Mormon Practices

A ‘new religion’ is hard to define because scholars have not come up with a true definition of what a religion is. There are many different definitions of religion and what elements a practice must have in order to be defined as a religion. Along with new religions come sects and cults. Sects are movements where the people strayed away from the primary religion in order to create a new form that was seen to be “purer form of the faith,” according to A Concise Introduction to World Religion (Oxtoby Segal 573) These sects would normally be stricter than the primary religion and try to set themselves apart. These sects do not normally last long and they end up dying out and turning into the primary religion again. A cult was just another word for “worship” or at times “religion,” however today the term is normally always viewed in a negative manner. Today a cult is viewed as a group that attempts to brainwash its believers, which is not the case. It is no longer easy to differentiate the different between cults and sects. According to the textbook cults share many traits, like “Cults typically claim to have some special knowledge or insight, or revealed through contact with spirits. Their practice often includes rituals designed to promote ecstatic experiences, and they tend to focus more on individual spiritual experience than institutional organization.” (Oxtoby Segal 573) The most common attribute of different cults would be the leader that is a very powerful person to its followers. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as Mormonism is a popular ‘new religion.’

Joseph Smith, Jr is the founder of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. When he was younger he allegedly had a vision of God and Jesus whe...

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...embership it was said that black students were discriminated against at Brigham Young University. These actions were looked at negatively during the time of the civil rights. In 1978 the policy was change and all human were allowed to become a priest and discrimination towards Africans was abolished.

Mormons have gone through a lot, have broken apart and come together several times while the different branches of Mormonism continue to grow and new branches may still form in the futures. One thing is known that the ‘new religion’ is strong and its believers continue to have faith. To outsides certain practices do seem questionable, yet one question remains, if it is part of Christianity or their own ‘new religion.’

Works Cited

Oxtoby Willard G., and Segal Alan F. A Concise Introduction to World Religions 2nd ed. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.