Pseudoreligion or pseudotheology is a pejorative for a non-mainstream belief-system or

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

which is functionally similar to a religious movement, typically having a founder, principal text,

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

and faith-based beliefs. Belief systems such as Theosophy, corporate

Kabbalism Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defi ...

Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally know ...

, Scientology, Wahhabism,

Salafism The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a Islah, reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three g ...

and the

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...

have all been referred to as pseudoreligions, as have various New Age religions, as well as political ideologies such as Nazism and

Positive Christianity Positive Christianity (german: Positives Christentum) was a movement within Nazi Germany which promoted the belief that the racial purity of the German people should be maintained by mixing racialistic Nazi ideology with either fundamental or s ...

. Within the academic debate, political ideologies that resemble religion are sometimes referred to as

political religion A secular religion is a communal belief system that often rejects or neglects the metaphysical aspects of the supernatural, commonly associated with traditional religion, instead placing typical religious qualities in earthly entities. Among system ...

s. Examples of marginal movements with founding figures, liturgies and recently invented traditions that have been studied as legitimate social practices include various New Age movements, and millennaristic movements such as the

Ghost Dance The Ghost Dance ( Caddo: Nanissáanah, also called the Ghost Dance of 1890) was a ceremony incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. According to the teachings of the Northern Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka (renamed Jack Wilso ...

and South Pacific cargo cults.

Quasi-religions

In 1963, German-American philosopher

Paul Tillich Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German-American Christian existentialist philosopher, religious socialist, and Lutheran Protestant theologian who is widely regarded as one of the most influential theologi ...

introduced a distinction between pseudo-religions and quasi-religions. He described pseudo-religions as movements which intentionally deceive adherents through their similarities with mainstream religions, while quasi-religions are non-religious movements which have unintended similarities to religions.

References

External links

"Pseudo-Science and Pseudo-Theology: (A) Cult and Occult"
Bube, Dr. Richard A., '' Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation'', Issue 29, March 1977.
"Bad Religions and Good Religions"
Carmine, Professor James D, IntellectualConservative.com, 14 December 2005. {{Authority control Criticism of religion Pejorative terms Deception Religion

Quasi-religions

See also

References

External links