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Variations of ancient and new religions and cults

What are all the variations of ancient religions and new religions that are popping up today? How do we discern the difference between a cult and a legitimate religion?
Are there dangers (pitfalls) of Secularism in our culture today?

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Variations of Ancient Religions

There are numerous denominations of within Christianity so here I will provide information that I have found recently:

Evangelical Christians have been recently separated into three groups: traditionalist, centrist and modernist.
The traditionalists are characterized by high affinity for orthodox religious beliefs. They have little inclination to adapt to a changing world, and they closely resemblance what has been labeled the Christian right.
Centrists are represented for example by the Reverend Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County, California. He is the author of the best-selling book "The Purpose Driven Life." He is theologically and socially conservative, but he has often avoided politics and has recently turned much of his attention to fighting poverty and AIDS in Africa (which is a noble cause and a matter of extreme urgency.)
Modernist evangelicals show much more diversity in their beliefs and have lower levels of church attendance. A prominent representative of this segment is the Reverend Jim Wallis, a politically liberal evangelical who has been active on climate change, immigration issues and other current topics on the social agenda.

1. (Cf. [Accessed November 11, 2013]).

There are numerous variations of ancient religions so I will list some traditions that are not widely known:

Monotheistic traditions
- Babism: The Mohammedan religion is today divided into about fifty different sects. This division greatly weakens it. The Bab sect was started by Mirza Mohammed Ali of Shiraz, a city in which reside the most intellectual and poetical scholars of Persia. He began to plan the new religion at the age of eighteen, but did not reveal it until he was twenty-five years old. The ...

Solution Summary

This solution will assist the student examining variations of ancient religions and understanding the existence of new religions. It will also assist the student in understanding the difference between a cult and a legitimate religion, as well as discussing the dangers of secularism in our culture today.