Contemporary Shaivism appears as a wide landscape of lineages, institutions, and devotional communities rather than a single unified movement. At one end of this spectrum stand classical doctrinal streams such as Kashmir Shaivism and Shaiva Siddhanta, which continue through small teaching lineages, temple networks, and academic study. Kashmir Shaivism, often presented today as nondual Shaiva tantra, is preserved by lineages that emphasize meditation, mantra, and scriptural study, while Shaiva Siddhanta remains especially strong in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka through monastic centers, temple management bodies, and theological institutions. Alongside these, the Nath Sampradaya maintains a living ascetic and yogic tradition that venerates Shiva as Adinatha and sustains monasteries and akhāḍās across North India and Nepal. These currents embody a continuity with premodern Shaiva theology and practice, even as they adapt to new social and cultural contexts.

Another major stream is the Lingayat or Vīraśaiva movement, rooted in medieval Shaiva reform and now expressed through powerful mathas and community organizations, especially in Karnataka. These institutions emphasize devotion to Shiva through the personal liṅga, social service, and the transmission of vernacular devotional literature, while also engaging in ongoing debates about identity and religious classification. Parallel to this, Shaiva Siddhanta institutions and South Indian temple-centered Shaivism sustain a dense network of shrines, festivals, and educational activities, extending into Tamil and other diasporas. In many regions, temple boards, adheenams, and community trusts function as the practical custodians of Shaiva ritual life and ethical discipline.

A further dimension of contemporary Shaivism lies in ascetic and tantric currents, some of which trace themselves to older Pāśupata or Kāpālika patterns. Aghori Shaiva groups and cremation-ground renunciates, though numerically small and often secretive, continue to embody a radical, liminal form of Shiva devotion centered on transgression and intense tapas. At the same time, there has been a significant revival and reinterpretation of Shaiva tantra, including neo-tantric and yoga-based movements that honor Śiva–Śakti as a central polarity and present mantra, kundalini work, and meditation to a global audience. These range from traditions that consciously root themselves in classical Shaiva scriptures to more eclectic, syncretic formations whose doctrinal fidelity varies.

Finally, Shaiva sensibilities also permeate broader Hindu and Advaita-oriented organizations and diaspora communities. Some nonsectarian or Advaita-based missions, while not exclusively Shaiva, give Shiva a prominent place in worship and contemplative imagery, integrating Shaiva devotion into a more universalist theology. Across the world, especially where Tamil and other South Asian communities have settled, Shiva temples serve as focal points for ritual, cultural education, and the preservation of Shaiva Siddhanta and bhakti traditions. In this way, contemporary Shaivism manifests simultaneously as rigorous philosophy, temple-centered devotion, ascetic experimentation, and globalized spiritual practice, all converging around the recognition of Shiva as the supreme reality.