Other traditions: magic in this belief world

Other traditions are those that fit no single belief world, or mix several: new religious movements, syncretic cults, modern invented traditions, and regional practices that resist a label. Examples include Cao Dai in Vietnam, Spiritism, New Age practice, Chaos magic, Discordianism, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster as satire, and cargo cults of Melanesia. This page covers how hard it is to sort belief and why this shelf exists. The category is a catch-all, and entries here may later be moved to a home of their own.

Mixing and invention

People combine and invent. Cao Dai, founded in Vietnam in 1926, honours figures from several religions. Spiritism, codified by Allan Kardec in France in the 1850s, took root in Brazil. New Age practice borrows crystals, energy and astrology from many places. Chaos magic, from 1970s Britain, treats belief itself as a tool. Some inventions began as satire and became real communities. New movements often borrow from many sources, and some mix magic, healing and self-improvement.

Cargo cults and the label

The term cargo cult was applied by outsiders to Melanesian movements that expected ancestors to deliver goods, and many anthropologists now say the label is misleading and condescending. The movements were responses to colonial inequality, and some had political aims. John Frum on Vanuatu is still honoured. Similar cautions apply to other labels given by outsiders. Examples also include Rastafari, which has its own sacred plant and ritual language, and the religions of the Pacific that have grown since contact with Christianity.

Law and recognition

States differ in what they count as a religion. Some give new movements legal protection and some treat them as sects or cults, with surveillance or bans. Groups with abusive leaders do exist, and cases have led to prosecution. Governments struggle to protect freedom of belief while stopping fraud and coercion. Scholars warn that terms such as cult and sect, in everyday use, carry harsh judgement, and prefer to speak of new religious movements.

Scholars and the shelf

Scholars of new religious movements, such as Eileen Barker, study the groups without condemning them or defending them. They note that today's new movement may become tomorrow's established faith. Readers should treat claims of origin with care, since invented traditions often present themselves as old. Whatever the label, a good test is whether people are free to leave and to ask questions, and where they are not, harm is likely.