A Retrospective: Reflections on the Tenth Anniversary of Nova Religio

Abstract

Nova Religio came into being to provide a growing cohort of scholars of new religions with a dedicated forum within which to publish their research. The title, Nova Religio, was chosen to convey the journal's focus on new religious phenomena across historical periods. The description, The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, signified that Nova Religio would have as its purview religious communities and movements that fall outside the "established, or dominant, religious institutions and traditions of a given nation or culture." The journal has published a number of important symposia during its first decade and established itself as the journal of record for scholars of new and minority religions. Three initiatives are suggested to help the field of new religions studies (NRS) achieve its full potential in the academy: 1) continued outreach to colleagues in interdisciplinary fields; 2) a transition from frames that see new religions as "social problems," to frames that sees these movements as "social phenomena"; and 3) the building of stronger organizational foundations within the academy.