CURRENT
EXPRESSIONS
OF THE NEW AGE
Religioscope
- 20 January 2002
See
also suggested recent sources (books and
websites) at the end of the article.
1.
The term "New Age" has largely fallen out of favour
in most circles. The preferred expressions include "new
spirituality", "do-it-yourself spirituality",
"self-spirituality" - or as lots of bookstores now
designate it "mind-body-spirit".
2.
New Age has so saturated mainstream culture it has ceased
to be a fringe phenomenon - this parallels the civil rights
and women's movements of the 60s and 70s that started on the
margins until their concerns and jargon are now part of the
fabric of mainstream social discourse.
3.
New Age now expresses itself in different trajectories:
a. A
monist approach which might partake of a pantheist
view (but this is not the only form the monist vision entails).
Monism can be expressed as “substantival” (there
is only one real substance to the universe) or “attributive”
(there are many objects that exist in one ultimate category).
Another monist version is neo-Buddhist, and represents a
mix and match amalgamation of concepts and practices drawn
from across the classic Buddhist traditions (Tibetan, Vipassana,
Zen, etc). Others are panentheists (there is one personal
God and all of reality is inside God’s “body”).
Other key elements here include the notion of spiritual
evolution where one progresses in successive lives to become
spiritually complete. One other influential motif is David
Bohm’s construct of the hologram as a model of the
universe. Both spiritual evolution and the hologram offer
conceptual models on which participants can interpret reality
and give direction to their lives. But care must be exercised
in these abstractions (are we describing projections onto
new age of our own making rather than really describing
what's out there?). Practitioners are more inclined to ask
"does it work?" not "is it true?" In
other words, people are not necessarily developing doctrines
and adhering to them, but more sampling psycho-technologies
that facilitate personal growth and healing.
b. A
neo-gnostic approach - this reflects the influence
of Jung’s psychoanalytic theory and his views of gnosis.
In this stream of thought one can also note the interest
in disembodied beings and the current angel craze. There
is also a grass roots interest in the ancient gnostic writings.
The neo-gnostic thought tends to eschew dualism for a more
holistic understanding of the world. So in contrast to ancient
gnosticism, there is a celebration of both spirit and matter,
and women are not denigrated as inferior beings.
c. A
neo-pagan approach – this reflects the
eco-spirituality of the neo-pagan and mother goddess streams.
This spiritual trajectory can be seen in rural counter-cultural
communities known as the Rainbow Tribes (USA), the New Travellers
(UK) and the Ferals (Australia). However neo-pagans are
also found in urban areas either forming covens or acting
as sole practitioners. Some neo-pagan shamans participate
in the Rave Culture owing to its emphasis on altered states
of consciousness and its socio-political resistance to globalization.
d.
Hermetic approach – this relates to the
esoteric spiritual traditions like the Qabalah, alchemy,
astrology, tarot, and an interest in the ancient Hermetic
writings (Hermes Trismegistus). A forerunner of this is
the nineteenth century British group the Order of the Golden
Dawn.
4. Cultural
Signposts
Some obvious
signposts of this spirituality can be seen in books, magazines,
TV, movies and the Internet. Some of the most influential
authors include Fritjof Capra, Deepak Chopra, Shakti Gawain,
Louise Hay, Shirley Maclaine, James Redfield, Anthony Robbins,
Neale Donald Walsch and Marianne Williamson. The book A
Course in Miracles offers a neo-Vedantic and Gnostic reinterpretation
of Jesus’ teachings. It has sold in excess of one million
copies and spawned a corpus of interpretative and devotional
literature (Gerald Jampolsky, Love is Letting Go of Fear,
Kenneth Wapnick, The Meaning of Forgiveness and Marianne
Williamson, A Return to Love).
Popular women’s
magazines also reflect the grass roots interest in do-it-yourself
spirituality with columns devoted to astrology, feng shui,
psychic readings and tarot. Alternative Lifestyle and psychic
festivals are another indicator: Whole Life Expo (USA), International
Festival for Mind Body Spirit (Australia and UK), Magick Happens,
Mardi Grass Fiesta and Down To Earth ConFest (Australia),
and Nambassa (New Zealand).
On television elements
of these things crop up obviously in interviews with celebrities
like Deepak Chopra on Oprah Winfrey’s show. Some of the
raw myth-making material has been reflected in The X Files
and Star Trek Voyager. In motion pictures The
Matrix springs to mind as it reflected Christian, Buddhist
and gnostic ideas
Robin Williams'
film What Dreams May Come touches on various ideas
about death and the afterlife. Negative near death experiences
(NDEs) cropped up in an episode of The Sopranos, positive
and negative NDEs occurred to Bart Simpson in The Simpsons,
and the Kiefer Sutherland/Julia Roberts film Flatliners
also touched on NDEs. Aspects of myth and folklore also crop
up in TV shows like Buffy and Charmed, but neither
of these shows accurately depicts neo-pagan/ wiccan/ mother
goddess spirituality. (The Craft was likewise a total
distortion of wicca). The film Stigmata picked up on
the ancient gnostic texts. The Truman Show dealt with
issues concerning 'what is reality?', 'who is in control and
does anyone care?'
Another signpost:
the Self-Development courses, many of which are used in both
the corporate world and among professional athletes. These
courses tend to emphasize the power of the self to rescript
one’s thoughts and destiny by affirmations, out-of-body
experiences, altered states of consciousness etc. Examples
include Landmark Education (the successor to Werner Erhard’s
The Forum), Harry Palmer's Avatar, and the seminars of Anthony
Robbins and Wayne Dyer. Harry Palmer was originally a member
of the Church of Scientology and broke away. The Avatar course
is premised on the idea that beliefs determine one’s
experiences, and hence if one re-engineers their beliefs,
then one’s life’s experiences will radically change.
Unlike many other New Age/Human Potential courses where the
emphasis is on making affirmations to reprogram the mind,
Palmer’s approach concentrates on applying various techniques
to eliminate the mindset that constricts beliefs.
In conclusion,
this phenomenon represents the democratisation of spirituality.
Participants have discovered that they can draw upon a diverse
range of spiritual practices and techniques to give direction
to their lives. They can create their own rituals, rites and
ceremonies without recourse to institutional forms of religion
like church, mosque and synagogue. It is a self-spirituality
that casts itself as unfettered by the polarities of doctrine
and rationalism. This spirituality puts an emphasis on the
notion of holism and healing – of seeing things in an
integrated manner and finding both personal and global transformation
holistically. It is a cultural expression of disenchantment
with mere mechanistic and materialist solutions to life’s
problems, and seeks to resacralise the secular world through
esoteric thought and practice. (Philip Johnson)
[back]
Suggested
Recent Sources:
1.
Books
1.1 Academic
perspectives
Nevill
Drury, Exploring the Labyrinth: Making Sense of the New
Spirituality (Continuum, 1999)
Although Drury holds a master's degree in anthropology, he
writes at a very readable accessible level. Drury himself
is an advocate for the new spirituality and has been a prolific
author on the esoteric and occult traditions. Drury's book
is a good introductory text that describes and charts the
various contours of this spirituality.
Wouter
Hanegraaff, New Age Religion and Western Culture (Albany:
State University of New York Press, 1998)
This approaches New Age from the standpoint of phenomenology.
It is a very densely worded academic analysis but repays careful
reading.
Graham
Harvey, Contemporary Paganism: Listening People, Speaking
Earth (New York: New York University Press, 1997)
Harvey’s text approaches the subject of modern paganism
phenomenologically, and is a useful primer. One weakness is
Harvey’s inadequate treatment of the racial purity views
of certain pagans in the Odinist tradition.
Paul Heelas,
The New Age Movement: The Celebration of the Self and the
Sacralization of Modernity (Oxford, UK & Cambridge
MA: Blackwell, 1996)
This book offers a sociological charting of new age trajectories,
and is written at an academic standard.
Ronald
Hutton, The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan
Witchcraft (Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press,
1999)
This is a major groundbreaking study on the emergence and
development of neo-pagan and Wiccan thought in the United
Kingdom. Traces the antecedent ideas and seminal figures to
shape this spirituality from the 1800s to the present.
Michael
Niman, People of the Rainbow: A Nomadic Utopia (Knoxville:
University of Tennessee Press, 1997)
A study of the “Rainbow Tribes” of North America
who pursue an alternate lifestyle expressed through an eco-spirituality.
Steven
Sutcliffe and Marion Bowman, eds., Beyond New Age : Exploring
Alternative Spirituality (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University
Press, 2000)
This volume offers phenomenological studies on New Age worth
exploring.
[back]
1.2 Christian
perspectives
Ross Clifford
and Philip Johnson, Jesus and the Gods of the New Age
(Oxford: Lion Publishing, 2001)
This is a practical handbook on how to minister with those
who are into this spirituality. It recreates dialogues between
the authors and devotees in the context of New Age festivals,
and demonstrates by these case studies how conversations can
proceed towards the Gospel blending contextual mission principles
with apologetics. It marks a fresh departure from earlier
evangelical literature that was characterized by the debunking
or demonisation of new age - what sociologists call “boundary-maintenance”.
John Drane,
What is the New Age Still Saying to the Church? (London:
Marshall Pickering 1999)
The book offers some analysis of New Age, but then proceeds
into reflections on what this spirituality says back to the
church - the theological and missiological challenges it represents.
John Drane,
Cultural Change and Biblical Faith (Carlisle: Paternoster,
2000)
This is a collection of previously published essays examining
questions of apologetic method, theological issues, missiological
questions etc. appertaining to New Age and the phenomenon
of post-modernity (essays like: "Methods and Perspectives
in understanding the New Age"; "Ancient Gnosis for
a New Millennium"; "Death of Diana, Princess of
Wales: Missiological Lessons for the Church"; "Cultural
Change, the Church and the Future Shape of Christian Ministry"
etc).
John A.
Saliba, Christian responses to the New Age movement
(London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1999)
This is a Catholic scholar's survey of how Christians in Catholic,
Orthodox and Protestant traditions have reacted to New Age.
Offers his own dialogical approach to new age. This is useful
for being alerted to critical reflections about where Christian
literature may go astray in misunderstanding New Age or in
failing to effectively
communicate outside church circles with devotees.
John Newport,
The New Age Movement and the Biblical
Worldview (Grand Rapids: Eerdman,s 1998)
This book is problematic due to its over-reliance on quoting
sources from other evangelical books, rather than directly
from primary sources, and it is sadly a cut-and-paste work
in many parts where passages have been plagiarized. Other
criticisms of Newport's book have been raised in Irving Hexham's
review of recent literature on New Age ("Books and Culture:
The New Age Is Over"), which can be accessed at Christianity
Today's site: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/1999/150/22.0.html
[back]
2.
Websites
The following
list of Internet sites is a small selection of sources including
sites that advocate new age spirituality, academic sites, and
Christian sites. Each site is briefly annotated.
2.1 New
Age Sites
www.celestinevision.com
This is the official web site for James Redfield, author of
the new age novels The Celestine Prophecy, The Tenth
Insight etc. This site offers a snapshot of the ideas
Redfield crystallized in his novels and non-fiction books
and provides access to articles by Redfield and his associates.
http://hometown.aol.com/adearling/enabler/index.htm
This is the site of Enabler Publications, which
is an alternate publishing house in the UK co-ordinated by
Alan Dearling. It features a number of important monographs
by Dearling and others pertaining to Britain’s alternate culture,
particularly the New Travellers.
www.lumen.org
This is the site for the US periodical Gnosis
Magazine, which was very influential in the 1980s and
1990s. It is a defunct publication but this site gives access
to various important articles.
www.newage.com.au/
This is an Australian site that acts as a directory
of information on various topics such as New Age, astrology,
crystals, UFOs, pagans, spiritualist churches. Has useful
introductory articles on these topics and provides links to
a variety of other sites. This is a good place to start with
in discovering how practitioners see their spirituality.
http://pagan.drak.net/publinks
The National Pagans at the Pub site in Australia
contains articles and information about pagan gatherings in
the pub in both Australia and overseas. A useful starting
point to discover what pagans believe and practise and has
useful web links to other pagan sites.
www.starsedge.com/store/
Website no longer accessible on 22 April 2002.
This is the official site for Harry Palmer’s Avatar
programme and features articles and products for sale.
www.wholelife.com
The official site for the US alternativee spiritual
lifestyle exhibition known as The Whole Life Expo.)
[back]
2.2 Academic
Sites
www.cesnur.org
CESNUR - the Centre for Studies on New Religions
– is an academic site run by Italian sociologist Massimo Introvigne.
CESNUR approaches the study of new religious movements, including
new age, from phenomenological and sociological standpoints.
Articles are in English and Italian.
www.come.to/confest
This reproduces the doctoral thesis of Graham St.
John, which was a study of alternative culture and spirituality
via a particular rural lifestyle gathering known as the Down
To Earth ConFest. The thesis is entitled Alternative Cultural
Heterotopia: ConFest as Australia’s Marginal Centre (PhD
Thesis, La Trobe University, 2000). The thesis includes on-line
links to various primary sources on alternative culture in
Australia, Britain and the USA. St. John approached his study
as an observer-participant.
www.esoteric.msu.edu
The Journal of Esoteric Studies is an academic e-journal
devoted to the study of the esoteric beliefs and practices
with essays on historical figures such as John Dee and topics
like alchemy.
http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/newage.html
An article “New Age Transformed” by J. Gordon Melton,
which describes the phenomenon of new age, its contours and
historical antecedents, and current forms of expression. This
is located at the web site administered by Dr Jeffrey Hadden
of the Department of Sociology at the University of Virginia.
The rest of the site has academic profiles on a variety of
new religious movements, controversies and methodological
issues.
www.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/mjr-idx.html
The Marburg Journal of Religion is an academic journal
with essays in English and German. A search of its contents
discloses essays on New Age, neo-pagans etc.
http://www.unomaha.edu/~wwwjrf/
The Journal of Religion and Film is an academic
journal exploring religious and spiritual themes, motifs and
myths in contemporary American cinema.
www.religioustolerance.org/
The Ontario Consultants for Religious Tolerance
is concerned with promoting understanding and tolerance, and
its contributors include a Christian, a Wiccan and those of
non-faith commitments. The site offers historical and phenomenological
information about religious movements - world religions, new
religious movements, New Age etc. - and includes bibliographical
data. Also provides links to other sources and specifically
identifies web sites that the consultants believe disseminate
misinformation and intolerance towards religious movements.
[back]
2.3
Christian Sites (or about Christian approaches)
www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/
This is an evangelical Christian site administered
by the Dutch counter-cult apologist Anton Hein. The site is
organized as an alphabetical index of information about individuals
and cults, including New Age, with critical commentary appended.
The site gives many links to other web sites Christian and
non-Christian. All materials are in English at a non-academic
standard.
http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/cesnur/cowan.html
This is an academic paper delivered by Dr Douglas
Cowan of the University of Kansas. It is entitled “From Parchment
to Pixels: The Christian Countercult on the Internet”. Cowan,
who is an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada,
lectures on the sociology of religious movements and wrote
a doctoral thesis in 1999 at the University of Calgary analysing
Christian counter-cult apologetics. This paper, although not
strictly dealing with New Age, illuminates the sociological
and ideological issues Cowan finds undergirding the approach
of evangelical counter cult web sites. The paper is thus useful
background reading in understanding some of the Christian
responses to new age.
www.dci.dk/
The web site of the Dialog Center International
in Denmark. Danish Lutheran scholars concerned with dialogical
approaches to mission with new religious movements established
the Dialog Center. The founding director is Dr Johannes Aagaard.
This site gives access to two on-line periodicals and articles
on various movements, including New Age, from a Christian
perspective. Information is available in Danish, English,
German and Russian.
www.christaquarian.net/ethesis/thesis2001.pdf
This file requires Adobe Acrobat reader to access. It is a
thesis entitled The Christaquarians? A Sociology of Christians
in the New Ageby Daren John Kemp. It is Kemp’s doctoral
thesis, which was awarded at King’s College, the University
of London. Kemp approached his sociological thesis as an observer-participant
within certain distinct Christian churches/communities in
England whose response to New Age spirituality differs from
“boundary-maintenance” reactions that characterise a lot of
other Christian responses.
http://jesus.com.au/library/wicca/story.html
This links to an article by Philip Johnson, “Wiccans
and Christians: Some Mutual Challenges”. The article seeks
to correct misconceptions Christians have about Wicca, and
then briefly charts eight theological issues where Wiccans
and Christians could have fruitful dialogue.
www.reality.org.nz/articles/44/44-creegan.html
This links to an article in the periodical Reality
Magazine, which is published by the Bible College of New
Zealand. Nicola Hoggard Creegan, a lecturer at BCNZ, wrote
a popular article entitled “Christians and the New Pagans”.
It briefly profiles neo-paganism with suggested areas where
Christians and Pagans can meaningfully interact with each
other.
www.watchman.org/
The Watchman Fellowship is a US evangelical ministry
concerned with new religious movements. Articles about New
Age on a non-academic level are available here.
This
note has been written by Philip Johnson (Sydney, Australia).
He is a Lecturer at the Presbyterian Theological Centre in Sydney
and an Adjunct Lecturer at Morling Baptist Bible College in
Sydney.
