from
Wikipedia Website
The term New Age describes a broad
movement of late twentieth century and contemporary Western culture,
characterized by an individual eclectic approach to spiritual
exploration. Collectively, New Age has some attributes of an
emergent religion, but is currently a loose network of spiritual
teachers, healers, and seekers.
The movement is most visible where its ideas are traded—for example
in specialist bookshops, music stores, and New Age fairs. The name
"New Age" also refers to the market segment in which its goods and
services are sold to people in the movement.
Contents
1.-
Definitions
2.-
History
3.-
Beliefs
4.-
Lifestyle
5.-
Underlying assumptions
6.-
Language
7.-
Critiques of the New Age
8.-
Medicine
9.-
Music
10.-
New Age communities
11.-
References
Definitions
Though there are no formal or definitive boundaries for membership;
those who are likely to sample many diverse teachings and practices
(from both ’mainstream’ and ’fringe’ traditions) and to formulate
their own beliefs and practices based on their experiences can be
considered as New Age.’ Rather than follow the lead of an organised
religion, "New Agers" typically construct their own spiritual
journey based on material taken as needed from the mystical
traditions of all or most world religions, including shamanism,
neopaganism and occultism.
Most New Age practices and beliefs may be characterized as a form of
alternative spirituality or alternative religion. Even apparent
exceptions, such as alternative medicine or traditional medicine
practices, often have some spiritual dimension —such as a conceptual
integration of mind, body, and spirit).
Because the New Age term is generally limited to a Western context
wherein the Judeo-Christian tradition and Positivism are dominant,
the use of "alternative" (rel. religion and/or science) generally
implies a contrast with the dominant beliefs. Hence, many New Age
ideas and practices contain either explicit or implied critiques of
organized mainstream Christianity —emphasis on meditation suggests
that simple prayer and faith is insufficient. Belief in
reincarnation (which not all New Age followers accept) challenges
familiar Christian doctrines of the afterlife.
Back to Contents
History
The name New Age was popularized by the American mass media during
the late 1980s, to describe the alternative spiritual subculture
interested in such things as meditation, channelling, reincarnation,
crystals, psychic experience, holistic health, environmentalism,
other fields associated with pseudoscience, and various “unsolved
mysteries” such as UFOs, Earth mysteries and Crop circles.
Typical activities of this subculture
include participation in study or meditation groups, attendance at
lectures and fairs; the purchase of books, music, and other products
such as crystals or incense; patronage of fortune-tellers, healers
and spiritual counselors.
Quartz crystals are
believed to have mystical properties by some New Age followers
The New Age subculture already existed
in the 1970s, and arguably continued themes from the 1960s
counterculture. Earlier generations would have recognized some, but
not all, of the New Age’s constituent elements under the practices
of Spiritualism, Theosophy, or some forms of New Thought / the
Metaphysical movement, all of which date back to the nineteenth
century, as does alternative health. These movements in turn have
roots in Transcendentalism, Mesmerism, Swedenborgianism, and various
earlier Western esoteric or occult traditions, such as the Hermetic
arts of astrology, magic, alchemy, and cabbala.
In the English-speaking world, we should make special mention of
study groups devoted to American trance-diagnostician Edgar Cayce,
who inspired many of today’s channelers. The British neo-Theosophist
Alice Bailey’s writings may have supplied the term New Age (or New
Era). The Findhorn Foundation, an early New Age intentional
community in northern Scotland founded in 1962 played a significant
role.
The movement in Russia has been heavily
influenced by the legacy of Nicholas Roerich and Helena Roerich, who
taught in the Theosophical tradition. Another former Theosophist,
Rudolf Steiner and his anthroposophical movement, is a major
influence, especially upon German-speaking New Agers. In Brazil,
followers of Spiritualist writer Allan Kardec blend with the
Africanized folk traditions of Candomblé and Umbanda.
Crop circles are seen
as evidence of spirit beings or aliens by some with New Age belief
Key moments in raising public awareness
of this subculture include the publication of Linda Goodman’s best
selling astrology books Sun Signs (1968) and Love Signs (1978), the
Harmonic Convergence organized by Jose Arguelles in Sedona, Arizona
in 1987; and the wave of interest in the broadcast of Shirley
MacLaine’s television mini-series Out on a Limb (also 1987).
This was an autobiographical account of
her mid-life spiritual exploration. Also influential are the claims
of channelers such as Jane Roberts (Seth) and J.Z. Knight (Ramtha),
as well as revealed writings such as A Course In Miracles (Helen
Schucman), The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield), Mutant Message
Down Under (Marlo Morgan), and Conversations with God (Neale Donald
Walsch).
The question of which contemporary cultural elements ought to be
included under the name of "New Age" is quite vexed. New Age
channelers have many points of similarity with Spiritualist mediums.
Many spiritual movements, such as neo-paganism and transpersonal
psychology partially overlap with it. Many groups prefer to distance
themselves from the possible negative connotations of the "New Age"
name such as the media hoopla, commercialism, and perhaps
hucksterism.
For example, key individuals in the New
Thought movement, such as Ernest Holmes, have focused on a more
scientific approach and do not share New Age beliefs in
reincarnation, magic, or channeling. Major attempts to present the
New Age as a values-based sociopolitical movement included Mark
Satin’s New Age Politics (orig. 1976), Theodore Roszak’s
Person/Planet (1978), and Marilyn Ferguson’s Aquarian Conspiracy
(1980). The New Age is a wide menu of ideas and activities, from
which participants in the subculture select their own preferred
streams to patronize or identify with.
Back to Contents
Beliefs
The following are some common — though by no means universal —
beliefs found among New Agers:
-
All humanity—indeed all life,
everything in the universe—is spiritually interconnected,
participating in the same energy. “God” is one name for this
energy.
-
Spiritual beings (e.g. angels,
ascended masters, elementals, ghosts, and/or space aliens)
exist, and will guide us, if we open ourselves to their
guidance.
-
The human mind has deep levels and
vast powers, which are capable even of overriding physical
reality. “You create your own reality.”
-
Nevertheless, this is subject to
certain spiritual laws, such as the principle of cause and
effect (karma).
-
The individual has a purpose here on
earth, in the present surroundings, because there is a lesson to
learn. The most important lesson is love.
-
Death is not the end. There is only
life in different forms. What some refer to as an afterlife does
not punish us but teaches us, perhaps through the mechanisms of
reincarnation or near-death experiences.
Science and spirituality are ultimately harmonious. New
discoveries in science (evolution, quantum mechanics), rightly
understood, point to spiritual principles.
-
It shares with many major world
religions the idea that Intuition or "divine guidance" is a more
appropriate guide than rationalism, skepticism, or the
scientific method. Western science wrongly neglects such things
as parapsychology, meditation, and holistic health.
-
There exists a mystical core within
all religions, Eastern and Western. Dogma and religious identity
are not so important.
-
The Bible is considered by some, but
not all, to be a wise and holy book. Many important truths are
found in the Bible, or are referred to only very obliquely. Some
say that Jesus was an Essene, or that he traveled to India in
his youth to study Eastern religions. Others say that Jesus was
a later avatar of Buddha.
-
Feminine forms of spirituality,
including feminine images of the divine, such as the female Aeon
Sophia in Gnosticism, are viewed as having been subordinated,
masked, or obliterated by patriarchal movements that were widely
practiced when sacred teachings were first committed to writing.
A renaissance of the feminine is particularly appropriate at
this time.
-
Ancient civilizations such as
Atlantis may truly have existed, leaving behind certain relics
and monuments (the Great Pyramid, Stonehenge) whose true nature
has not been discovered by mainstream historians.
-
There are no coincidences (see
Synchronicity). Everything around you has spiritual meaning, and
spiritual lessons to teach you. You are meant to be here, and
are always exactly where you need to be to learn from what
confronts you.
-
The mind has hidden powers and
abilities, which have a spiritual significance. Dreams and
psychic experiences are ways in which our souls express
themselves.
-
Meditation, yoga, t’ai chi, and
other Eastern practices are valuable and worthwhile.
-
The food you eat has an effect on
your mind as well as your body. It is generally preferable to
eat fresh organic vegetarian food.
-
Ultimately every interpersonal
relationship has the potential to be a helpful experience in
terms of our own growth.
-
We learn about ourselves through our
relationships with other people by getting to see what we need
to work on ourselves and what strengths we bring to the other
party in order to help them in their life.
-
All our relationships are destined
to be repeated until they are healed, if necessary over many
lifetimes.
-
As Souls seeking wholeness, our goal
is eventually to learn to love everyone we come in contact with.
-
An appeal to the language of nature,
mathmatics, as evidenced by numerology in Kabbala, gnosticism
etc., to discern the nature of god and/or to minimize the
discrepencies inherent in this pursuit.
-
Naturally occurring irrational
numbers such as Phi, Pi, and e might indicate a fundamental
innability of nature to account for the extant universe and
therefore imposes a limit to our corporeal understanding of god,
or conversely, may be important clues to the attainment of said
understanding.
Back to Contents
Lifestyle
The following subjective description of a New Age lifestyle
illuminates the sociological dimension of the New Age movement. Note
the references to the "inter-connectedness" of all things: "people
feeling somehow, mysteriously, they have met before or known each
other from a distant time" and an implicit cosmic goal "two people
meet and sense there may be a hidden meaning, or reason why". Rather
than reliance on social forms such as regular church attendance, New
Agers "recognize" each other through their mutual perception of
shared values, and the shibboleths of New Age terms and usages:
New Age lifestyles can be observed anywhere that people meet,
congregate, and visit. To an outside observer, the eventful outcome
of this meeting differs from other similar meetings she may have
seen before, because something changes. Something clicks in people’s
behavior making them exchange information, almost always with
everyone getting more out of the event than was individually put
into it. This often happens in New Age lifestyles, becoming so
common one would think the new age has already left a mark on the
mainstream!
At one time before the New Age lifestyle silently,
without any fanfare, changed western society, the outcome of
interaction was: someone wins and the other loses. Although this is
an overly simplistic view of social intercourse, it did exist in
general, at large. New Age introduced a think tank style of social
interaction, which results in a synergy--all involved in a
meaningful event are left with more clarity, higher and more focused
than before. Again, this is an overly simplistic view. People may
not even believe they are New Agers, though they fit the general
pattern.
A typical conversation may begin in groups or in pairs, where the
subject involves insights, deeply held truths, or even revelations,
from a known or unknown origin. The result of this interaction may
bond the people involved who share similar visions or outlooks.
Feelings of déjà vu may occur, with people feeling somehow,
mysteriously, they have met before or known each other from a
distant time in history.
Shopping at a store dealing in herbal supplements, two people meet
and sense there may be a hidden meaning, or reason why they just
happened to be purchasing ginseng tea at that particular moment, in
that particular place, at the same time. Rather than overlooking the
event, tucking it away as a mere coincidence, they talk, more often
about themselves to each other, and interact, a key component of
this lifestyle.
Back to Contents
Underlying assumptions
Judging by its name, the New Age movement ought to involve
millenarian claims, perhaps of a glorious future age which is about
to begin. As such it could theoretically be traced back to the time
of Zoroaster, or to biblical apocalypticism. While such expectations
are encountered often enough—e.g., the dawning of the Age of
Aquarius, pole shifts and paradigm shifts, the imminent end of the
Mayan calendar—the predominant themes of the New Age are mystical
rather than apocalyptic. Hence the widespread interest within this
subculture in the mystical traditions within the world’s various
religions, especially Vedanta, Yoga, Tibetan Buddhism, Zen, Sufism,
Taoism, Shamanism, Kabbalah, Gnosticism, and mystical forms of
Christianity.
Globalization was and still is an important social phenomenon of the
20th and early 21st centuries, with religious syncretism inevitably
being one consequence. New Age religious developments are eclectic,
hence multifarious. Some synthesize Christian ideas with beliefs
involving many gods or goddesses, pantheism, include aliens,
reincarnation, or the use of drugs, together with other spiritual
beliefs from different parts of the world. Likewise, the movement
may incorporate differing beliefs about, or attempts to practice,
magic.
Though many New Age terms are associated with Eastern religions,
they should not be considered as being identical with the concepts
and practices of those religions. Ancient traditions such as
Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism can hardly be referred to as New Age
religions. It just so happens that the New Age movement has
’adopted’ many of the ideas of eastern religions, incorporated them
into their own beliefs and practices. The gnostic approach of
experiential insight and revelation of truth may be closest to the
New Age methodology of prayers and spirituality.
In keeping with a relativist stance, New Agers believe they do not
contradict traditional belief systems, but rather some of them say
that they are concerned with the ultimate truths contained within
those systems, separating these truths from false tradition and
dogma. On the other hand, adherents of other religions often claim
that the New Age movement has a vague or superficial understanding
of these religious concepts, leaving out that which may seem
"negative" or contradict contemporary Western values and that New
Age attempts at religious syncretism are vague and
self-contradictory. Some people within the New Age movement claim a
particular interest in Buddhism, Hinduism, Sufism, and Taoism —
however eclectic or in-depth such an interest may be depends
arbitrarily upon each individual’s pursuit and focus.
New Age is syncretic in nature and has roots as a counter-cultural
phenomenon. Thus New Age adherents tend to emphasize a relativist
approach to truth, often referring to the Vedic statement of "one
truth, but many paths," the mainstay of Hinduism, which idea is also
found in the later Zen Buddhist spiritual dictum of "many paths, one
mountain". This belief is not only an assertion of personal choice
in spiritual matters, but also an assertion that truth itself is
defined by the individual and his or her experience of it.
This relativism is not merely a spiritual relativism, but also
extends to physical theories. Reality is considered largely from an
experiential and subjective mode. Many New Age phenomena are not
expected to be repeatable in the scientific sense, since they are
presumed to be apparent only to the receptive mind; for example,
telepathy may not be achievable by a skeptical mind, since a
skeptical mind is not pre-conditioned to expect the phenomenon to
exist.
The New Age worldview typically involves a mysticism-based (rather
than experiment-and-theory-based) view of describing and controlling
the external world; for example, one might believe that tarot card
reading works because of the "interconnectedness principle", rather
than regarding the success (or failure) of tarot card reading as
evidence of the interconnectedness principle. The various New Age
vitalist theories of health and disease provide further examples.
Some New Age practices and beliefs could make use of what British
anthropologist Sir James George Frazer termed magical thinking, in
The Golden Bough (1890). Common examples are the principle that
objects once in contact maintain a practical link, or that objects
that have similar properties exert an effect on each other.
In contrast to the scientific method, the failure of some practice
to achieve expected results is not considered as a failure of the
underlying theory, but as a lack of knowledge about (hidden)
extenuating circumstances. This stance has led some skeptics to
pronounce the New Age movement to be primarily anti-intellectual in
nature.
The emphasis on subjective knowledge and experience is a connection
between New Age beliefs and postmodernism. The shift to a feeling of
control over one’s expression of spirituality reflects a trend
towards personal responsibility, as well as personal empowerment.
Its populist origins help characterize the New Age approach. This
emphasizes an individual’s choice in spiritual matters; the role of
personal intuition and experience over societally sanctioned expert
opinion and an experiential definition of reality.
Back to Contents
Language
Many adherents of belief systems characterised as New Age rely
heavily on the use of metaphors to describe experiences deemed to be
beyond the empirical. Consciously or unconsciously, New Agers tend
to redefine vocabulary borrowed from various belief systems, which
can cause some confusion as well as increase opposition from
skeptics and the traditional religions. In particular, the adoption
of terms from the language of science such as "energy", "energy
fields", and various terms borrowed from quantum physics and
psychology but not then applied to any of their subject matter, have
served to confuse the dialog between science and spirituality,
leading to derisive labels such as pseudoscience and psychobabble.
This phenomenon is additionally compounded by the propensity of some
New Agers to pretend to esoteric meanings for familiar terms; the
New Age meaning of the esoteric term is typically quite different
from the common use, and is often described as intentionally
inaccessible to those not sufficiently trained in the area of their
use. See the following list:
Many New Agers revere
ancient sites as having a special "Energy"
-
Stonehenge, Wiltshire, UKForces.
It is commonly held that there
exist certain forces, independent of spiritual beings or agencies,
and also distinct from forces as defined by science (e.g.,
gravitation, electro-magnetism, etc.). These forces are elemental in
nature; and are held to operate in an automatic fashion as part of
the natural order (for example, the force which causes seeds to
sprout, grow, and bloom).
-
Power.
The "forces", and everything else, are energized by a
mystical power that exists in varying degrees in all things. Power
is transferable, through physical contact, sensory perception, or
mere proximity. Power may be accumulated or depleted in a person or
object through a variety of mechanisms, including fate and esoteric
practices. This power is held to be physically observable as "auras"
and "psi energy"; and when encountered in great concentration, may
even be dangerous.
-
Energy.
In some belief systems, "forces" and "power" may seem to
merge; e.g., in the concept of "vital force" that exists in so many
traditional belief systems, and finds its expression in New Age
concepts such as the alleged "energies" in Therapeutic Touch and
Reiki, and ideas of flowing streams of power in Earth, like "leylines"
in Britain and Europe and earth energies addressed in the Chinese
geomantic system of feng shui. The New Age use of the word "energy"
should obviously not be confused with the scientific one.
-
Spirit.
All beings (particularly sentient beings) are accompanied by
a specific, intentional "energy" which corresponds to their
consciousness, but is in some way independent of their corporeal
existence. This energy typically is more primary than the physical
entity, in the sense that it remains in some form after the physical
death of that being.
-
Holism.
A coherent, interconnected cosmos. Everything in the cosmos
is actually or potentially interconnected, as if by invisible
threads, not only in space but also across time. Further, it is held
that every thing and every event that has happened, is happening, or
will happen leaves a detectable record of itself in the cosmic
"medium" such as the Akashic Records or the morphogenic field.
-
Cosmic goal.
There is typically a belief that all entities are
(willingly or unwillingly) cooperating in some cosmic goal of
achieving a "higher" or more complete coherence with a cosmic
"consciousness" (or some other goal state of "goodness"), often
described as an evolutionary process or simply to learn. This
underlying cosmic goal gives direction to all events, reducing the
concept of coincidence to one of ignorance of hidden meaning.
Back to Contents
Critiques of the New Age
Major critiques of the New Age have emerged from rational
philosophical and scientific views that seek to understand the
nature of New Age notions. These often highlight the discrepancies
between New Age’s seemingly irreconcilable mix of occultism and
acceptance of the laws of physics. Rather more extreme views have
emerged from evangelical Christians who reject all forms of
occultism; from skeptics suspicious of paranormal claims and woolly
beliefs in general; and from New Agers themselves. Some, including
neo-pagans and particularly reconstructionist groups, who are
frequently labeled as New Age, often find the term inappropriate
since it appears to link them with beliefs and practices they do not
espouse.
Others think that the classification of
beliefs and movements under New Age has little added value due to
the vagueness of the term. Instead, they prefer to refer directly to
the individual beliefs and movements. Indeed, use by religious
conservatives, scientists and others has caused the term "New Age"
to sometimes have a derogatory connotation.
Many adherents of traditional disciplines from cultures such as
India, China, and elsewhere; a number of orthodox schools of Yoga,
Qigong, Chinese Medicine, and martial arts (the traditional
Taijiquan families, for example), groups with histories reaching
back many centuries in some cases, eschew the Western label New Age,
seeing the movement it represents as either not fully understanding
or deliberately trivializing their disciplines.
New Age detractors also say that a true understanding of reason and
empiricism produces just as rich an experience as the New Agers
claim for themselves, but with emotions and feelings based on
thinking and logic instead of the other way around. They also point
out that the definition of empiricism is: "the view that experience,
especially of the senses, is the only source of knowledge."
Much of the strongest criticism of New Age eclecticism has come from
Native American writers and communities. The Declaration of War
Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality [1] is one of the
strongest statements of disapprobrium from traditional tribal
religious leaders. Other Natives who have issued statements against
"white shamanism" include Wendy Rose, Leslie Marmon Silko and Geary
Hobson. The Native argument is that New Age shamans profit from
tribal beliefs in a way that is fundamentally inconsistent with
those beliefs, while ignoring the communal aspects of tribal
religious belief and practise.
Back to Contents
Medicine
Many people with a New Age perspective also adopt complementary and
alternative medicine. Some rely on New Age treatments exclusively,
while others use them in combination with conventional medicine.
This approach is regarded as completely compatible with New age
belief in the unity of mind, body, spirit, and the emphasis on
things of a natural origin. Some noteworthy New Age techniques are
herbal medicine, Ayurveda, acupuncture, homeopathy, iridology,
auras, and the use of crystals in healing therapy.
Some New Age writers have taken the belief that You create your own
reality and applied it to disease with the conclusion that illnesses
have a metaphysical origin and can be treated by a deep evaluation
of long held negative emotional and spiritual attitudes. This has a
parallel in the Christian notion that "it is done unto you as you
believe." Notably, Louise Hay has published books containing lists
of diseases and the associated negative belief, accompanied by the
correcting positive belief. A cure may be sought by repeating the
correcting positive affirmation. This approach has its origins in
Christian Science. It has been criticised as seeming to blame the
sufferer for causing the condition. Its supporters claim the intent
is to enlighten the individual so that he or she can change the
thinking that exacerbates the condition.
Some followers of New Age thought may also believe certain
individuals have the ability to heal, in a similar way to the
healing practices reported to have been used by Jesus of Nazareth in
the New Testament.
It should be noted that, when considered purely as medical
techniques, most of these systems of treatment are viewed with
extreme skepticism and even as quackery by most scientific
professionals. When tested using the same types of regimens as those
applied to pharmaceutical drugs and surgical techniques (for
example, double blind clinical studies), these systems may not yield
demonstrable improvements over standard techniques, and some may
even produce harm.
However, one benefit of New Age medicine’s popularity, and its
criticism of conventional medicine, has been to encourage many
medical practitioners to pay closer attention to the entire
patient’s needs rather than just her or his specific disease San
Francisco Medical Library. Such approaches, termed "holistic
medicine", are now becoming more popular. Conventional medicine has
recognized that a patient’s state of mind can be crucial in
determining the outcome of many diseases, and this perception has
helped recast the roles of doctor and patient as more egalitarian.
Critics of New Age medicine continue to point out that without some
kind of testing procedure, there is no way of separating those
techniques, medicinal herbs, and lifestyle changes which actually
contribute to increased health from those which have no effect, or
which are actually deleterious to one’s health. The National
Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, are at 2005
carrying out research on determining which of these practices may be
useful in support of conventional medical practice.
Back to Contents
Music
Although more rock than new age in genre, the 1967 successful
musical Hair with its opening song "Aquarius" and the memorable line
"This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius" brought the New Age
concept to the attention of a huge world wide audience. The first
actual mention of the term was by American rock and roll band The
Velvet Underground in their not-so-optimistic 1969 song "New Age".
A large percentage of music described as of New Age genre is
instrumental, and electronic. Arguably, this music has its roots in
the 1970s with the works of such free-form jazz groups recording on
the ECM label such as Oregon, the Paul Winter Group, and other
pre-ambient bands; as well as ambient performers such as Brian Eno
and easy listening artists like Solomon Keal. The Greek artist Yanni,
one of the "superstars" of the New Age genre, relies heavily on
synthesizers and instrumental "world music" sounds.
Vocal arrangements are also common. Enya, although claiming her
music is not of this genre, has won a New Age Grammy for her music
which utilizes vocals in a variety of languages, including Latin.
Less well known is Medwyn Goodall, who relies mainly on electronic
keyboard effects, and includes acoustic guitar as well.
Music labeled New Age often has a vision of a better future,
expresses an appreciation of goodness and beauty, even an
anticipation, relevant to some event. Rarely does New Age music
dwell on a problem with this world or its inhabitants; instead it
offers a peaceful vision of a better world. Often the music is
celestial, when the title names stars or deep space explorations.
Ennio Morricone wrote the entire score for the movie Mission to
Mars, and while the credits flash we hear All the Friends, New Age
orchestral style.
The titles of New Age music are often illuminating, because the
words used by the artists attempt to convey their version of truth,
in a few short words. On listening to the music, one may understand
the idea within the title. Examples of titles: Bond of Union, Sweet
Wilderness, Shepherd Moons, Animus Anima.
Other genres like psytrance/goatrance are not associated with New
Age in their philosophies they can be called another New Age
perspective. Psytrance is especially biased towards mysticism,
technology, spiritualism, and a view that thoughts create reality.
Back to Contents
New Age
communities
Significant New Age communities exist in the following places:
-
Arcosanti, Arizona, USA
-
Auroville, Tamil Nadu, India
-
Boulder, Colorado, USA
-
Byron Bay, Australia
-
Christiania, Copenhagen, Denmark
-
Italy
-
Dornach, Switzerland
-
Esalen at Big Sur, California
-
Findhorn, near Forres, Scotland
-
Glastonbury, Somerset, England
-
Monte Verità near Ascona,
Switzerland
-
Mount Shasta, California, USA
-
Sedona, Arizona, USA
-
Devon, England
-
Ceredigion, Wales
Back to Contents
References
-
Academic study of the New Age
-
Albanese, Catherine L. (1990) Nature
Religion in America; From the Algonkian Indians to the New Age,
University of Chicago Press, Chicago & London.
-
Barna, George , (1996) The Index of
Leading Spiritual Indicators, Word Publishing, Dallas TX.
-
Bloch, Jon P., (1998) New
Spirituality, Self, and Belonging: How New Agers and Neo-Pagans
Talk About Themselves, Praeger, Westport, Connceticut & London.
-
Drane, John, (1999) What is the New
Age Still Saying to the Church? Marshall Pickering, London.
-
Ferguson, Marilyn (1982) The
Aquarian Conspiracy, Paladin, London.
-
Godwin, Joscelyn, (1994) The
Theosophical Enlightenment, State University of New York Press,
New York.
-
Hanegraaff, Wouter J., (1998) New
Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of
Secular Thought, State University of New York Press, Albany, New
York.
-
Heelas, Paul, (1996) The New Age
Movement, Blackwell, Oxford.
-
Heelas, Paul and Linda Woodhead
(2004) The Spiritual Revolution: Why Religion is Giving Way to
Spirituality, Blackwell, Oxford.
-
Kemp, Daren, (2004) New Age: A
Guide. Alternative Spiritualities from Aquarian Conspiracy to
Next Age, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.
-
Kohn, Rachael, (2003) The New
Believers: Re-Imagining God, HarperCollins, Sydney.
-
Langone, Michael D (1993). "What Is
“New Age?”". Cult Observer 10 (1). Retrieved 26 August 2005
-
Lewis, James R. and J. Gordon Melton
(eds). (1992) Perspectives on the New Age, State University of
New York Press, Albany, New York.
-
Melton, J.Gordon , (1995) Whither
the New Age? Chapter 35 of T. Miller’s , America’s Alternative
Religions, SUNY Press, Albany, NY .
-
Michael, June, (2000) Path to Truth:
A Spiritual Guide to Higher Conciousness, Writers Club Press,
New York.
-
Naisbitt J. & Aburdene P., (1990)
Megatrends 2000, William Morrow & Company, New York, NY.
-
Pike, Sarah M., (2004) New Age and
Neopagan Religions in America, Columbia University Press, New
York.
-
Roof, Wade Clark (1999) Spiritual
Marketplace: Baby Boomers and the Remaking of American Religion,
Princeton University Press, Princeton.
-
Rothstein, Mikael (ed). (2001) New
Age Religion and Globalization, Aarhus University Press, Aarhus,
Denmark.
-
Saliba, John A., (1999) Christian
Responses to the New Age Movement: A Critical Assessment,
Geoffrey Chapman, London.
-
Sutcliffe, Steven & Marion Bowman (eds).
(2000) Beyond New Age: Exploring Alternative Spirituality,
Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.
-
Sutcliffe, Steven J., (2003)
Children of the New Age: A History of Spiritual Practices,
Routledge, London and New York.
-
York, Michael, (1995) The Emerging
Network: A Sociology of the New Age and Neo-Pagan Movements,
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, Maryland.
Back to Contents
|