The volume presents a selection of papers read at the CESNUR 1997 conference in Amsterdam. The articles are divided into four sections each with its own relevance to the study of new religions in contemporary society; esotericism, millennialism and eschatology, religious leaders, and, more broadly, social aspects of the new religions. The contributors work in the fields of sociology, sociology of religion, history of religion, anthropology and theology, thus reflecting the well established tradition for interdisciplinary efforts in the study of new religions.