Orlov V. New Religious Movements: Historiography of the 1960s - Early 21st Century

The historiographical material examined by the author allows to define historiographical periods of the history of new religious movements: the Soviet, Modern (post-Soviet) and foreign historiographies. The Soviet historiographical process of the new religion consists of two sub-periods: 1) the second half of the 1960s - the first half of the 1980s; 2) 1985 - 1991. The critical attitude of professional historians of the Soviet period to the history of religion and new religious movements has been emphasized. It has been stressed that from the second half of the 1980s till 1991 in the history of modern historiography of new religiosity an atheistic discourse of studying the history of religion and new religious movements is kept, but the historical works where the chosen phenomenon has been characterized more profoundly have appeared too.