christengemeinschaft | Rudolf Steiner Friedrich Rittelmeyer | 1922 | Anthroposophy | |
| Christian Identity, a.k.a. the Identity Movement | 1870s | 1940s | British Israelism | |
| Christian Reformed Church in North America | Gijsbert Haan | 1857 | Reformed Presbyterian | |
| Christian Science, a.k.a. Church of Christ, Scientist | Mary Baker Eddy | 1876 | Christianity Faith healing New Thought | |
| Christian World Liberation Front, a.k.a. the Spiritual Counterfeits Project | Jack Sparks, Fred Dyson, & Pat Matrisciana | 1969 | Fundamentalist Christianity Millenarianism | |
| Church of All Worlds | Tim Zell & Lance Christie | 1962 | Witchcraft Modern Pagan | |
| Church of Aphrodite | Gleb Botkin | 1938 | Modern Pagan Goddess movement | |
| Church of Bible Understanding | Stewart Traill | 1971 | Adventism Fundamentalist Christianity | |
| Church of Euthanasia | Chris Korda & Robert Kimberk | 1992 | Parody religion | |
| Church of Daniel's Band | 1893 | Non-Episcopal Methodism | ||
| Church of Divine Science | Malinda Cramer | 1888 | New Thought Faith healing | |
| Church of God in Christ | Charles Harrison Mason | 1908 | Pentecostal | |
| The Church of God | Grady R. Kent | 1957 | White Trinitarian Holiness movement Pentecostal | |
| Church of God Mountain Assembly | J.H. Parks, Steve N. Bryant, Tom Moses and William O. Douglas | 1906 | White Trinitarian Holiness movement Pentecostal | |
| Church of God of Prophecy | Ambrose Tomlinson | 1903 | White Trinitarian Holiness movement Pentecostal | |
| Church of God with Signs Following | George Went Hensley | 1920s | Holiness-Pentecostal | |
| Church of Israel | Dan Gayman | 1974 | British Israelism | |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Joseph Smith | 1830 | Latter-day Saint movement-Millenarian | |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints | Joseph Smith James Strang | 1844 | Latter-day Saint movement | |
| The Church of Light | C.C. Zain | 1932 | neo-Hermetism | |
| Church of Satan | Anton LaVey | 1966 | Satanic | |
| Church of the SubGenius | J.R. "Bob" Dobbs | 1979 | Parody | |
| Church of the Creator | Grace Marama URI | 1969 | Liberal family | |
| Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Pastafarianism | Bobby Henderson | 2005 | Parody | |
| Church of the Living Word, a.k.a. The Walk | John Robert Stevens | 1954 | Fundamentalist Occult | |
| Church of the Lord | Josiah Ositelu | 1930 | Pentecostal Family | |
| Church of World Messianity | Mokichi Okada | 1934 | Shinto Faith healing | |
| Church Universal and Triumphant | Mark Prophet, Elizabeth Clare Prophet | 1958 | Theosophical Occult | |
| Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles, also known as CARP | Sun Myung Moon | 1955 | Unification Church | |
| Commandment Keepers: Holy Church of the Living God | Arnold Josiah Ford | 1924 | Black Judaism | |
| Community Chapel and Bible Training Center | Donald Lee Barnett | 1967 | Latter Rain Pentecostal | |
| Concerned Christians | Monte Kim Miller | 1980s | ||
| Conservative Judaism | Sabato Morais, Marcus Jastrow, H. Pereira Mendes | 1887 | Rabbinic Judaism | |
| Core Shamanism, The Foundation for Shamanic Studies | Michael Harner | 1980 | Neoshamanism | |
| Covenant of the Goddess | merger | 1975 | Goddess Neopagan witchcraft Modern Pagan Wiccan | |
| Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans | Margot Adler | 1987 | Neopagan witchcraft Modern Pagan | |
| The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord | James D. Ellison | 1970s, mid | British Israelism | |
| Creativity | Ben Klassen | 1970s, early | Pantheism, Agnostic Atheism, White Racialism | |
| Crossroads Movement | 1970s | |||
| Cyberchurches | 2000s, early | Non-denominational Christian | ||
| Dalit Buddhist Movement, a.k.a. Navayana Buddhism | B.R. Ambedkar | 1956 | Neo-Buddhism | |
| Dances of Universal Peace | Samuel L. Lewis | 1968 | ||
| Diamond Way | Ole Nydahl | 1972 | Tibetan Buddhism, New Age, | |
| Dianic Wicca | merger | 1971 | Neopagan witchcraft Modern Pagan Goddess Wiccan | |
| Discordianism | Greg Hill, Kerry Wendell Thornley | 1963 | Absurdism Greek Mythology | |
| Eastern Lightning, a.k.a. the Church of Almighty God | Yang Xiangbin, Zhao Weishan | 1991 | Chinese house churches | |
| Eckankar or ECK | Paul Twitchell | 1965/1971 | Derived from Radha Soami, but denies connection | |
| Efficacious Spirit Teachings, a.k.a. Spirit Church and The Lingling Sect | Hua Xuehe | 1986 | Pentecostalism | |
| Elan Vital, formerly Divine Light Mission | Hans Ji Maharaj | 1920s | Derived from Sant Mat, but denies connection | |
| Emin | Raymond Armin | 1971 | New Age | |
| End Time Survivors Jesus Christians | David McKay | 1981 | Fundamentalist Millennialism | |
| Esoteric Nazism | 1940s, late | Occult Western esotericism | ||
| Est | Werner Erhard | 1981 | Human Potential Movement Self religions | |
| Evangelical Association of the Israelite Mission of the New Universal Covenant | Ezequiel Ataucusi Gamonal | 1968 | Syncretistic Messianic Judaism-Indigenist | |
| Evangelical Methodist Church | J.H. Hamblen | 1946 | Non-Episcopal Methodist | |
| Falun Gong | Li Hongzhi | 1992 | Qigong movement | |
| The Family, a.k.a. Santiniketan Park Association & Great White Brotherhood | Anne Hamilton-Byrne | 1963 | New Age | |
| Family International, previously the Children of God, the Family of Love and the Family | David Berg | 1968 | Fundamentalist, Jesus movement, countercultural evangelical | |
| Fellowship of Isis | Olivia Robertson | 1976 | Modern Pagan Goddess | |
| Fellowships of the Remnant | Denver Snuffer Jr. | 2013 | Latter-day Saint Movement | |
| Feraferia | Frederick Adams | 1967 | Modern Pagan Goddess | |
| Feri Tradition | Victor Henry Anderson, Cora Anderson | 1960, circa | Goddess Neopagan witchcraft Modern Pagan Wiccan | |
| Findhorn Foundation | Eileen Caddy, Peter Caddy, Alexis Edwards, Roger Benson | 1963 | Christian-Anthroposophistical-Rosicrucian | |
| Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas | W.E. Fuller | 1898 | Black Trinitarian Pentecostal | |
| First Satanic Church | Karla LaVey | 1997 | Satanic | |
| Followers of Christ | Marion Reece | 1800s, late | Unclassified Pentecostal | |
| Fourth Way | George Gurdjieff | 1913–1916 | Esoteric Esoteric Sufism | |
| Fraternitas Rosae Crucis | Paschal Beverly Randolph | 1858 | Rosicrucianism | |
| Fraternity of the Inner Light | Dion Fortune | 1924 | neo-Hermeticism Esoteric Christianity | |
| Freedomites | 1902 | |||
| Fundamentalist Christianity | 1800s, late | Christian | ||
| Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints | Lorin C. Woolley | 1929 | Latter-day Saint Movement | |
| General Church of the New Jerusalem | schism | 1890 | Swedenborgianism | |
| The Genesis II Church of Health and Healing | Jim Humble | 2009/2010 | UFO-New Age inspired Pseudoscience | |
| Gentle Wind Project | John "Tubby" Miller and Mary "Moe" Miller | 1980 | Spiritualism | |
| Ghost Dance | Wovoka | 1889 | Native American Indigenist Fundamentalist | |
| Global Peace Foundation | Hyun Jin Moon | 2007 | Unification Church | |
| Goddess movement | 1960s,late | Modern Pagan | ||
| Godianism, a.k.a. Chiism | K.O.K. Onyioha | 1949 | African Indigenist Modern Pagan | |
| Grail Movement | Oskar Ernst Bernhardt | 1924 | Syncretistic Christian New Age Channeling | |
| Hanuman Foundation | Richard Alpert | 1974/1980 | Neo-Hindu | |
| Happy Science | Ryuho Okawa | 1986 | Japanese | |
| Heaven's Gate formerly Human Individual Metamorphosis and Total Overcomers Anonymous | Marshall Herff Applewhite, Bonnie Lu Nettles | 1973 | Syncretistic Christian New Age UFO religion | |
| Hikari no Wa | Fumihiro Joyu | 2007 | Aum Shinrikyo | |
| Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy | Swami Rama | 1971 | Hindu | |
| House of Israel | David Hill a.k.a. Rabbi Edward Washington | 1972 | Black Hebrew Israelites | |
| Humanistic Judaism | Sherwin Wine | 1965 | Nontheistic Rabbinic Judaism | |
| Human Sacrifices Sect of Nacozari | Silvia Meraz | 2009 | Santa Muerte | |
| Huna | Max Freedom Long | 1936 | New Thought New Age Hawaiian religion | |
| I AM Activity | Guy Ballard, Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard | 1930s, early | Neo-Theosophical | |
| Iglesia ni Cristo | Felix Manalo | 1913, formally 1914 | Restorationism Nontrinitarian Fundamentalist | |
| Independent Fundamental Churches of America | R. Lee Kirkland | 1922 | Unaffiliated Fundamentalist | |
| Indian Shaker Church | John and Marry Slocum | 1881 | Native American and Christian | |
| Insight Meditation Society | Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein | 1976 | Theravada | |
| International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Hare Krishna movement | A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada | 1966 | Hindu | |
| International House of Prayer, a.k.a. IHOP or IHOPKC | Mike Bickle | 1999 | Charismatic Movement Post-tribulational Historic premillennialism | |
| International Church of the Foursquare Gospel | Aimee Semple McPherson | 1923 | White Trinitarian Pentecostal | |
| International Community of Christ, Church of the Second Advent and Jamilians | Eugene Douglas Savoy | 1972 | New Age | |
| Iriadamant | Pierre Doris Maltais | 1973 | Animism Native American Spiritual ecology | |
| Isha Foundation | Jaggi Vasudev | 1992 | Hindu | |
| ISKCON Revival Movement | ? | 2000 | Neo-Hindu ISKCON | |
| Ivanovism | Porfiry Ivanov | 1933 | Syncretistic Modern Pagan Slavic Native Faith | |
| Jediism | 2000s | Star Wars-inspired New Age | ||
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Charles Taze Russell | 1870 | Adventist Bible Students Nontrinitarian | |
| Jesus Army, "Jesus Fellowship Church" and "Bugbrooke Jesus Fellowship" | Noel Stanton | 1977 | Fundamentalist Communal | |
| Jesus Movement | 1960s, late | Fundamentalist | ||
| Jewish Renewal | Zalman Schachter-Shalomi | 1970s, mid | Neo-Hasidic Rabbinic Judaism Syncretistic | |
| Jews for Jesus | Moishe Rosen | 1970 | Fundamentalist Messianic Judaism | |
| John Frum | 1936 | Syncretistic Millenarian | ||
| Kabbalah Centre | Philip Berg | 1970s | Kabbalist New Age | |
| Karma Triyana Dharmachakra | the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa | 1976 | Tibetan Buddhism | |
| Keetoowah Society | Redbird Smith | 1858 | Native American Indigenist | |
| Kemetic Orthodoxy | Tamara Siuda | 1988 | Modern Pagan Polytheistic reconstructionism Kemetic | |
| Kerista | John Presmont | 1956 | Communal—After 1960 | |
| Kopimism | Isak Gerson | 2012 | Internet religion | |
| Konkokyo | Bunjirō Kawate | 1859 | Japanese Shinto | |
| Krishnamurti Foundations | Jiddu Krishnamurti | 1928 | Neo-Theosophical Universalism | |
| Kripalu Center | Amrit Desai | 1966 | Hindu | |
| Lama Foundation | Steve Durkee | 1967 | Communal | |
| Latter Day Saint movement | Joseph Smith | 1830 | Christian restorationism | |
| Latter Rain Movement | George Hawtin, Percy Hunt | 1946 | Millenarian Pentecostal | |
| Laymen's Home Missionary Movement | Paul S.L. Johnson | 1920, circa | Adventist Bible Students | |
| Lectorium Rosicrucianum | Jan van Rijckenborgh; Zwier Willem Leene; Catharose de Petri | 1924 | Rosicrucianism | |
| The Living Word Fellowship | John Robert Stevens | 1951 | Latter Rain Pentecostal | |
| Local Church movement | Ni Shu-tsu | 1920s | Independent Fundamentalist | |
| Longhouse Religion | Handsome Lake alias Sganyodaiyoˀ | 1797 | Native American Indigenist | |
| Love Family, a.k.a. the Church of Jesus Christ at Armageddon and Love Israel | Paul Erdman | 1969 | Communal | |
| Love Has Won | Amy Carlson | 2005, circa | New Age | |
| Lumpa Church | Alice Lenshina | 1953 | African initiated church | |
| Mahikari | Kotama Okada | 1959 | Shinto | |
| Makasol, a.k.a. Paliau movement | Paliau Maloat | 1970s, circa | Papuan Indigenist Millenarian countercultural | |
| Manson Family | Charles Manson | 1967 | Millenarianism | |
| Maranatha Campus Ministries | Bob Weiner | 1972 | Pentecostal | |
| Martinus' Spiritual Science | Martinus Thomsen | 1932 | Esoteric | |
| Mata Amritanandamayi Math | Mata Amritanandamayi | 1981 | Neo-Hindu | |
| Mazdaznan | Otoman Zar-Adusht Ha'nish | 1902 | Zoroastrianism | |
| Meher Baba followers | Merwan Sheriar Irani | 1921 | Hindu-inspired | |
| Mespilism | 2000s | Buddhism, Paganism, New Age, Syncretism, Humanism | ||
| Messianic Judaism | 1960s | Judeo-Christian | ||
| Mita Congregation | Juanita García Peraza | 1940 | Deliverance Pentecostal | |
| Modekngei | Tamadad from Chol | 1915, circa | Syncretistic Christian-Indigenous | |
| Monastic Order of Avallon | Henri Hillion de Coatmoc'han | 1972 | Modern Pagan | |
| Moody Church | Dwight L. Moody | 1864 | Fundamentalist Evangelical | |
| Moorish Science Temple of America | Timothy Drew | 1925 | Black Islam | |
| Moral Re-Armament | Frank N.D. Buchman | 1921 | ||
| Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God | Credonia Mwerinde, Joseph Kibweteere | 1989 | Catholicism | |
| Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness | John-Roger Hinkins | 1971 | Syncretistic Sant Mat and Eckankar-influenced | |
| Namdhari | Balak Singh | 1800s, mid | Sikh | |
| Narcosatánicos | Adolfo Constanzo | 1985 | Palo | |
| Nation of Islam | Elijah Muhammad | 1930s, mid | Black Islam UFO religion | |
| Nation of Yahweh | Hulon Mitchell, Jr. | 1970s | Black Judaism | |
| National Spiritualist Association of Churches | Harrison D. Barrett, James M. Peebles, Cora L. Richmond | 1893 | Spiritualism | |
| Native American Church, a.k.a. Peyotism | Quanah Parker | 1800–19th century | Native American Indigenist Entheogen groups | |
| Native Ukrainian National Faith, a.k.a. RUNVira or Sylenkoism | Lev Sylenko | 1960s, mid | Modern Pagan Slavic Native Faith | |
| Neo-charismatic movement | 1980s, early | Charismatic Christian Nondenominational Christian | ||
| Neo-Hinduism or Reform Hinduism | 1830, circa | Hindu | ||
| Néo-Phare | Arnaud Mussy | 2001 | Esoteric, apocalyptic | |
| New Acropolis | Jorge Ángel Livraga Rizzi | 1957 | Neo-Theosophical Western esotericism | |
| New Apostolic Church | Heinrich Geyer | 1863 | Catholic Apostolic Church Unclassified Christian Churches | |
| New Kadampa Tradition | Geshe Kelsang Gyatso | 1970s, mid | Tibetan Buddhism | |
| The New Message from God | Marshall Vian Summers | 1992 | UFO religion | |
| New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn | 1969 | Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn Witchcraft Modern Pagan | ||
| New Thought | Phineas Parkhurst Quimby | 1800s, mid | Metaphysical Faith healing | |
| Noahidism | 1990s | Orthodox Judaism-inspired | ||
| Nuwaubian Nation or United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors | Dwight York | 1967 | UFO religion, New Age, Christian, Jewish, Black supremacist | |
| Oahspe Faithists | John Ballou Newbrough | 1882 | UFO religion | |
| Odinism | Orestes Brownson | 1848 | Modern Pagan | |
| Oneida Community | John Humphrey Noyes | 1848 | Perfectionism | |
| Oneness Movement a.k.a. Oneness University | Kalki Bhagawan | 1989 | Indian religions-inspired New Age Neo-Hindu 2012 phenomenon-inspired | |
| Oomoto | Nao Deguchi | 1899 | Japanese Shinto-Millenarian | |
| Open Bible Standard Churches | merger | 1935 | White Trinitarian Pentecostal | |
| Opus Dei | Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer | 1928 | Roman Catholic | |
| Order of the Solar Temple | Joseph Di Mambro, Luc Jouret | 1984 | Rosicrucian | |
| Ordo Templi Orientis | Carl Kellner; Theodor Reuss | 1895/1906 | Western esotericism Neo-Hermetism Thelema | |
| Pentecostal Church of God | 1919 | Pentecostal | ||
| Pentecostalism | 1900s | Charismatic Christian | ||
| People Unlimited, also known as Eternal Flame Foundation, People Forever, and CBJ | Charles Paul Brown, Bernadeane Brown, James Russell Strole | 1982 | Immortalism, Christianity | |
| Peoples Temple | Jim Jones | 1955 | Christian socialism | |
| Philosophical Research Society | Manly Palmer Hall | 1934 | Occult | |
| Pilgrims of Arès | Michel Potay | 1974 | ||
| Plymouth Brethren | John Nelson Darby | 1830 | evangelical Millenarian | |
| Potter's House also known as: Christian Fellowship Ministries, The Door, Victory Chapel, Christian Center, Crossroads Chapel, etc. | Wayman Mitchell | 1970 | Pentecostal | |
| The Process Church of the Final Judgment | Mary Ann MacLean and Robert de Grimston | 1963 | Satanism | |
| Quiverfull | Mary Pride | 1985 | Christian Natalism | |
| Radha Soami, also Radhasoami Movement or Sant Mat movement | Shiv Dayal Singh | 1861 | Sikh-derived or Syncretistic Sikh-Hindu or Sant Mat-inspired | |
| Radha Soami Satsang Beas | Baba Jaimal Singh | 1891 | Sant Mat Radha Soami | |
| Radha Soami Satsang Dayalbagh | Kamta Prasad Sinha | 1907 | Radha Soami | |
| Raëlism, Raëlian Church | Claude Vorilhon | 1973/1974 | UFO religion | |
| Rainbow Family, Rainbow Coalition | Barry Adams or Jesse Jackson | 1960s, late | Communal Afro-American | |
| Rajneesh movement, Osho movement | Rajneesh Chandra Mohan | 1966 | Indian religions-inspired Syncretistic | |
| Ramakrishna Mission, Ramakrishna movement or Vedanta Society | Swami Vivekananda | 1897 | Neo-Hindu Neo-Vedanta | |
| Ramtha's School of Enlightenment | J.Z. Knight | 1977 | New Age | |
| Rastafari | Leonard Howell, Joseph Hibbert, Archibald Dunkley, Robert Hinds | 1920s/1935 | Jewish and Christian-influenced Afro-centric | |
| Reconstructionist Judaism | Mordecai Kaplan | 1922 | Rabbinic Judaism | |
| Reform Judaism, Progressive or Liberal Judaism | Isaac Harby; Isaac M. Wise; others | 1820s | Rabbinic Judaism | |
| Reformed Druids of North America | 1960s | Modern Pagan | ||
| Reiki, also Usui Shiko Ryoho System of Healing | Mikao Usui | 1922 | Energy medicine Japanese Buddhism | |
| Religious Science | Ernest Holmes | 1948 | New Thought | |
| Ringing Cedars' Anastasianism | Vladimir Megre | 1997 | Syncretistic Modern Pagan Slavic Native Faith | |
| Risshō Kōsei Kai | Nikkyo Niwano, Myoko Naganuma | 1938 | Nichiren Buddhist | |
| The Rosicrucian Fellowship | Carl Louis von Grasshof | 1909 | Rosicrucianism | |
| Ruhani Satsang, Kirpal Light Satsang | Kirpal Singh | 1948 | Radha Soami | |
| Sacred Name Movement | Clarence Orvil Dodd | 1930s | Judeo-Christian Nontrinitarian Church of God | |
| Sadharan Brahmo Samaj | Anandamohan Bose, Sivanath Sastri, Umesh Chandra Dutta | 1878 | Brahmoism | |
| Sahaja Yoga | Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi | 1970 | Neo-Hindu | |
| Saiva Siddhanta Church | Subramuniy | 1957 | Hindu | |
| The Salvation Army | William Booth | 1865 | Holiness movement | |
| Saminism, Samin movement | Samin Surosentiko | 1889 | Abrahamic religions Indigenist | |
| Sant Nirankari Mission | Baba Buta Singh Ji | 1929, formally 1947 | Sikh Nirankari | |
| Santa Muerte Cult | 1940s, late | Syncretic Folk Catholic | ||
| Sathya Sai Baba movement or Sai Baba movement | Sathya Sai Baba | 1950 | Neo-Hindu | |
| Santo Daime | Mestre Irineu | 1930s | Folk Catholic Spiritism Neoshamanic Entheogen groups | |
| The Satanic Temple | Lucien Greaves, Malcolm Jarry | 2012 | Satanic Nontheistic | |
| Science of Identity Foundation | Chris Butler alias Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda | 1977 | Neo-Hindu ISKCON | |
| Scientology | L. Ron Hubbard | 1955 | UFO-Psychic New Age | |
| Sekta Niebo | Bogdan Kacmajor | 1990 | Christian | |
| Seicho-no-Ie | Masaharu Taniguchi, Fenwicke Holmes | 1930 | Japanese Religious Science-Shinto | |
| Self-Realization Fellowship | Paramahansa Yogananda | 1935 | Neo-Hindu | |
| Semitic Neopaganism | Raphael Patai | 1960s | Modern Pagan Polytheistic reconstructionism Feminism | |
| Seventh-day Adventist Church | Ellen G. White; Joseph Bates | 1860 | Adventist Millerite Seventh-day Sabbatarian | |
| Seventh-day Adventist Reform Movement | schism | 1925 | Seventh-day Adventist | |
| Shakers | Ann Lee | 1750s | Communal—Before 1960 | |
| Shengdao, a.k.a. Tongshanshe | Peng Tairong | 1900s, early | Chinese salvationist | |
| Shepherd's Rod, a.k.a. the Davidians, officially, the Davidian Seventh-day Adventist Association | Victor T. Houteff | 1935 | Seventh-day Adventist | |
| Shiloh Youth Revival Centers | John J. Higgins, Jr. | 1969 | Communal—After 1960 | |
| Shincheonji Church of Jesus | Lee Man-hee | 1984 | Christian | |
| Shinji Shumeikai, Shumei | Mihoko Koyama | 1970 | Church of World Messianity Faith healing | |
| Shinnyo-en | Shinjo Ito, Tomoji Ito | 1936 | Japanese Japanese Buddhism | |
| Shinreikyo | Kanichi Otsuka | 1950, circa | Japanese Shinto Syncretistic | |
| Shouters | Li Changshou | 1965 | Christianity | |
| Shri Ram Chandra Mission | Shri Ram Chandraji Maharaj | 1945 | Hindu | |
| Slavic Native Faith, a.k.a. Rodnovery or Slavic Neopaganism | Władysław Kołodziej, Jan Stachniuk | 1920–30s | Modern Pagan Polytheistic reconstructionism | |
| Slavic-Hill Rodnovery | Aleksandr Belov | 1980s | Modern Pagan Slavic Native Faith | |
| Soka Gakkai International | Tsunesaburo Makiguchi | 1930 | Japanese Nichiren Buddhism | |
| Spiritualism | Kate and Margaret Fox | 1848 | Psychic-Mediumship Metaphysical | |
| Subud | Muhammed Subuh | 1933 | Kejawèn neo-Sufism | |
| Sufi Ruhaniat International | Samuel L. Lewis | 1968 | neo-Sufism | |
| Sukyo Mahikari | Keishu Okada | 1978 | Japanese Mahikari Syncretistic | |
| Summum | Claude Rex Nowell | 1975 | Unclassified Christian | |
| Sun Dance | 1890 | Native American Indigenist | ||
| Syntheism | Alexander Bard | 2012 | Pantheist Humanist Netocratic | |
| Temple of Set | Michael A. Aquino | Satanism Polytheism | ||
| Temple of Zeus | Andrea Maxine Dietrich | Satanism Polytheism | ||
| Tenrikyo | Miki Nakayama | 1838 | Japanese Shinto | |
| Tensegrity | Carlos Castaneda | 1995 | Neoshamanism New Age | |
| Terasem | Martine Rothblatt | 2004 | Transhumanism | |
| Thelema, a.k.a. the A∴A∴ order | Aleister Crowley | 1900s, early | Occult neo-Hermetism Western esotericism | |
| Theosophy or Theosophical Society, a.k.a. 1882 as Theosophical Society Adyar | Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge | 1875 | Occult Eastern and Western esotericism | |
| Theosophical Society Pasadena | William Quan Judge | 1895 | Theosophical | |
| Tolstoyan primitivism | Leo Tolstoy | 1901 | Christian anarchism Pacifism | |
| Toronto Blessing | Randy Clark | 1994 | Neo-charismatic | |
| Transcendental Meditation | Maharishi Mahesh Yogi | 1958 | Neo-Hindu-inspired | |
| Triratna Buddhist Community | Sangharakshita | 1967 | Neo-Buddhism | |
| True Buddha School | Lu Sheng-yen | 1980s, late | Tibetan Buddhism Taoism | |
| True Russian Orthodox Church | Pyotr Kuznetsov | 2007 | Russian Orthodoxy Apocalypticism | |
| Twelve Tribes | Gene and Marsha Spriggs | 1972 | Messianic Jewish Communal—After 1960 | |
| Two by Twos, a.k.a. Cooneyites, Christian Conventions, the Workers and Friends, the Truth, etc. | William Irvine | 1897 | Independent fundamentalist family | |
| Umbanda | Zélio Fernandino de Moraes | 1920 | Spiritism | |
| Unarius Academy of Science | Ernest Norman, Ruth Norman | 1954 | UFO Religion | |
| União do Vegetal | Mestre Gabriel | 1961 | Spiritism Neoshamanic Entheogen groups | |
| Unification Church, a.k.a. the Moonies | Sun Myung Moon | 1954 | Syncretistic Christian | |
| Unitarian Universalism | consolidation | 1961 | Unitarian Univer |