Religious Movements

Mata Amritanandamayi (Mother of Immortal Bliss)—affectionately called Amma or Ammachi (mother)—is a prominent contemporary religious leader, attracting devotees of all ages, races, religions, and walks of life. Known as the ‘Hugging Saint’ since she has literally embraced millions of devotees across the globe, Ammachi is regarded by her devotees as the embodiment of the Divine […]

The Arya Samaj is a Hindu revivalist movement with its origins in north India in the nineteenth century, but with a global presence and purpose in the twenty-first. With its message of ‘Back to the Veda’, it has sought to purify Hindu practices, ideas, and institutions by rejecting what it sees as superstitious and superfluous […]

Following the esoteric revival promoted by the Theosophical sphere, a variety of Christian movements were created that expressed interest in esoteric subjects. These movements, critical of such a sphere, were nevertheless subjected to its influence. The Lotus+Cross Esoteric Order and the Archeosophic Association, both founded by Tommaso Palamidessi (1915-83) and each with original aspects, are […]

The Azusa Street Revival in 1906-9, regarded by historians of religions as marking the beginning of twentieth-century Pentecostalism, has exercised a profound influence in the United States and beyond. William Joseph Seymour (1870-1922), the central figure of the Revival was born to a family of emancipated slaves and grew up in the midst of violent […]