To Wallis, most world-affirming new religious movements are cults. Cults are like sects in that they have religious beliefs that are widely regarded as deviant, but, unlike sects, cults tolerate the existence of religions CRITICISM OF WALLIS's CATEGORIES Wallis realises that no religious group will conform exactly to the categories he outlines. He states that "all actual new religious movements are likely to combine elements of each type to some extent' (p. 73). he points to a number of groups which occupy intermediate position, such as the Divine Light Mission. Comparing them with the three main types, he states, "They combine in various degrees all three types, and more particularly elements of the conventional society and the counter culture' (p. 73) James A . Beckford(1985) argues that while Wallis's Scheme recognises that new religious movements do not always fit neatly into one category or another and