Founders and leaders of Radhoasoami Satsang Beas, a religion based on what is called Surat Shabd Yoga (the yoga of "divine sounds and light"), from which much of the American cult of Eckankar was derived.

The Skeptics Society is a scientific and educational organization of scholars, scientists, historians, magicians, professors and teachers, and anyone curious about controversial ideas, extraordinary claims, revolutionary ideas and the promotion of science.

Asked how he maintains his unusual approach to a religious practice, Smith describes a routine that is not typical of a member of the United Methodist Church, which he is. His daily rituals include hatha yoga and reading from the Bhagavad Gita or the Tao Te Ching if not the Bible. He meditates as often as he prays.
(...)

One minute he's reminding you of his graduate student years at the rigorous University of Chicago. The next, he's confessing to a visit with Ramtha, a warrior from the lost continent of Atlantis being channeled through a former cable TV saleswoman in Yelm, Wash.

The Society is concerned with metaphysics both in its traditional philosophical meaning (the study of the basic nature of all reality) and in its popular meaning (whatever is beyond the physical). Sometimes New Thought and other groups that emphasize the power of mind and the reality of more than the physical world are called metaphysics and their practitioners metaphysicians. Any group--whether esoteric, theosophical, New Age, or Christian Science--with such emphases would come within the purview of the Society, but thus far its attention has been concentrated on the New Thought movement, and its annual meetings have been held in conjunction with the annual Expos of the International New Thought Alliance.

Who's got the power in Japan?
Not the PM. It's New Komeito, but voters are deeply suspicious of the party's cult origins and agenda.
(...)

The deep conflict arises from New Komeito's relationship with Soka Gakkai, a giant lay Buddhist organisation dominated by its spiritual leader, Daisaku Ikeda.

Soka Gakkai (the name means Value-Creation Society) was set up by two teachers in the 1920s to further the beliefs of an influential Buddhist sect, Nichiren Shoshu. One of its founders, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, died in prison during World War II for refusing to bow to state-enforced Shintoism.

But it is a postwar boom that has given Soka Gakkai its clout (and its notoriety). Using the massive funds generated by its 8 million members, mostly housewives and small business people, Ikeda has been able to build Soka Gakkai into a giant global organisation, aimed at ''promoting peace through culture and education''.

The expansion has not done much for its domestic image. Despite its lofty goals, some heavy-handed recruiting tactics in the 1970s and 1980s and its intolerance of criticism have left many Japanese deeply suspicious of the body and its leadership.

''To me, New Komeito is little more than a cult, like Aum [Shrinrikyo, the doomsday organisation behind the 1995 Tokyo subway gassings],'' one conservative voter in central Japan complained during the election campaign.
[...more...]

Agreeing with and faithful to biblical teaching and to orthodoxy beyond a bare minimum, such that Christians may be encouraged to continue in this way. Contrasted with aberrational, which refers to orthodox teaching or practice which is only barely so. Its opposite, "unsound" may be used to express degrees of deficiency in soundness.

... refers to the practice of attempting communication with departed human or extrahuman intelligences (usually nonphysical) through the agency of a human medium, with the intent of receiving paranormal information and/or having direct experience of metaphysical realities

... some Christians accept the notion of 'territorial spirits' as readily as pagans, the only difference being that they believe that such 'spirits' should be confronted through authoritative prayer and commands issued 'in the Spirit'.

When it comes to thinking about statistics, there are four kinds of people: awestruck, naive, cynical, and critical. According to sociologist Joel Best, the vast majority of people are naive (yes, you too probably suffer from a mild case of innumeracy), and the result is mutant statistics, guesswork, and poor policy decisions. ''Bad statistics live on,'' writes Best in this highly accessible book, ''they take on lives of their own.'' (...) In an effort to turn people into critical thinkers, Best presents three questions to ask about all statistics and the four basic sources of bad ones. He shows how good statistics go bad; why comparing statistics from different time periods, groups, etc. is akin to mixing apples and oranges; and why surveys do little to clarify people's feelings about complex social issues.
[...more...]

Adherents.com is a growing collection of over 41,000 adherent statistics and religious geography citations -- references to published membership/adherent statistics and congregation statistics for over 4,000 religions, churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, movements, ultimate concerns, etc.

Basically, researchers can use this site to answer such questions as "How many Episcopalians live in South Carolina?", "What are the major religions in Austria?" or "What percentage of the world is Jewish?" We present data from both primary research sources such as government census reports, statistical sampling surveys and organizational reporting, as well as citations from secondary literature which mention adherent statistics.

Adherents.com is an Internet initiative and is not affiliated with any religious, political, educational, or commercial organization.

Less than orthodox, yet not explicitly contrary to orthodoxy.

In this next wave I am requiring those who take up this golden sword to be refined, to be pure, to have all the dross refined in the fire because if you take this sword and there is secret sin in your life this sword will kill you.

The combining or merging and synthesizing of religions or religious beliefs, practices, and philosophies. This results in new or hybrid religions that are composed of diverse elements of the religions from which they were derived.