Defining "Alternative Religions"

"Alternative religions" is a term that turns off a fair number of followers of said religions. It defines a group of religions only by comparison to other religions. After all, if you're an alternative, you need to be an alternative to something. It is broadly thought of as anything non-Judeo-Christian, or at least non-world religion.

Those who follow alternative religions, however, generally did not embrace the religion in question as an alternative. Wiccans are Wiccans, not merely non-Christians, for example.

Many alternate religions are fairly new and thus fairly small and unknown. However, with communication technology improving every day, more and more people do know about these religions. Also, some of these religions have gained significant recognition in the public eye. After all, who in America hasn't heard of Scientology?

But I've yet to come up with a better term for these religions.

At About.com, "Alternative religions" is any religion not being dealt with by another Site Guide. This includes most, but not all new religious movements, (Wicca, for example, is covered elsewhere), and it is not exclusively for NRMs, as the presence of Zoroastrianism has already proved. Membership in these religions are generally measured in the thousands rather than the millions, although Baha'i Faith at the least will contradict that generalization.