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Toward Understanding New Age Spirituality

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University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies Legacy Theses 2000 The contemporary quest to resacralize life: toward understanding new age spirituality Christensen, Linda Christensen, L. (2000). The contemporary quest to resacralize life: toward understanding new age spirituality (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/16050 http://hdl.handle.net/1880/40585 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY The Contemporary Quest to Resacralize Life: Toward Understanding New Age Spirituality Linda Christensen A THESIS SUBMIlTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES CALGARY, ALBERTA AUGUST, 2000 0 Linda Christensen 2000 National Library Bibliotheque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington OttawaON KIAON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your fib Votre rdfdence Our Nafre ref.renu, The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde me licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive pennettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, preter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de rnicrofiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format electronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriete du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protkge cette these. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent Stre imprimes reproduced without the authcr's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation- The New Age movement represents a contemporary quest to resacralize life, Consequently, the New Age style of religiosity reflects the modem social context. The effects of the privatization of religion are evident in that New Age spirituality can be characterized as eclectic, self-constructed and experientially based- The New Age movement exists as a network drawing from several sources in terms of either sub-movements, trends or organizations. The emergence of the New Age network and the paradigm that links the groups together into a common movement is a product of the sixties counterculture. Contrary to the contention of certain scholars, the New Age movement cannot be viewed as merely representing a revitalization of Western esotericism. Rather, it has a distinct identity of its own that sets it apart Despite there being bdamental ideals that link the diverse groups into a common movement, differences in orientation exist in tension with each other. Mainstream New Age spirituality (which draws primarily from the sixties counterculture) is characterized by a this-worldly focus in its resacralization of life. It sees the spiritual dimension as existing in and through physicality in a concrete way. Whereas Esoteric New Age spirituality (which draws primarily from Western esotericism) has a predominantly other-worldly orientation that seeks to see past the illusion and/or temporality of physicality in order to realize the sacred in life. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .. Approval page........................................................................................................................... ...Ii Abstract, ............................ ,.. ..................................................................................................... IU Table of Contents..................................................................................................................... iv New Agers on the New Age ....... ... ................................................................. -3 EvangelicalResponses to the New Age ............................................................ 4 Mainline ChristianResponses to the New Age ................................................ -6 Journalistic Responses to the New Age ............................................................ 7 Academic Responses to the New Age .............................................................. -7 SkepticsResponding to the New Age ............................................................. 13 Conclusion to the Literature Review......................... :....... ....................... 14 APPROACH............................................................................................................... 15 CONCLUSION.................. ,.. ................................................................................... 20 CHAPTER TWO: PRELIMINARY DISCUSIONS ON WHAT CONSTITUTES THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT.. ......................................................................................... -24 THE DISTINCTIVE SELF-IDENTITY OF THE NEW AGE .................................. ..25 The New Age as a Revitalization of Western Esotericism? ............................25 The Distinctivenessof the New Age ............................................................... 28 THE DAWNINGOFTHENEW AGE ....................................................................... 29 The Contribution of Western Esotericism....................................................... 30 The Contriiution of the Sixties Counterculture.............................................. 37 Conclusion................................................................................................... -45 THE NEW AGE NETWORK .................................................................................... 46 A Meta-network Paradi gm............................................................................ -47 Cult Typology within the New Age Network ................................................. -49 A Thematic Categorization of the New Age Network.................................. -51 Sociological. political and ecological groups: .................................. 52 Alternative spirituality groups. .......................................................... 52 Personal growth and development groups. .......................................-53 OccuIt and related groups: ................................................................. 54 Holistic and alternative healing groups: ............................................ 54 55 THE DEFINITIVE... ESSENTIALS OF NEW AGE IDEOLOGY................................ AHolrstx V~ewofReality.............................................................................. 57 A Reverence for Life...................................................................................... -58 . A Global Sp~ntuality....................................................................................... 58 New Age Apocalypticism?.............................................................................. 59 CONCLUSION........................................................................................................... -60 CHAPTER THREE: CONTEXTUTAGFEATURES OF NEW AGE IIELIGIOSTY........................................................................................................................ 63 NOTEWORTE-FYFEATURES OFNEW AGE RELIGIOSITY.................................. 63 The Centrality of the Self......... .. .................................................................... -64 Holistic Experiences of Connectedness..... .., .................................................. 67 The Socializationofthe Subjective................................................................. 70 The Role ofExperientia1Empowerment... .................................................... -71 Epistemology and the Nature of Truth in the New Age .................................. 74 New Age pragmatism. ........................................................................ -75 New Age truth as metaphorical........................................................... 77 Summary.......................................................................................................... 80 CULTURAL TRENDS SUPPORTIVE OF NEW AGE SPIRITWALm.................. 81 The Effects of Secularization. ...,...., ............................................................... 82 ... The pnva~zabonof rehgon: ............................................................. 82 Religious pluralism and the crisis of legitimation............................. 83 The remythologization of religion as a psychoIogicaI phenorneno~..................................................................................... -84 The increase of personal autonomy in religious matters. ................... -86 The Cultural Shift Toward Self-fidfillment. ................................................... 89 The expressivistethical style.............................................................. -89 Self-llfillment contract. ..................................................................... 91 The shift toward post-material values: ................................................ 94 . Baby-boomerspmtuality. ..................................................................
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