ABSTRACT
An overview of alternative religiosn in Western societies suggests that they come in an infinite variety of forms, from quasi-Christian sects, to imported ancient world religions, to entirely new religious movements and quasi-religions. The possibility of a religious revival invariably relates to the question of the true social significance of the alternative religions and their real relevance, if any, beyond offering something positive for those who are directly involved. A number of politicians, church leaders, and church pressure groups have all lamented the decline of the so-called Christian society. For many sociologists of religion, the areas of expansion are largely accepted to be the cultic religions and various strands of the New Age movement, the religions of various ethnic minorities, and expressions of world faiths of a fundamentalist nature. The plurality of religions in Western societies may have come to replace a civic religion based at least upon a nominal Christianity.
