New religious movement
From XFamily - Children of God
A new religious movement or NRM appears as a religious, ethical or spiritual grouping that has not (yet) become recognised as a standard denomination, church, or body, especially when it has a novel belief system and when it is not a sect.
Some scholars prefer this neutral term to the pejorative term of "cult", but anti-cult activists still continue to use it, as anti-cult scholars provide the scientific base. Debates among academics on acceptablity of the word "cult" in scholarly research papers continue.
The term "New Religious Movement" is often used to describe The Family.
