THE NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Abstract

The last few decades are characterized with sudden awakening and development of new religiousness, new or renewed teachings, which are scientifically called the new religious movements. These new religious communities are the universal phenomenon. According to the institutions researching this social and theological challenge, formation and work of these new religious movements has been noticed on all continents. It is not unusual to meet young people on the street offering us to learn about Jesus' vision of life, to discover the real meaning of life, to join the only true Islamic community etc. In the first part of the article the author lists the basic social strivings of postmodern era that influenced this kind of individualistic and, basically, nontraditional relation towards religion. As a result of the research on (post)modern ideological and organizational presence of religions here, the second part offers summaries on: Religious association of friends, International Church of Christ, Christian church of seventh day Adventists, Jehovah's witnesses, International Society of Krishna's Light, Ahmadi movement in Islam and the Sai Baba cult. In summarizing the results of the research, the author claims that all these non-religious and spiritual communities should be viewed in the wider context of modern man's search for religion, and, as such, they do not represent a challenge, but a chance for Muslims and their teachers.