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96-552: The Nuwaubian Nation , Nuwaubian movement , or United Nuwaubian Nation ( / n uː ˈ w ɔː b iː ən / ) is an American new religious and black supremacist movement founded and led by Dwight York , also known as Malachi Z. York. York began founding several black Muslim groups in New York in 1967. He changed his teachings and the names of his groups many times, incorporating concepts from Judaism , Christianity , UFO religions , New Age , and many esoteric beliefs. In

192-406: A forensic psychologist noted for his writings on the brainwashing controversy, has defended NRMs, and in 1988 argued that involvement in such movements may often be beneficial: "There's a large research literature published in mainstream journals on the mental health effects of new religions. For the most part, the effects seem to be positive in any way that's measurable." Those who convert to

288-549: A spacecraft was following the comet. York taught a number of "revealing" pseudo-etymologies of English words, for instance: New religious movement There is no single, agreed-upon criterion for defining a "new religious movement". Debate continues as to how the term "new" should be interpreted in this context. One perspective is that it should designate a religion that is more recent in its origins than large, well-established religions like Hinduism , Judaism , Buddhism , Christianity , and Islam . Some scholars view

384-546: A "black supremacist cult leader", and designated the Nuwaubian Nation as a hate group . The group has taken numerous names throughout its history, including "Ansaru Allah Community", "Holy Tabernacle Ministries", "United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors" (after the move to Georgia), "Yamassee Native American Moors of the Creek Nation", and "Nuwaubian Nation of Moors". The Nuwaubian Nation was centered exclusively on

480-472: A NRM can pose a number of difficulties. It may result in their having to abandon a daily framework that they had previously adhered to. It may also generate mixed emotions as ex-members lose the feelings of absolute certainty, which they may have held while in the group. Three basic questions have been paramount in orienting theory and research on NRMs: what are the identifying markers of NRMs that distinguish them from other types of religious groups?; what are

576-400: A NRM typically believe that in doing so they are gaining some benefit in their life. This can come in many forms, from an increasing sense of freedom to a release from drug dependency, and a feeling of self-respect and direction. Many of those who have left NRMs report that they have gained from their experience. There are various reasons as to why an individual would join and then remain part of

672-452: A NRM, including both push and pull factors. According to Marc Galanter , professor of psychiatry at NYU, typical reasons why people join NRMs include a search for community and a spiritual quest. Sociologists Stark and Bainbridge , in discussing the process by which people join new religious groups, have questioned the utility of the concept of conversion , suggesting that affiliation is

768-496: A crucial place in time and space. Some NRMs venerate unique scriptures , while others reinterpret existing texts, utilizing a range of older elements. They frequently claim that these are not new but rather forgotten truths that are being revived. NRM scriptures often incorporate modern scientific knowledge, sometimes with the claim that they are bringing unity to science and religion. Some NRMs believe that their scriptures are received through mediums . The Urantia Book ,

864-562: A cult, in my opinion, and in Islam there are no cults. They consider their leader a prophet, which means they have deviated from the Islamic way." The superficial similarity of York's beliefs to those of the Heaven's Gate cult led to some worried newspaper articles after that group's mass suicide during the appearance of Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997, in which the cult was reported to have said that

960-543: A distinct phenomenon, the " Satanic Panic ". Consequently, scholars such as Eileen Barker, James T. Richardson , Timothy Miller and Catherine Wessinger argued that the term "cult" had become too laden with negative connotations, and "advocated dropping its use in academia". A number of alternatives to the term "new religious movement" are used by some scholars. These include "alternative religious movements" (Miller), "emergent religions" (Ellwood) and "marginal religious movements" (Harper and Le Beau). The 1960s and 1970s saw

1056-735: A dozen cities in the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Trinidad," and continued to gain revenues from them. York purchased a $ 557,000 mansion for his own use in Athens, Georgia , about 60 miles away. In 2001, the group put up candidates, associated with the Republican Party , for public office, including sheriff . Their candidates were defeated. In conjunction with a Nuwaubian Nation parade held in Augusta, Georgia , in February 2001,

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1152-412: A financial interest in promoting the "brainwashing" explanation. Academic research, however, has demonstrated that these brainwashing techniques "simply do not exist". Many members of NRMs leave these groups of their own free will. Some of those who do so retain friends within the movement. Some of those who leave a religious community are unhappy with the time that they spent as part of it. Leaving

1248-463: A more useful concept. A popular explanation for why people join new religious movements is that they have been "brainwashed" or subject to "mind control" by the NRM itself. This explanation provides a rationale for "deprogramming", a process in which members of NRMs are illegally kidnapped by individuals who then attempt to convince them to reject their beliefs. Professional deprogrammers, therefore, have

1344-502: A pejorative manner, to refer to Spiritualism and Christian Science during the 1890s. As commonly used, for instance in sensationalist tabloid articles, the term "cult" continues to have pejorative associations. The term "new religions" is a calque of shinshūkyō ( 新宗教 ) , a Japanese term developed to describe the proliferation of Japanese new religions in the years following the Second World War. From Japan this term

1440-471: A relative of theirs joins a new religion. Although children break away from their parents for all manner of reasons, in cases where NRMs are involved, it is often the latter that are blamed for the break. Some anti-cultist groups emphasise the idea that "cults" use deceit and trickery to recruit members. The anti-cult movement adopted the term brainwashing, which had been developed by the journalist Edward Hunter and then used by Robert J. Lifton to apply to

1536-419: A result, they are "not inherently different" from mainstream and established religious movements, with the differences between the two having been greatly exaggerated by the media and popular perceptions. Melton has stated that those NRMs that "were offshoots of older religious groups... tended to resemble their parent groups far more than they resembled each other." One question that faces scholars of religion

1632-496: A significant moment in its history. Over the months and years following its leader's death, the movement can die out, fragment into multiple groups, consolidate its position, or change its nature to become something quite different from what its founder intended. In some cases, a NRM moves closer to the religious mainstream after the death of its founder. A number of founders of new religions established plans for succession to prevent confusion after their deaths. Mary Baker Eddy ,

1728-538: A society's established traditional religions. Generally, Christian denominations are not seen as new religious movements; nevertheless, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, and the Shakers have been studied as NRMs. The same situation with Jewish religious movements , when Reform Judaism and newer divisions have been named among NRM. There are also problems in

1824-626: A strong recruitment drive to survive. The Shakers established orphanages, hoping that the children would become members of their community. Violent incidents involving NRMs are very rare. In events having a large number of casualties, the new religion was led by a charismatic leader. Beginning in 1978, the deaths of 913 members of the Peoples Temple in Jonestown , Guyana, by both murder and suicide brought an image of "killer cults" to public attention. Several subsequent events contributed to

1920-530: A younger average membership than mainstream religious congregations. Some NRMs have been formed by groups who have split from a pre-existing religious group. As these members grow older, many have children who are then brought up within the NRM. In the Third World , NRMs most often appeal to the poor and oppressed sectors of society. Within Western countries, they are more likely to appeal to members of

2016-425: Is unified by its topic of interest rather than by its methodology , and is therefore interdisciplinary in nature. A sizeable body of scholarly literature on new religions has been published, most of it produced by social scientists . Among the disciplines that NRS utilises are anthropology, history, psychology, religious studies, and sociology. Of these approaches, sociology played a particularly prominent role in

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2112-620: Is used in reference to devotion or dedication to a particular person or place. For instance, within the Roman Catholic Church, devotion to Mary, mother of Jesus may be termed the " Cult of Mary ". It is also used in non-religious contexts to refer to fandoms devoted to television shows like The Prisoner , The X-Files , and Buffy the Vampire Slayer . In the United States, people began to use "cult" in

2208-661: Is when a new religious movement ceases to be "new". As noted by Barker, "In the first century, Christianity was new, in the seventh century Islam was new, in the eighteenth century Methodism was new, in the nineteenth century the Seventh-day Adventists, Christadelphians, and Jehovah's Witnesses were new; in the twenty-first century the Unification Church, the ISKCON, and Scientology are beginning to look old." The Roman Catholic Church has observed that

2304-688: The Aegean Islands between Asia and Europe, where they started having children, and each couple's first born child was an Albino and those Albinos are called Cain in the Bible, and Cain is short for Caucasian." In 1994, Ghazi Y. Khankan, director of the New York office of the Council on American–Islamic Relations , commented about York and his group based on their history in Brooklyn. He said, "It's

2400-796: The Atkins diet , numerology and yoga . Many of these York mentions by name. There are also extensive discourses on the Torah , Gospels and Koran , as well as on Rastafarianism , the Nation of Islam and the Five-Percent Nation . In indie hip hop, there are Nuwaubians who perform what they call Nu-wop, such as Daddi Kuwsh, Twinity, Nefu Amun Hotep, 9thScientist, Scienz of Life, Ntelek , Jedi Mind Tricks, Aslaam Mahdi, 720 Pure Sufi, Tos El Bashir and The Lost Children of Babylon . In an article for Honor Nation, A. L. JakeAl Reum speculated that

2496-786: The Christian Reformed Church in North America , was especially influential. In the US, the Christian Research Institute was founded in 1960 by Walter Ralston Martin to counter opposition to evangelical Christianity and has come to focus on criticisms of NRMs. Presently the Christian countercult movement opposes most NRMs because of theological differences. It is closely associated with evangelical Christianity . In his book The Kingdom of

2592-473: The Clarke County, Georgia , jail as guards. Four of them were fired in 2006 (the fifth resigned) in the wake of charges that they were smuggling Nuwaubianist literature into the jail, corresponding with the prisoner York, encouraging inmates to rebel against white guards, and showing favoritism to Nuwaubian prisoners. The jail commander was fired after he began an investigation of Nuwaubianist influence at

2688-692: The Donghak Peasant Revolution in 1894. In 1889, Ahmadiyya , an Islamic branch, was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad . In 1891, the Unity Church , the first New Thought denomination, was founded in the United States. In 1893, the first Parliament of the World's Religions was held in Chicago. The conference included NRMs of the time such as spiritualism , Baháʼí Faith, and Christian Science . Henry Harris Jessup , who addressed

2784-562: The Holy Spirit Movement were killed as they approached gunfire because its leader, Alice Lakwena , told them that they would be protected from bullets by the oil of the shea tree . The history of the Latter Day Saint movement includes multiple cases of significant violence committed by or against Mormons . NRMs are typically founded and led by a charismatic leader. The death of any religion's founder represents

2880-537: The Illuminati and the Bilderbergers ." They quoted York's letter dated November 10, 2004: "The Caucasian has not been chosen to lead the world. They lack true emotions in their creation. We never intended them to be peaceful. They were bred to be killers, with low reproduction levels and a short life span." Another Nuwaubian racial origin theory has Caucasians descending from Cain : "Adam and Eve were sent to

2976-536: The New Black Panther Party and York's lawyer , described York as "a great leader of our people [...] and victim of an open conspiracy by our enemy." During the 1970s, the group set up bookstores and chapters in Trinidad ; Baltimore , Maryland ; and Washington, D.C. According to former follower Saadik Redd, York had between 2,000 and 3,000 followers during the 1970s. The group's headquarters

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3072-495: The Shakers and more recent NRMs, inspired by Hindu traditions, see it as a lifelong commitment. Others, including the Unification Church, as a stage in spiritual development. In some Buddhist NRMs, celibacy is practiced mostly by older women who become nuns . Some people join NRMs and practice celibacy as a rite of passage in order to move beyond previous sexual problems or bad experiences. Groups that promote celibacy require

3168-491: The persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses , the persecution of Baháʼís , and the persecution of Falun Gong . There are also instances in which violence has been directed at new religions. In the United States the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, Joseph Smith, was killed by a lynch mob in 1844. In India there have been mob killings of members of the Ananda Marga group. Such violence can also be administered by

3264-612: The state religion of Japan, bringing about greater freedom of religion . In 1954, Scientology was founded in the United States, by L. Ron Hubbard . It can be considered a psychotherapy oriented religion and has been consistently controversial among new religious movements in the country. In 1954 the Unification Church by Sun Myung Moon was founded, in South Korea. In 1955, the Aetherius Society

3360-495: The "newness" of "new religious movements" raises problems, for it is "the very fact that NRMs are new that explains many of the key characteristics they display". George Chryssides favors "simple" definition; for him, NRM is an organization founded within the past 150 or so years, which cannot be easily classified within one of the world's main religious traditions. Scholars of religion Olav Hammer and Mikael Rothstein argued that "new religions are just young religions" and as

3456-444: The 1935 Rastafari movement tract The Promised Key . Howell's use of "Black Supremacy" had both religious and political implications. Politically, as a direct counterpoint to white supremacy , and the failure of white governments to protect black people, he advocated the destruction of white governments. Howell had drawn upon as an influence the work of the earlier proto-Rastafari preacher Fitz Balintine Pettersburg , in particular

3552-481: The 1950s or the end of the Second World War in 1945 as the defining time, while others look as far back as the founding of the Latter Day Saint movement in 1830 and of Tenrikyo in 1838. New religions have sometimes faced opposition from established religious organisations and secular institutions. In Western nations, a secular anti-cult movement and a Christian countercult movement emerged during

3648-481: The 1970s and 1980s to oppose emergent groups. A distinct field of new religion studies developed within the academic study of religion in the 1970s. There are several scholarly organisations and peer-reviewed journals devoted to the subject. Religious studies scholars contextualize the rise of NRMs in modernity as a product of, and answer to, modern processes of secularization, globalization, detraditionalization, fragmentation, reflexivity, and individualization. In 1830,

3744-432: The 1970s and 1980s, at first along pseudo- Islamic lines, later moving to a loosely Afrocentric ancient Egypt theme, eclectically mixing ideas taken from black nationalism , cryptozoology , UFO religions , and popular conspiracy theories . During the 1980s, he was also active as a musician as "Dr. York", recording for Passion Records. York published some 450 booklets (dubbed "scrolls") under numerous pseudonyms. During

3840-469: The 1970s and 1980s, some NRMs as well as some non-religious groups came under opposition by the newly organized anti-cult movement, which mainly charged them with psychological abuse of their own members. It actively seeks to discourage people from joining new religions (which it refers to as "cults"). It also encourages members of these groups to leave them, and at times seeking to restrict their freedom of movement. Family members are often distressed when

3936-668: The American founder of Christian Science, spent fifteen years working on her book The Manual of the Mother Church , which laid out how the group should be run by her successors. The leadership of the Baháʼí Faith passed through a succession of individuals until 1963, when it was assumed by the Universal House of Justice , members of which are elected by the worldwide congregation. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ,

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4032-732: The Chinese government, and by 1999 there were 70 million practitioners in China. But in July 1999, the government started to view the movement as a threat and began attempts to eradicate it . In the 21st century, many NRMs are using the Internet to give out information, recruit members, and sometimes to hold online meetings and rituals. That is sometimes referred to as cybersectarianism . Sabina Magliocco , professor of Anthropology and Folklore at California State University, Northridge, has discussed

4128-746: The Cults (1965), Christian scholar Walter Ralston Martin examines a large number of new religious movements; included are major groups such as Christian Science, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, Armstrongism , Theosophy , the Baháʼí Faith, Unitarian Universalism , Scientology, the Unity Church, as well as minor groups including various New Age groups and those based on Eastern religions . The beliefs of other world religions such as Islam and Buddhism are also discussed. He covers each group's history and teachings, and contrasts them with those of mainstream Christianity. In

4224-562: The Jewish, Christian, and Egyptian faiths. "Once he started changing religious ideas, the older followers became skeptical and left the group," Rohan said. "That was what happened to me." The Nuwaubians claimed to be Native Americans of Yamasee descent, even claiming affiliation with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in the Georgia area, as well as to being " Moors ." They had perhaps borrowed

4320-565: The Latter Day Saint movement was founded by Joseph Smith . It is one of the largest new religious movements, with over 16 million members in 2019. In Japan, 1838 marks the beginning of Tenrikyo . In 1844, Bábism was established in Iran, from which the Baháʼí Faith was founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 1863. In 1860, Donghak , later Cheondoism , was founded by Choi Jae-Woo in Korea. It later ignited

4416-588: The United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors had some 500 adherents. They drew thousands of visitors for "Savior's Day" ceremonies. Adherence declined steeply after York was convicted of numerous counts of child molestation , racketeering , and financial reporting violations , and sentenced to 135 years in federal prison in April 2004. The Tama-Re compound was sold under government forfeiture and demolished. The Southern Poverty Law Center described York as

4512-832: The United States. Authors of the SPLC's quarterly Intelligence Reports have described the following groups as holding black supremacist views: During speeches given at the Freedom Rally in Cobo Hall on June 23, 1963, at Oberlin College in June 1965, and at the Southern Methodist University on March 17, 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. said: A doctrine of black supremacy is as dangerous as

4608-655: The atheist Church of Satan . In 1967, the Beatles visit to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India brought public attention to the Transcendental Meditation movement . In the late 1980s and 1990s, the decline of communism and the revolutions of 1989 opened up new opportunities for NRMs. Falun Gong was first taught publicly in Northeast China in 1992 by Li Hongzhi . At first, it was accepted by

4704-557: The claim to indigenous ancestry from the Washitaw Nation , a Louisiana Black separatist group led by Verdiacee Turner. The Nuwaubians claimed a prehistoric migration to America "before the continents drifted apart". At this point, the group had called itself "Yamassee Native American Moors of the Creek Nation". During the early 2000s, York presided at Tama-Re, styled as "Our Own Pharoah NETER A'aferti Atum-Re", leader and chief mystagogue of "The Ancient Egiptian Order." As of 2024,

4800-741: The concept. In 1994, members of the Order of the Solar Temple committed suicide in Canada and Switzerland. In 1997, 39 members of the Heaven's Gate group committed suicide in the belief that their spirits would leave the Earth and join a passing comet. There have also been cases in which members of NRMs have been killed after they engaged in dangerous actions due to mistaken belief in their own invincibility. For example, in Uganda, several hundred members of

4896-408: The continental drift." In an interview with a reporter from The Augusta Chronicle , Mayor Young said he had not read the statement prior to its release. He explained that his office customarily releases proclamations drafted and submitted for publication by civic groups without subjecting them to substantial content review. He suggested that such proclamations do not constitute official positions of

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4992-725: The controversial Native American kitsch costumes and props from OutKast 's 46th Annual Grammy Awards performance in 2004 were inspired by the Nuwaubian belief about the Native Americans being "Moors" in origin. Southern Poverty Law Center described the Nuwaubianism belief system as "mix[ing] black supremacist ideas with worship of the Egyptians and their pyramids, a belief in UFOs, and various conspiracies related to

5088-514: The core scripture of the Urantia Movement, was published in 1955 and is said to be the product of a continuous process of revelation from "celestial beings" which began in 1911. Some NRMs, particularly those that are forms of occultism , have a prescribed system of courses and grades through which members can progress. Some NRMs promote celibacy , the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both. Some, including

5184-425: The development of the field, resulting in it being initially confined largely to a narrow array of sociological questions. This came to change in later scholarship, which began to apply theories and methods initially developed for examining more mainstream religions to the study of new ones. Most research has been directed toward those new religions that attract public controversy. Less controversial NRMs tend to be

5280-422: The difference between these groups and established or mainstream religious movements while at the same time evading the problem posed by groups that are not particularly new. The 1970s was the era of the so-called "cult wars", led by "cult-watching groups". The efforts of the anti-cult movement condensed a moral panic around the concept of cults. Public fears around Satanism , in particular, came to be known as

5376-412: The different types of NRMs and how do these different types relate to the established institutional order of the host society?; and what are the most important ways that NRMs respond to the sociocultural dislocation that leads to their formation? — Sociologist of religion David G. Bromley The academic study of new religious movements is known as 'new religions studies' (NRS). The study draws from

5472-458: The disciplines of anthropology , psychiatry , history , psychology , sociology , religious studies , and theology . Barker noted that there are five sources of information on NRMs: the information provided by such groups themselves, that provided by ex-members as well as the friends and relatives of members, organisations that collect information on NRMs, the mainstream media, and academics studying such phenomena. The study of new religions

5568-502: The dominant faith in any country, many of the concepts they first introduced (often referred to as " New Age " ideas) have become part of worldwide mainstream culture. Eileen Barker has argued that NRMs should not be "lumped together," as they differ from one another on many issues. Virtually no generalisation can be made about NRMs that applies to every group, with David V. Barrett noting that "generalizations tend not to be very helpful" when studying NRMs. J. Gordon Melton expressed

5664-736: The emergence of a number of highly visible new religious movements... [These] seemed so outlandish that many people saw them as evil cults, fraudulent organizations or scams that recruited unaware people by means of mind-control techniques. Real or serious religions, it was felt, should appear in recognizable institutionalized forms, be suitably ancient, and – above all – advocate relatively familiar theological notions and modes of conduct. Most new religions failed to comply with such standards. — Religious studies scholars Olav Hammer and Mikael Rothstein There has been opposition to NRMs throughout their history. Some historical events have been: Anti-Mormonism ,

5760-606: The founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness , appointed 11 "Western Gurus" to act as initiating gurus and to continue to direct the organisation. However, according to British scholar of religion Gavin Flood , "many problems followed from their appointment and the movement has since veered away from investing absolute authority in a few, fallible, human teachers." NRMs typically consist largely of first-generation believers, and thus often have

5856-496: The group as having a "theology of innate black superiority over whites – a belief system vehemently and consistently rejected by mainstream Muslims". Several fringe groups have been described as either holding or promoting black supremacist beliefs. A source described by historian David Mark Chalmers as being "the most extensive source on right-wing extremism" is the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an American nonprofit organization that monitors hate groups and extremists in

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5952-577: The group distributed leaflets attacking whites and claiming racial persecution in a zoning conflict (they had set up a nightclub in a warehouse on their property). They alienated many residents of the area, both black and white. In 1998, the county sought an injunction against construction and uses that violated zoning. At the same time, the Nuwaubian community increased its leafletting of Eatonton and surrounding areas, charging white officials with racial discrimination and striving to increase opposition to them. Threats mounted and an eviscerated dog carcass

6048-403: The growing popularity of new religious movements on the Internet. In 2006 J. Gordon Melton , executive director of the Institute for the Study of American Religions at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told The New York Times that 40 to 45 new religious movements emerge each year in the United States. In 2007, religious scholar Elijah Siegler said that, though no NRM had become

6144-400: The growth of sects and new religious movements is one of the "most noticeable" and "highly complex" developments in recent years, and in relation to the ecumenical movement , their "desire for peaceful relations with the Catholic Church may be weak or non-existent". Some NRMs are strongly counter-cultural and 'alternative' in the society where they appear, while others are far more similar to

6240-410: The idea to move down South... because he was under FBI investigation.... He provided us as his followers the bogus rationale that we were moving down South to meet our spiritual parents. (He) always was quick to forget that he gave more than one reason for many changes that he introduced throughout the organization. After moving to Georgia, York and his followers claimed affiliation with Masons and with

6336-580: The jail. He has said he believes that he was fired because he undertook this investigation. As "Dr. York," the movement's leader was a vocalist and music producer in Brooklyn before he left the area. During this time, his Nuwaubian teachings affected hip hop and Black culture in New York. Journalist Adam Heimlich of the New York Press suggested the following were influenced by York: Jaz-O , Doug E. Fresh , Afrika Bambaataa , Posdnuos from De La Soul , Prodigy from Mobb Deep , and MF Doom / KMD . In his article on York's cult, Heimlich reviewed some of

6432-399: The largest modern African initiated churches , was founded by Isaiah Shembe in South Africa. The early 20th century also saw a rise in interest in Asatru . The 1930s saw the rise of the Nation of Islam and the Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States; the rise of the Rastafari movement in Jamaica; the rise of Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo in Vietnam; the rise of Soka Gakkai in Japan; and

6528-424: The late 1980s, York borrowed from numerous religious and esoteric traditions beyond Islam, creating the "Nuwaubian" movement. York styled his movement with a mixture of Ancient Egypt and Native American themes. He legally changed his name again, from "Issa Al Haadi Al Mahdi" to "Malachi York," effective March 12, 1993. Former follower Robert J. Rohan had a critical view of York's changes: Malachi York came up with

6624-417: The late 1980s, he abandoned the black Muslim theology of his movement in favor of Kemetism and UFO religion . In 1991, he took his community to settle in Upstate New York , and then bought land near Eatonton , the county seat of Putnam County in Georgia . His followers built an ancient Egypt-themed compound called " Tama-Re " and changed their name to the "United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors." By 2000,

6720-471: The late 1990s, he styled himself a messianic founder-prophet of his movement, sometimes claiming divine status or extraterrestrial origin when appearing on his Savior's Day celebrations at Tama-Re . York was arrested in May 2002. In 2003, he pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse after being indicted on 197 counts of child molestation, including charges of sex trafficking of minors across state lines. These minors were as young as eight years old. In 2004, York

6816-435: The latter's book The Royal Parchment Scroll of Black Supremacy . The Associated Press described the teachings of the Nation of Islam (NOI) as having been black supremacist until 1975, when W. Deen Mohammed succeeded Elijah Muhammad (his father) as its leader. Elijah Muhammad's black-supremacist doctrine acted as a counter to the supremacist paradigm established and controlled by white supremacy. The SPLC described

6912-611: The leader's published works. He wrote that York had borrowed from a variety of sources for his ideas: A partial list, from my notes, of places I'd encountered Nuwaubian notions before includes Chariots of the Gods and the Rael 's embellishments on that book, conspiracy lit, UFO lit, the human potential movement , Buddhism and new-age , astrology , theosophy and Blavatsky , Leonard Jeffries and other Afrocentrics , Cayce , LaRouche , alternative medicine , self-help lit, Satanism ,

7008-460: The mayor's office or statements of the mayor's views. On May 8, 2002, Tama-Re was raided by a joint force of FBI and ATF agents, state police , and local law enforcement . Although there were fears that the raid would end in violence, no shots were fired during the operation, although tear gas was used by the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team . York and his wife were arrested outside of the property on

7104-586: The meeting, was the first to mention the Baháʼí Faith in the United States. Also attending were Soyen Shaku , the "First American Ancestor" of Zen , the Theravāda Buddhist preacher Anagarika Dharmapala , and the Jain preacher Virchand Gandhi . This conference gave Asian religious teachers their first wide American audience. In 1911, the Nazareth Baptist Church , the first and one of

7200-520: The methods employed by Chinese to convert captured US soldiers to their cause in the Korean War . Lifton himself had doubts about the applicability of his brainwashing hypothesis to the techniques used by NRMs to convert recruits. A number of ex-members of various new religions have made false allegations about their experiences in such groups. For instance, in the late 1980s a man in Dublin, Ireland,

7296-629: The middle and upper-middle classes, with Barrett stating that new religions in the UK and US largely attract "white, middle-class late teens and twenties". There are exceptions, such as the Rastafari movement and the Nation of Islam, which have primarily attracted Black members. A popular conception, unsupported by evidence, holds that those who convert to new religions are either mentally ill or become so through their involvement with them. Dick Anthony ,

7392-637: The office of Augusta mayor Bob Young (1999–2005) published a proclamation written by the Nuwaubian organization, stating the group's beliefs. Quotes include "the Nuwbuns were the dark, brown-to-black-skin, wooly-hair original Eygyptians." "[T]he Black race's greatness has been accepted in America and many books as people of Timbuktu Africa or the Olmecians from Uganda , Africa, who migrated and walked here to North and South America to set up colonies way before

7488-497: The original Bushwick, Brooklyn compound continues to function as both a bookstore and a place of religious service under the group "United Sabaeans Worldwide," with their bookstores now spread across the globe. They still carry the designation of a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center under the new name. On their website, they refer to York as "The Master Teacher Dr. Malachi Z. K. York." They state he

7584-553: The pejorative undertones of terms like " cult " and " sect ". These are words that have been used in different ways by different groups. For instance, from the nineteenth century onward a number of sociologists used the terms "cult" and "sect" in very specific ways. The sociologist Ernst Troeltsch for instance differentiated "churches" from "sect" by claiming that the former term should apply to groups that stretch across social strata while "sects" typically contain converts from socially disadvantaged sectors of society. The term "cult"

7680-567: The person of its founder, Malachi (Dwight) York, who legally changed his name several times, and has used dozens of aliases. York was born on June 26, 1935 (also reported as 1945). He began his ministry in the late 1960s, from 1967 preaching to a group he called the Pan-African "Nubians" (African Americans) in Brooklyn , New York City , New York. York founded numerous esoteric or quasi-religious fraternal orders under various names during

7776-630: The revelations of York's conduct, most followers abandoned the group, although some factions of the Nuwaubian Nation still exist. York is currently incarcerated in ADX Florence , a maximum-security federal prison in Florence, Colorado . He will be eligible for parole in 2122. In 2004, seven officers of the Macon, Georgia , police department resigned from their jobs in protest against the prosecution of York. Five of those officers were later hired by

7872-540: The rise of Zailiism and Yiguandao in China. In the 1940s, Gerald Gardner began to outline the modern pagan religion of Wicca . New religious movements expanded in many nations in the 1950s and 1960s at the height of the counterculture movements . Japanese new religions became very popular after the Shinto Directive (1945) forced the Japanese government to separate itself from Shinto , which had been

7968-402: The same day, on federal charges of child molestation and racketeering, including transport of minors for sexual use. He was convicted in 2004 by a jury in federal court and sentenced to 135 years in federal prison. His appeal failed, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the last appeal. Tama-Re was sold in asset forfeiture under the verdict, and the new owners demolished the structures. With

8064-647: The state. In Iran, followers of the Baháʼí Faith have faced persecution, while the Ahmadiyya have faced similar violence in Pakistan. Since 1999, the persecution of Falun Gong in China has been severe. Ethan Gutmann interviewed over 100 witnesses and estimated that 65,000 Falun Gong practitioners were killed for their organs from 2000 to 2008. In the 1930s, Christian critics of NRMs began referring to them as "cults". The 1938 book The Chaos of Cults by Jan Karel van Baalen (1890–1968), an ordained minister in

8160-492: The subject of less scholarly research. It has also been noted that scholars of new religions often avoid researching certain movements that scholars from other backgrounds study. The feminist spirituality movement is usually examined by scholars of women's studies , African-American new religions by scholars of Africana studies , and Native American new religions by scholars of Native American studies . J. Gordon Melton argued that "new religious movements" should be defined by

8256-483: The use of "religion" within the term "new religious movements". This is because various groups, particularly active within the New Age milieu, have many traits in common with different NRMs but emphasise personal development and humanistic psychology , and are not clearly "religious" in nature. Since at least the early 2000s, most sociologists of religion have used the term "new religious movement" in order to avoid

8352-514: The view that there is "no single characteristic or set of characteristics" that all new religions share, "not even their newness." Bryan Wilson wrote, "Chief among the miss-directed assertions has been the tendency to speak of new religious movements as if they differed very little, if at all, one from another. The tendency has been to lump them together and indiscriminately attribute all of the characteristics which are, in fact, valid for only one or two." NRMs themselves often claim that they exist at

8448-455: The way dominant religious and secular forces within a given society treat them. According to him, NRMs constituted "those religious groups that have been found, from the perspective of the dominant religious community (and in the West that is almost always a form of Christianity), to be not just different, but unacceptably different." Barker cautioned against Melton's approach, arguing that negating

8544-429: Was convicted and given a 135-year sentence for transporting minors across state lines in the course of sexually molesting them, racketeering , and financial reporting charges. His convictions were upheld on appeal. York's case was reported as the largest prosecution for child molestation ever directed at a single person in the history of the United States, both in terms of number of victims and number of incidents. The case

8640-514: Was described in the book Ungodly: A True Story of Unprecedented Evil (2007) by Bill Osinski, a reporter who had covered the Nuwaubians in Georgia during the late 1990s. As of 2010, some factions of the Black supremacist subculture in the United States appeared to continue to support York, portraying his conviction as a conspiracy by the "White Power Structure". Malik Zulu Shabazz , chairman of

8736-499: Was founded in England. It and some other NRMs have been called UFO religions because they combine the belief in extraterrestrial life with traditional religious principles. In 1965, Paul Twitchell founded Eckankar , an NRM derived partially from Sant Mat . In 1966, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) was founded in the United States by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada , and Anton LaVey founded

8832-500: Was given a three-year suspended sentence for falsely claiming that he had been drugged, kidnapped, and held captive by members of ISKCON. Black supremacism in the United States Black supremacy or black supremacism is a racial supremacist belief which maintains that black people are inherently superior to people of other races . Black supremacy was advocated by Jamaican preacher Leonard Howell in

8928-399: Was illegally arrested on May 8, 2002, serving a 135 year sentence for crimes that "he did not commit." They still follow York's and others "Nuwaubian" writings and scriptures, referencing UFO and extraterrestrial theology, "actual fact," and revelations of the "Nuwaupians." Initially the Nuwaubians were considered eccentric but tolerable by their new neighbours. Tensions increased locally when

9024-484: Was in Bushwick, Brooklyn , until 1983. A portion of the community moved to Sullivan County, New York , to a site they called Camp Jazzir Abba. More people stayed in Brooklyn until about 1991. A Muslim cleric, Bilal Philips , published The Ansar Cult in America in 1988, denouncing the movement as un-Islamic. Phillips relied heavily on testimonies of former adherents in describing the group's beliefs and practices. In

9120-529: Was left at the home of the county attorney . Within Putnam County, the Nuwaubians lost black support, in part by trying to take over the NAACP chapter. Nuwaubians then appealed to national activists, claiming to be racially persecuted in the county. In 1999, Al Sharpton visited Tama-Re to express his support for the Nuwaubians. During this period, the group maintained Holy Tabernacle stores "in more than

9216-584: Was translated and used by several American authors, including Jacob Needleman , to describe the range of groups that appeared in the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1960s. This term, amongst others, was adopted by Western scholars as an alternative to "cult". However, "new religious movements" has failed to gain widespread public usage in the manner that "cult" has. Other terms that have been employed for many NRMs are "alternative religion" and "alternative spirituality", something used to convey

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