Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part I : Global perspective, new age, and society's response -- N ew religious movements (NRMs) : a global perspective -- The new a ge movement (NAM) : alternative or mainstream? -- Accounting for hostility to NRMs -- Part II : New religions in the west -- Europ e -- North America -- Australia, New Zealand and Melanesia (Ne w Guinea) -- Part III : New religions : North Africa and the Middle East, and Africa, south of the Sahara -- North Africa and the Middle East -- Africa, south of the Sahara -- Part IV : NRMs in South a nd Central America and the Carribean -- South and Central America an d the Caribbean -- Part V : New religions of South, Southeast and Ea st Asia -- South Asia (India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) -- South east Asia (Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia) -- East Asia (1) : Japanese NRMs -- East Asia (2) : NRMs in China, Taiwan and Korea -- Part V : Conclusions -- Future trends.