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The end of World War II saw the emergence of new approaches to religious worship and doctrines originating from Japan. The New Movements, or Sects, as they were initially called, spread to the United States and Europe. With time, their teachings, methods of worship, and beliefs kept changing. The new groups were distinct from pre-existing traditional denominations. Responding to the challenge posed by the modernising world, they chose to form closely knit communities that were desirous of new religious experiences. These movements are a product of and answer to the modern processes of secularisation, globalisation, detraditionalisation, fragmentation, reflexivity, and individualism. Therefore, this paper examines the new religious movements, their emergence, characteristics, and challenges posed to society and the traditional Church. The study uses historical and phenomenological methods, which involve the use of secondary sources. The new religious movements (NRMs) represent the creativity of the human spirit, an expression of the universal human yearning for a deeper spiritual union, and a call to the reawakening of deeper religious consciousness.

Sect, New Religious Movements, Secularisation, Globalisation,