Abstract

The emergence of new religious movements has given academics reason to question classic sociological theories regarding the continuation and presence of transcendental beliefs in contemporary British society. This study questions the antagonistic relationship between modernity and religion in light of the secularisation thesis, with particular emphasis on a new religious movement in London. It is noted that modernity’s narratives do not account for the growth and success of such movements, and the way that they have adapted to societal circumstances in three principal ways, global orientations, function and performance, and the use of the mass media. Notions of postmodernity are then applied to the movement in a bid to further our explanations.

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By Edward Howard, 2000