begin historically studying religion from the late 19th Century onwards. Massive changes occurred within the Christian church throughout the period of enlightenment, the extremely radical idea that one should have the right to question religious authority was brought to the forefront of people's minds and whether God was actually sovereign. Better means of travel and means with which to pass information provided Americans and to a lesser extent Europeans with contact to the religions from the Far East including Buddhism and Hinduism. A great deal of the 'mainstream' religions within America appeared to be socially abandoned by much of the population in favour of divergent faiths or NRM's (new religious movement) as they are more commonly known this can be attributed to many believing that modernisation and secularisation went hand in hand. This demonstrates some incredible similarities between the sixties and the period of enlightenment. The Cultural Revolution that was occurring with respect to religion seemed to effect the American population far greater than their British and European counterparts. Examples of these NRM's included The Spiritual Regeneration Movement (which included members such as the Beatles) the Jesus People, The Divine Light Mission, Krishna Consciousness and the Children of God. Many looked to the Eastern religions to learn techniques such as spiritual transcendence and personal fulfilment. The discipline of studying religion requires a variety of approaches and plurality of the traditions involved, this can enrich ones r
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