Introduction
New religious movements (NRM) refer to the new faiths that have emerged globally in the last few centuries. NRMs are considered syncretic, using material and human assets to spread their worldviews and ideas. These religious movements concentrate mostly on the self, which is a way of deviating from society’s traditional principles and customs. Scholars predict thousands of new religious movements globally, especially in Africa and Asia. The Raelian Movement, Jediism, and Rastafarians are the three NRMs that will be compared in this paper, exploring their uniqueness, common characteristics, and differences.
Commonalities Among New Religious Movements
Rastafari, Jediism, and the Raelian Movements share certain traits. These religions consider themselves entrenched in old traditions, but they are new by definition and provide inventive religious responses to modern conditions. Purported history is the most common feature among them. For instance, Jediism emerged in 1977 after gaining inspiration from the fictional aspects of the Star Wars movie (Lavelle, 2020).
Next, the Raelian Movement was launched by a Frenchman in the 1970s after claiming to have been in contact with extraterrestrial beings that provided him with a purpose on Earth (Hippert, 2022). Lastly, the Rastafarian movement emerged in the slums of Jamaica between 1920 and 1930 (McAlister, 2023). Rastafarians claim that Marcus Garvey was the inspirational figure who motivated them to start the movement.
Similarities Between New Movements and Established Religions
The NRMs are like other religions in several ways. First, Jediism, Rastafari, and the Raelian Movement have codes of conduct and ethical beliefs. Although they have varying beliefs, they have their own set they live by and believe in. Secondly, since it requires a group of like-minded individuals to become a community and a religion, the three NRMs have a community with a few people believing and living in their desired ethics (Lavelle, 2020). Lastly, these religions believe in a higher being, force, or spirit.
Differences Between New Movements and Established Religions
Jediism, Rastafari, and the Raelian Movements differ from other religions. For instance, Rastafarians believe portraying Jesus as a white person falsifies the truth. They rejected the traditional Christian view and believed Jesus was African (McAlister, 2023).
Jediism is different from other religions because it originated from fictional works. Jediism has not been accepted as a relevant religion because opposers have a precise approach to faith in which historical and religious teachings should be similar (Lavelle, 2020). The Raelian Movement believes in extraterrestrials and that a species, not God, created life on Earth.
Foundational Religious Elements in New Movements
Rastafari
Livity and Rastology are the building blocks of the Rastafari Movement. Livity refers to the cultural and religious practices of the movement, while Rastology refers to the totality of their ideas (McAlister, 2023). Followers of the movement are convinced by the iconic dreadlock hairstyles, the centrality of Haile Selassie, and the pursuit of livity.
Jediism
On the other hand, the building blocks of Jediism are escaping personal suffering, non-attachment, mindfulness, and compassion (Lavelle, 2020). They believe that fear is the basis of suffering because it results in hate and anger, which can turn followers away from the light.
Raelian
Lastly, the building blocks of the Raelian Movement are its practices and beliefs (Hippert, 2022). They believe that they are tasked with spreading the extraterrestrial origin of humanity and preparing for the return of their creator.
Defining the Nature of Each Movement
Rastafari is a political and religious movement because it combines pan-African political consciousness, mysticism, and Protestant Christianity. Jediism is a philosophy and, in several cases, a joke religion because it is based on fictional characters from the Star Wars film and only gained attention through global consensus (Lavelle, 2020). Lastly, the Raelian Movement is considered a religion because members believe in an extraterrestrial god, Elohim (Hippert, 2022). Just like Christians believe God created Earth, they believe Elohim is the actual creator of human life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Jediism, Rastafari, and the Raelian Movements are adaptive religions that respond to the requirements of the current world. They are responses to and products of a scientific worldview, pluralism, and modernity. These NRMs are founded by highly authoritarian and charismatic leaders who think they have special insights. These new movements consider themselves substitutes for conventional social groupings and demand commitment and loyalty from their followers.
References
Hippert, A. K. (2022). Factsheet: the Raëlian movement. Web.
Lavelle, D. (2020). ‘You have to face the darkness within you’: meet the real-life Jedi knights. Web.
McAlister, E. A. (2023). Rastafari. Web.