Antiquity
114-479: New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consider it a religious movement, its adherents typically see it as spiritual or as unifying Mind-Body-Spirit, and rarely use the term New Age themselves. Scholars often call it
228-531: A supernatural realm beyond the ordinarily observable world, personal growth , a quest for an ultimate or sacred meaning , religious experience , or an encounter with one's own "inner dimension". The term spirit means "animating or vital principle in man and animals". It is derived from the Old French espirit , which comes from the Latin word spiritus ( soul , ghost, courage, vigor, breath) and
342-569: A coming era, at this point it came to be used in a wider sense to refer to a variety of spiritual activities and practices. In the latter part of the 1970s, the New Age expanded to cover a wide variety of alternative spiritual and religious beliefs and practices, not all of which explicitly held to the belief in the Age of Aquarius, but were nevertheless widely recognized as broadly similar in their search for "alternatives" to mainstream society. In doing so,
456-641: A concept described using such terms as "droplet of divinity", "inner Godhead", and "divine self". Influenced by Theosophical and Anthroposophical ideas regarding ' subtle bodies ', a common New Age idea holds to the existence of a Higher Self that is a part of the human but connects with the divine essence of the universe, and which can advise the human mind through intuition . Spirituality Medieval Early modern Modern Iran India East-Asia The meaning of spirituality has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality
570-582: A human intermediary. Typically viewing history as divided into spiritual ages, a common New Age belief is in a forgotten age of great technological advancement and spiritual wisdom, declining into periods of increasing violence and spiritual degeneracy, which will now be remedied by the emergence of an Age of Aquarius , from which the milieu gets its name. There is also a strong focus on healing, particularly using forms of alternative medicine , and an emphasis on unifying science with spirituality. The dedication of New Agers varied considerably, from those who adopted
684-403: A major and universal change being primarily founded on the individual and collective development of human potential." The scholar of religion Wouter Hanegraaff adopted a different approach by asserting that "New Age" was "a label attached indiscriminately to whatever seems to fit it" and that as a result it "means very different things to different people". He thus argued against the idea that
798-580: A meeting of various figures within Britain's esoteric milieu; advertised as "The Significance of the Group in the New Age", it was held at Attingham Park over the course of a weekend. All of these groups created the backdrop from which the New Age movement emerged. As James R. Lewis and J. Gordon Melton point out, the New Age phenomenon represents "a synthesis of many different preexisting movements and strands of thought". Nevertheless, York asserted that while
912-404: A new era was emerging. Other terms that were employed synonymously with New Age in this milieu included "Green", "Holistic", "Alternative", and "Spiritual". 1971 witnessed the foundation of est by Werner H. Erhard , a transformational training course that became a part of the early movement. Melton suggested that the 1970s witnessed the growth of a relationship between the New Age movement and
1026-401: A number of New Age ideas and practices to those who fully embraced and dedicated their lives to it. The New Age has generated criticism from Christians as well as modern Pagan and Indigenous communities . From the 1990s onward, the New Age became the subject of research by academic scholars of religious studies . One of the few things on which all scholars agree concerning New Age is that it
1140-432: A predominantly vegetarian lifestyle. Parasparopagraho jīvānām (the function of souls is to help one another) is the faith's motto and the Ṇamōkāra mantra is its most common and basic prayer. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through a succession of twenty-four leaders or Tirthankaras , with the first in the current time cycle being Rishabhadeva , whom the tradition holds to have lived millions of years ago;
1254-455: A reaction against the dominant Western values of Judeo-Christian religion and rationalism, adding that "New Age religion formulates such criticism not at random, but falls back on" the ideas of earlier Western esoteric groups. The New Age has also been identified by various scholars of religion as part of the cultic milieu. This concept, developed by the sociologist Colin Campbell, refers to
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#17327752531141368-504: A scattered use from the mid-nineteenth century onward. In 1864 the American Swedenborgian Warren Felt Evans published The New Age and its Message , while in 1907 Alfred Orage and Holbrook Jackson began editing a weekly journal of Christian liberalism and socialism titled The New Age . The concept of a coming "new age" that would be inaugurated by the return to Earth of Jesus Christ
1482-401: A social and psychological meaning. Socially it denoted the territory of the clergy: "the ecclesiastical against the temporary possessions, the ecclesiastical against the secular authority, the clerical class against the secular class". Psychologically, it denoted the realm of the inner life: "the purity of motives, affections, intentions, inner dispositions, the psychology of the spiritual life,
1596-495: A social network of marginalized ideas. Through their shared marginalization within a given society, these disparate ideas interact and create new syntheses. Hammer identified much of the New Age as corresponding to the concept of " folk religions " in that it seeks to deal with existential questions regarding subjects like death and disease in "an unsystematic fashion, often through a process of bricolage from already available narratives and rituals". York also heuristically divides
1710-470: A supernatural realm or afterlife, or to make sense of one's own "inner dimension". Bergomi detects "an enlightened form of non-religious spirituality" in late antiquity . Words translatable as "spirituality" first began to arise in the 5th century and only entered common use toward the end of the Middle Ages . In a Biblical context the term means being animated by God. The New Testament offers
1824-482: A synthesis of post-Theosophical and other esoteric doctrines. These movements might have remained marginal, had it not been for the explosion of the counterculture in the 1960s and early 1970s. Various historical threads ... began to converge: nineteenth century doctrinal elements such as Theosophy and post-Theosophical esotericism as well as harmonious or positive thinking were now eclectically combined with ... religious psychologies: transpersonal psychology, Jungianism and
1938-791: A television mini-series with the same name (1987); and the " Harmonic Convergence " planetary alignment on August 16 and 17, 1987, organized by José Argüelles in Sedona, Arizona . The Convergence attracted more people to the movement than any other single event. Heelas suggested that the movement was influenced by the "enterprise culture" encouraged by the U.S. and U.K. governments during the 1980s onward, with its emphasis on initiative and self-reliance resonating with any New Age ideas. Channelers Jane Roberts ( Seth Material ), Helen Schucman ( A Course in Miracles ), J. Z. Knight ( Ramtha ), Neale Donald Walsch ( Conversations with God ) contributed to
2052-403: A variety of Eastern teachings. It became perfectly feasible for the same individuals to consult the I Ching, practice Jungian astrology, read Abraham Maslow's writings on peak experiences, etc. The reason for the ready incorporation of such disparate sources was a similar goal of exploring an individualized and largely non-Christian religiosity. — Scholar of esotericism Olav Hammer, 2001. By
2166-461: A variety of quite divergent contemporary popular practices and beliefs" that have emerged since the late 1970s and are "largely united by historical links, a shared discourse and an air de famille ". According to Hammer, this New Age was a "fluid and fuzzy cultic milieu". The sociologist of religion Michael York described the New Age as "an umbrella term that includes a great variety of groups and identities" that are united by their "expectation of
2280-536: A wider "New Age sentiment" which had come to pervade "the socio-cultural landscape" of Western countries. Its diffusion into the mainstream may have been influenced by the adoption of New Age concepts by high-profile figures: U.S. First Lady Nancy Reagan consulted an astrologer, British Princess Diana visited spirit mediums, and Norwegian Princess Märtha Louise established a school devoted to communicating with angels. New Age shops continued to operate, although many have been remarketed as "Mind, Body, Spirit". In 2015,
2394-425: Is life-itself". New Age religiosity is typified by its eclecticism. Generally believing that there is no one true way to pursue spirituality, New Agers develop their own worldview "by combining bits and pieces to form their own individual mix", seeking what Drury called "a spirituality without borders or confining dogmas". The anthropologist David J. Hess noted that in his experience, a common attitude among New Agers
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#17327752531142508-561: Is a blend of humanistic psychology, mystical and esoteric traditions, and Eastern religions. In modern times the emphasis is on subjective experience and the "deepest values and meanings by which people live", incorporating personal growth or transformation, usually in a context separate from organized religious institutions. Spirituality can be defined generally as an individual's search for ultimate or sacred meaning, and purpose in life. Additionally it can mean to seek out or search for personal growth, religious experience , belief in
2622-523: Is also derived from Latin spiritualis . There is no single, widely agreed-upon definition of spirituality. Surveys of the definition of the term, as used in scholarly research, show a broad range of definitions with limited overlap. A survey of reviews by McCarroll, each dealing with the topic of spirituality, gave twenty-seven explicit definitions among which "there was little agreement". This causes some difficulty in trying to study spirituality systematically; i.e., it impedes both understanding and
2736-581: Is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought of Judaism. Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between an unchanging, eternal and mysterious Ein Sof (no end) and the mortal and finite universe (his creation). Interpretations of Kabbalistic spirituality are found within Hasidic Judaism , a branch of Orthodox Judaism founded in 18th-century Eastern Europe by Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov . Hasidism often emphasizes
2850-492: Is an important concept in Buddhist praxis ( Patipatti ). The word bhavana normally appears in conjunction with another word forming a compound phrase such as citta-bhavana (the development or cultivation of the heart/mind) or metta-bhavana (the development/cultivation of loving kindness). When used on its own bhavana signifies 'spiritual cultivation' generally. Various Buddhist paths to liberation developed throughout
2964-414: Is an individual experience, and referred to as ksaitrajña ( Sanskrit : क्षैत्रज्ञ ). It defines spiritual practice as one's journey towards moksha , awareness of self, the discovery of higher truths, Ultimate reality, and a consciousness that is liberated and content. Traditionally, Hinduism identifies three mārga (ways) of spiritual practice, namely Jñāna (ज्ञान), the way of knowledge; Bhakti ,
3078-540: Is difficult to define. Often, the definition given actually reflects the background of the scholar giving the definition. Thus, the New Ager views New Age as a revolutionary period of history dictated by the stars; the Christian apologist has often defined new age as a cult; the historian of ideas understands it as a manifestation of the perennial tradition; the philosopher sees New Age as a monistic or holistic worldview;
3192-470: Is intricately connected as part of a single whole, in doing so rejecting both the dualism of the Christian division of matter and spirit and the reductionism of Cartesian science. A number of New Agers have linked this holistic interpretation of the universe to the Gaia hypothesis of James Lovelock . The idea of holistic divinity results in a common New Age belief that humans themselves are divine in essence,
3306-547: Is referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape of man", oriented at "the image of God " as exemplified by the founders and sacred texts of the religions of the world. The term was used within early Christianity to refer to a life oriented toward the Holy Spirit and broadened during the Late Middle Ages to include mental aspects of life. In modern times,
3420-604: Is related to spirare (to breathe). In the Vulgate , the Latin word spiritus is used to translate the Greek pneuma and Hebrew ruach . The term "spiritual", meaning "concerning the spirit", is derived from Old French spirituel (12c.), which is derived from Latin spiritualis , which comes by spiritus or "spirit". The term "spirituality" is derived from Middle French spiritualité , from Late Latin spiritualitatem (nominative spiritualitas ), which
3534-531: Is sometimes associated today with philosophical, social, or political movements such as liberalism , feminist theology , and green politics . Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) was a pioneer of the idea of spirituality as a distinct field. He was one of the major figures in Transcendentalism , an early 19th-century liberal Protestant movement, which was rooted in English and German Romanticism ,
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3648-631: Is stressed by both Muslim and non-Muslim authors. Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi , an 11th-century Islamic scholar, referenced a statement by the companion of Muhammad , Jabir ibn Abd-Allah : The Prophet ... returned from one of his battles, and thereupon told us, 'You have arrived with an excellent arrival, you have come from the Lesser Jihad to the Greater Jihad ;– the striving of a servant (of Allah ) against his desires (holy war)." The best known form of Islamic mystic spirituality
3762-441: Is studied and practiced are varied and range from ecstatic visions of the soul's mystical union with God to simple prayerful contemplation of Holy Scripture (i.e., Lectio Divina ). Progressive Christianity is a contemporary movement which seeks to remove the supernatural claims of the faith and replace them with a post-critical understanding of biblical spirituality based on historical and scientific research. It focuses on
3876-447: Is that doing so encourages dependency and conflicts with a reliance on the self. Nevertheless, within the New Age, there are differences in the role accorded to voices of authority outside of the self. Hammer stated that "a belief in the existence of a core or true Self" is a "recurring theme" in New Age texts. The concept of " personal growth " is also greatly emphasised among New Agers, while Heelas noted that "for participants spirituality
3990-627: Is the Sufi tradition (famous through Rumi and Hafiz ) in which a Sheikh or pir transmits spiritual discipline to students. Sufism or taṣawwuf ( Arabic : تصوّف ) is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam . A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a ṣūfī ( صُوفِيّ ). Sufis believe they are practicing ihsan (perfection of worship) as revealed by Gabriel to Muhammad , Worship and serve Allah as you are seeing Him and while you see Him not yet truly He sees you. Sufis consider themselves as
4104-413: Is the characterisation of divinity as "Mind", "Consciousness", and "Intelligence", while a third is the description of divinity as a form of " energy ". A fourth trait is the characterisation of divinity as a "life force", the essence of which is creativity, while a fifth is the concept that divinity consists of love . Most New Age groups believe in an Ultimate Source from which all things originate, which
4218-476: Is the path of cultivating necessary virtues, self-discipline, tapas (meditation), contemplation and self-reflection sometimes with isolation and renunciation of the world, to a pinnacle state called samādhi . This state of samādhi has been compared to peak experience. Spiritual transformation Spiritual transformation involves a fundamental change in a person's sacred or spiritual life. Psychologists examine spiritual transformation within
4332-957: Is the reparation of the heart and turning it away from all else but God". Alternatively, in the words of the Darqawi Sufi teacher Ahmad ibn Ajiba , "a science through which one can know how to travel into the presence of the Divine , purify one's inner self from filth, and beautify it with a variety of praiseworthy traits". Jainism , traditionally known as Jain Dharma, is an ancient Indian religion . The three main pillars of Jainism are ahiṃsā (non-violence), anekāntavāda (non-absolutism), and aparigraha (non-attachment). Jains take five main vows: ahiṃsā (non-violence), satya (truth), asteya (not stealing), brahmacharya (sexual continence), and aparigraha (non-possessiveness). These principles have affected Jain culture in many ways, such as leading to
4446-533: Is the spiritual practice of living out a personal faith. Pope Francis offers several ways in which the calling of Christian spirituality can be considered: The terminology of the Catholic Church refers to an act of faith ( fides qua creditur ) following the acceptance of faith ( fides quae creditur ). Although all Catholics are expected to pray together at Mass , there are many different forms of spirituality and private prayer which have developed over
4560-399: Is usually conflated with the divine. Various creation myths have been articulated in New Age publications outlining how this Ultimate Source created the universe and everything in it. In contrast, some New Agers emphasize the idea of a universal inter-relatedness that is not always emanating from a single source. The New Age worldview emphasises holism and the idea that everything in existence
4674-529: The Age of Enlightenment in 18th-century Europe, new esoteric ideas developed in response to the development of scientific rationality. Scholars call this new esoteric trend occultism , and this occultism was a key factor in the development of the worldview from which the New Age emerged. One of the earliest influences on the New Age was the Swedish 18th-century Christian mystic Emanuel Swedenborg , who professed
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4788-543: The Immanent Divine presence and focuses on emotion, fervour , and the figure of the Tzadik . This movement included an elite ideal of nullification to paradoxical Divine Panentheism . The Musar movement is a Jewish spiritual movement that has focused on developing character traits such as faith , humility , and love . The Musar movement, first founded in the 19th century by Israel Salanter and developed in
4902-526: The New Age movement , although others contest this term and suggest it is better seen as a milieu or zeitgeist . As a form of Western esotericism , the New Age drew heavily upon esoteric traditions such as the occultism of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including the work of Emanuel Swedenborg and Franz Mesmer , as well as Spiritualism , New Thought , and Theosophy . More immediately, it arose from mid-twentieth century influences such as
5016-671: The New Age sensu stricto , or "New Age in the strict sense". Hanegraaff terms the broader development the New Age sensu lato , or "New Age in the wider sense". Stores that came to be known as "New Age shops" opened up, selling related books, magazines, jewelry, and crystals, and they were typified by the playing of New Age music and the smell of incense.This probably influenced several thousand small metaphysical book- and gift-stores that increasingly defined themselves as "New Age bookstores", while New Age titles came to be increasingly available from mainstream bookstores and then websites like Amazon.com . Not everyone who came to be associated with
5130-707: The UFO religions of the 1950s, the counterculture of the 1960s , and the Human Potential Movement . Its exact origins remain contested, but it became a major movement in the 1970s, at which time it was centered largely in the United Kingdom. It expanded widely in the 1980s and 1990s, in particular in the United States. By the start of the 21st century, the term New Age was increasingly rejected within this milieu, with some scholars arguing that
5244-610: The human potential movement emerged and strongly influenced the New Age. In Britain, a number of small religious groups that came to be identified as the "light" movement had begun declaring the existence of a coming new age, influenced strongly by the Theosophical ideas of Blavatsky and Bailey. The most prominent of these groups was the Findhorn Foundation , which founded the Findhorn Ecovillage in
5358-510: The spiritual science of Martinus was an influence, especially in Scandinavia. The influence of Asian traditions on Western modern spirituality was also furthered by the perennial philosophy , whose main proponent Aldous Huxley was deeply influenced by Swami Vivekananda's Neo-Vedanta and universalism , and the spread of social welfare, education and mass travel after World War II . An important influence on western spirituality
5472-418: The "New Age" became a banner under which to bring together the wider "cultic milieu" of American society. The counterculture of the 1960s had rapidly declined by the start of the 1970s, in large part due to the collapse of the commune movement, but it would be many former members of the counter-culture and hippie subculture who subsequently became early adherents of the New Age movement. The exact origins of
5586-445: The 21st century by Alan Morinis and Ira F. Stone , has encouraged spiritual practices of Jewish meditation, Jewish prayer, Jewish ethics , tzedakah , teshuvah, and the study of musar (ethical) literature . Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism have often emphasized the spirituality of Jewish ethics and tikkun olam , feminist spirituality , Jewish prayer, Torah study, ritual, and musar. Christian spirituality
5700-488: The Biblical criticism of Johann Gottfried Herder and Friedrich Schleiermacher , the skepticism of Hume , and Neoplatonism . The Transcendentalists emphasized an intuitive, experiential approach to religion. Following Schleiermacher, an individual's intuition of truth was taken as the criterion for truth. In the late 18th and early 19th century, the first translations of Hindu texts appeared, which were also read by
5814-620: The Heralds of the New Age, established in New Zealand in 1956. From a historical perspective, the New Age phenomenon is most associated with the counterculture of the 1960s . According to author Andrew Grant Jackson, George Harrison 's adoption of Hindu philosophy and Indian instrumentation in his songs with the Beatles in the mid-1960s, together with the band's highly publicised study of Transcendental Meditation , "truly kick-started"
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#17327752531145928-573: The Human Potential Movement that subsequently became New Age. Although not common throughout the counterculture, usage of the terms New Age and Age of Aquarius —used in reference to a coming era—were found within it, for instance appearing on adverts for the Woodstock festival of 1969, and in the lyrics of " Aquarius ", the opening song of the 1967 musical Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical . This decade also witnessed
6042-408: The New Age bore many similarities with both earlier forms of Western esotericism and Asian religion, it remained "distinct from its predecessors in its own self-consciousness as a new way of thinking". The late 1950s saw the first stirrings within the cultic milieu of a belief in a coming new age. A variety of small movements arose, revolving around revealed messages from beings in space and presenting
6156-509: The New Age community claim to represent ancient Albanian wisdom, simply because beliefs regarding ancient Albanians are not part of our cultural stereotypes". According to Hess, these ancient or foreign societies represent an exotic "Other" for New Agers, who are predominantly white Westerners. A belief in divinity is integral to New Age ideas, although understandings of this divinity vary. New Age theology exhibits an inclusive and universalistic approach that accepts all personal perspectives on
6270-413: The New Age could be considered "a unified ideology or Weltanschauung ", although he believed that it could be considered a "more or less unified 'movement'." Other scholars have suggested that the New Age is too diverse to be a singular movement . The scholar of religion George D. Chryssides called it "a counter-cultural Zeitgeist ", while the sociologist of religion Steven Bruce suggested that New Age
6384-501: The New Age draws ideas from many different cultural and spiritual traditions from across the world, often legitimising this approach by reference to "a very vague claim" about underlying global unity. Certain societies are more usually chosen over others; examples include the ancient Celts, ancient Egyptians, the Essenes , Atlanteans , and ancient extraterrestrials. As noted by Hammer: "to put it bluntly, no significant spokespersons within
6498-468: The New Age into three broad trends. The first, the social camp , represents groups that primarily seek to bring about social change, while the second, the occult camp , instead focus on contact with spirit entities and channeling. York's third group, the spiritual camp , represents a middle ground between these two camps that focuses largely on individual development . The term new age , along with related terms like new era and new world , long predate
6612-452: The New Age milieu as a "religion". York described the New Age as a new religious movement (NRM). Conversely, both Heelas and Sutcliffe rejected this categorisation; Heelas believed that while elements of the New Age represented NRMs, this did not apply to every New Age group. Similarly, Chryssides stated that the New Age could not be seen as "a religion" in itself. The New Age movement is the cultic milieu having become conscious of itself, in
6726-411: The New Age movement remain an issue of debate; Melton asserted that it emerged in the early 1970s, whereas Hanegraaff instead traced its emergence to the latter 1970s, adding that it then entered its full development in the 1980s. This early form of the movement was based largely in Britain and exhibited a strong influence from theosophy and Anthroposophy . Hanegraaff termed this early core of the movement
6840-487: The New Age phenomenon had ended. Despite its eclectic nature, the New Age has several main currents. Theologically , the New Age typically accepts a holistic form of divinity that pervades the universe, including human beings themselves, leading to a strong emphasis on the spiritual authority of the self. This is accompanied by a common belief in a variety of semi-divine non-human entities such as angels , with whom humans can communicate, particularly by channeling through
6954-401: The New Age phenomenon openly embraced the term New Age , although it was popularised in books like David Spangler 's 1977 work Revelation: The Birth of a New Age and Mark Satin 's 1979 book New Age Politics: Healing Self and Society . Marilyn Ferguson 's 1982 book The Aquarian Conspiracy has also been regarded as a landmark work in the development of the New Age, promoting the idea that
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#17327752531147068-642: The New Age were already present by the end of the 19th century, even to such an extent that one may legitimately wonder whether the New Age brings anything new at all. — Historian of religion Wouter Hanegraaff , 1996. A further major influence on the New Age was the Theosophical Society , an occult group co-founded by the Russian Helena Blavatsky in the late 19th century. In her books Isis Unveiled (1877) and The Secret Doctrine (1888), Blavatsky wrote that her Society
7182-517: The New Age's direct antecedents could be found in the UFO religions of the 1950s, which he termed a "proto-New Age movement". Many of these new religious movements had strong apocalyptic beliefs regarding a coming new age, which they typically asserted would be brought about by contact with extraterrestrials. Examples of such groups included the Aetherius Society , founded in the UK in 1955, and
7296-477: The Scottish area of Findhorn , Moray in 1962. Although its founders were from an older generation, Findhorn attracted increasing numbers of countercultural baby boomers during the 1960s, to the extent that its population had grown sixfold to c. 120 residents by 1972. In October 1965, the co-founder of Findhorn Foundation, Peter Caddy , a former member of the occult Rosicrucian Order Crotona Fellowship , attended
7410-543: The Second World War, spirituality and theistic religion became increasingly disconnected, and spirituality became more oriented on subjective experience, instead of "attempts to place the self within a broader ontological context". A new discourse developed, in which (humanistic) psychology, mystical and esoteric traditions and eastern religions are being blended, to reach the true self by self-disclosure , free expression, and meditation. The distinction between
7524-540: The Seth book series which quickly sold over a million copies. Supplementing these books were videos, audiotapes, compact discs and websites. The development of the internet in particular further popularized New Age ideas and made them more widely accessible. New Age ideas influenced the development of rave culture in the late 1980s and 1990s. In Britain during the 1980s, the term New Age Travellers came into use, although York characterised this term as "a misnomer created by
7638-638: The Transcendentalists, and influenced their thinking. They also endorsed universalist and Unitarianist ideas, leading to Unitarian Universalism , the idea that there must be truth in other religions as well since a loving God would redeem all living beings, not just Christians. A major influence on modern spirituality was the Theosophical Society , which searched for 'secret teachings' in Asian religions. It has been influential on modernist streams in several Asian religions, notably Neo-Vedanta ,
7752-685: The U.S. from at least the eighteenth-century, many of these new developments were variants of Hinduism, Buddhism , and Sufism , which had been imported to the West from Asia following the U.S. government's decision to rescind the Asian Exclusion Act in 1965. In 1962 the Esalen Institute was established in Big Sur , California . Esalen and similar personal growth centers had developed links to humanistic psychology , and from this,
7866-417: The ability to communicate with angels, demons, and spirits. Swedenborg's attempt to unite science and religion and his prediction of a coming era in particular have been cited as ways that he prefigured the New Age. Another early influence was the late 18th and early 19th century German physician and hypnotist Franz Mesmer , who wrote about the existence of a force known as " animal magnetism " running through
7980-612: The ages. Best-known is the Noble Eightfold Path , but others include the Bodhisattva Path and Lamrim . Hinduism has no traditional ecclesiastical order, no centralized religious authorities, no governing body, no prophets nor any binding holy book; Hindus can choose to be polytheistic, henotheistic, pantheistic, monotheistic, or atheistic. Within this diffuse and open structure, spirituality in Hindu philosophy
8094-623: The analysis of the feelings". In the 17th and 18th centuries, a distinction was made between higher and lower forms of spirituality: "A spiritual man is one who is Christian 'more abundantly and deeper than others'." The word was also associated with mysticism and quietism , and acquired a negative meaning. Modern notions of spirituality developed throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, mixing Christian ideas with Western esoteric traditions and elements of Asian, especially Indian, religions. Spirituality became increasingly disconnected from traditional religious organizations and institutions. It
8208-711: The capacity to communicate findings in a meaningful fashion. According to Kees Waaijman, the traditional meaning of spirituality is a process of re-formation that "aims to recover the original shape of man, the image of God. To accomplish this, the re-formation is oriented at a mold, which represents the original shape: in Judaism the Torah , in Christianity there is Christ , for Buddhism , Buddha , and in Islam , Muhammad ." Houtman and Aupers suggest that modern spirituality
8322-663: The centuries. Each of the major religious orders of the Catholic Church and other lay groupings have their own unique spirituality – its own way of approaching God in prayer and in living out the Gospel . Christian mysticism refers to the development of mystical practices and theory within Christianity . It has often been connected to mystical theology , especially in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. The attributes and means by which Christian mysticism
8436-404: The community, with workshops and conferences being held there that brought together New Age thinkers from across the world. Several key events occurred, which raised public awareness of the New Age subculture: publication of Linda Goodman 's best-selling astrology books Sun Signs (1968) and Love Signs (1978); the release of Shirley MacLaine 's book Out on a Limb (1983), later adapted into
8550-450: The concept of a coming "New Age" and used the term accordingly. The term had thus become a recurring motif in the esoteric spirituality milieu. Sutcliffe, therefore, expressed the view that while the term New Age had originally been an "apocalyptic emblem", it would only be later that it became "a tag or codeword for a 'spiritual' idiom". According to scholar Nevill Drury , the New Age has a "tangible history", although Hanegraaff expressed
8664-414: The concept of being driven by the Holy Spirit , as opposed to living a life in which one rejects this influence. In the 11th century, this meaning of "Spirituality" changed. Instead, the word began to denote the mental aspect of life, as opposed to the material and sensual aspects of life, "the ecclesiastical sphere of light against the dark world of matter". In the 13th century "spirituality" acquired
8778-402: The context of an individual's meaning system , especially in relation to concepts of the sacred or of ultimate concern . Two of the fuller treatments of the concept in psychology come from Kenneth Pargament and from Raymond Paloutzian . Pargament holds that "at its heart, spiritual transformation refers to a fundamental change in the place of the sacred or the character of the sacred in
8892-562: The decades to come". Australian scholar Paul J. Farrelly, in his 2017 doctoral dissertation at Australian National University , argued that, while the term New Age may become less popular in the West, it is actually booming in Taiwan , where it is regarded as something comparatively new and is being exported from Taiwan to the Mainland China , where it is more or less tolerated by the authorities. The New Age places strong emphasis on
9006-485: The divine as equally valid. This intentional vagueness as to the nature of divinity also reflects the New Age idea that divinity cannot be comprehended by the human mind or language. New Age literature nevertheless displays recurring traits in its depiction of the divine: the first is the idea that it is holistic , thus frequently being described with such terms as an "Ocean of Oneness", "Infinite Spirit", "Primal Stream", "One Essence", and "Universal Principle". A second trait
9120-445: The early 1970s, use of the term New Age was increasingly common within the cultic milieu. This was because—according to Sutcliffe—the "emblem" of the "New Age" had been passed from the "subcultural pioneers" in groups like Findhorn to the wider array of "countercultural baby boomers" between c. 1967 and 1974. He noted that as this happened, the meaning of the term New Age changed; whereas it had once referred specifically to
9234-615: The emergence of a variety of new religious movements and newly established religions in the United States, creating a spiritual milieu from which the New Age drew upon; these included the San Francisco Zen Center , Transcendental Meditation, Soka Gakkai , the Inner Peace Movement, the Church of All Worlds , and the Church of Satan . Although there had been an established interest in Asian religious ideas in
9348-688: The emergence of the New Age movement, and have widely been used to assert that a better way of life for humanity is dawning. It occurs commonly, for instance, in political contexts; the Great Seal of the United States , designed in 1782, proclaims a "new order of ages", while in the 1980s the Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev proclaimed that "all mankind is entering a new age". The term has also appeared within Western esoteric schools of thought, having
9462-609: The fact that "New Age" is a "theoretical concept" does not "undermine its usefulness or employability"; he drew comparisons with " Hinduism ", a similar "Western etic piece of vocabulary" that scholars of religion used despite its problems. In discussing the New Age, academics have varyingly referred to "New Age spirituality" and "New Age religion". Those involved in the New Age rarely consider it to be "religion"—negatively associating that term solely with organized religion —and instead describe their practices as "spirituality". Religious studies scholars, however, have repeatedly referred to
9576-651: The growth of secularism in the western world have given rise to this broader view of spirituality. The term "spiritual" is now frequently used in contexts in which the term "religious" was formerly employed. Both theists and atheists have criticized this development. Spirituality in Judaism ( Hebrew : רוחניות , romanized : ruhniyut ) may involve practices of Jewish ethics , Jewish prayer , Jewish meditation , Shabbat and holiday observance, Torah study , dietary laws , teshuvah , and other practices. It may involve practices ordained by halakhah or other practices. Kabbalah (literally "receiving")
9690-419: The human body. The establishment of Spiritualism , an occult religion influenced by both Swedenborgianism and Mesmerism, in the U.S. during the 1840s has also been identified as a precursor to the New Age, in particular through its rejection of established Christianity, representing itself as a scientific approach to religion, and its emphasis on channeling spirit entities. Most of the beliefs which characterise
9804-421: The idea that the individual and their own experiences are the primary source of authority on spiritual matters. It exhibits what Heelas termed "unmediated individualism", and reflects a world-view that is "radically democratic". It places an emphasis on the freedom and autonomy of the individual. This emphasis has led to ethical disagreements; some New Agers believe helping others is beneficial, although another view
9918-417: The later 1970s, as constituting a more or less unified "movement". All manifestations of this movement are characterized by a popular western culture criticism expressed in terms of a secularized esotericism. — Scholar of esotericism Wouter Hanegraaff, 1996. The New Age is also a form of Western esotericism . Hanegraaff regarded the New Age as a form of "popular culture criticism", in that it represented
10032-411: The life of the individual. Spiritual transformation can be understood in terms of new configurations of strivings" (p. 18). Paloutzian suggests that "spiritual transformation constitutes a change in the meaning system that a person holds as a basis for self -definition, the interpretation of life , and overarching purposes and ultimate concerns" (p. 334). One school of thought emphasises
10146-542: The lived experience of spirituality over historical dogmatic claims, and accepts that the faith is both true and a human construction, and that spiritual experiences are psychologically and neurally real and useful. An inner spiritual struggle and an outer physical struggle are two commonly accepted meanings of the Arabic word jihad : The "greater jihad" is the inner struggle by a believer to fulfill his religious duties and fight against one's ego . This non-violent meaning
10260-428: The media". These New Age Travellers had little to do with the New Age as the term was used more widely, with scholar of religion Daren Kemp observing that "New Age spirituality is not an essential part of New Age Traveller culture, although there are similarities between the two worldviews". The term New Age came to be used increasingly widely by the popular media in the 1990s. By the late 1980s, some publishers dropped
10374-405: The movement's growth. The first significant exponent of the New Age movement in the U.S. has been cited as Ram Dass . Core works in the propagating of New Age ideas included Jane Roberts's Seth series, published from 1972 onward, Helen Schucman's 1975 publication A Course in Miracles , and James Redfield 's 1993 work The Celestine Prophecy . A number of these books became best sellers , such as
10488-500: The older New Thought movement, as evidenced by the widespread use of Helen Schucman 's A Course in Miracles (1975), New Age music, and crystal healing in New Thought churches. Some figures in the New Thought movement were skeptical, challenging the compatibility of New Age and New Thought perspectives. During these decades, Findhorn had become a site of pilgrimage for many New Agers, and greatly expanded in size as people joined
10602-573: The original true proponents of this pure original form of Islam. They are strong adherents to the principal of tolerance, peace and against any form of violence. The Sufi have suffered severe persecution by more rigid and fundamentalist groups such as the Wahhabi and Salafi movement . In 1843 the Senussi Sufi were forced to flee Mecca and Medina and head to Sudan and Libya. Classical Sufi scholars have defined Sufism as "a science whose objective
10716-511: The revival of Theravada Buddhism , and Buddhist modernism , which have taken over modern western notions of personal experience and universalism and integrated them in their religious concepts. A second, related influence was Anthroposophy , whose founder, Rudolf Steiner , was particularly interested in developing a genuine Western spirituality, and in the ways that such a spirituality could transform practical institutions such as education , agriculture , and medicine . More independently,
10830-472: The scholar of religion Hugh Urban argued that New Age spirituality is growing in the United States and can be expected to become more visible: "According to many recent surveys of religious affiliation, the 'spiritual but not religious' category is one of the fastest-growing trends in American culture, so the New Age attitude of spiritual individualism and eclecticism may well be an increasingly visible one in
10944-440: The sheer diversity of the New Age renders the term too problematic for scholars to use. MacKian proposed "everyday spirituality" as an alternate term. While acknowledging that New Age was a problematic term, the scholar of religion James R. Lewis stated that it remained a useful etic category for scholars to use because "There exists no comparable term which covers all aspects of the movement." Similarly, Chryssides argued that
11058-417: The sociologist describes New Age as a new religious movement (NRM); while the psychologist describes it as a form of narcissism. — Scholar of religion Daren Kemp, 2004 The New Age phenomenon has proved difficult to define, with much scholarly disagreement as to its scope. The scholars Steven J. Sutcliffe and Ingvild Sælid Gilhus have even suggested that it remains "among the most disputed of categories in
11172-520: The spiritual and the religious became more common in the popular mind during the late 20th century with the rise of secularism and the advent of the New Age movement. Authors such as Chris Griscom and Shirley MacLaine explored it in numerous ways in their books. Paul Heelas noted the development within New Age circles of what he called "seminar spirituality": structured offerings complementing consumer choice with spiritual options. Among other factors, declining membership of organized religions and
11286-455: The spiritual practice often includes chanting, singing and music – such as in kirtans – in front of idols, or images of one or more deity, or a devotional symbol of the holy. Karma marga is the path of one's work, where diligent practical work or vartta ( Sanskrit : वार्त्ता , profession) becomes in itself a spiritual practice, and work in daily life is perfected as a form of spiritual liberation and not for its material rewards. Rāja marga
11400-441: The study of religion". The scholar of religion Paul Heelas characterised the New Age as "an eclectic hotch-potch of beliefs, practices, and ways of life" that can be identified as a singular phenomenon through their use of "the same (or very similar) lingua franca to do with the human (and planetary) condition and how it can be transformed ." Similarly, the historian of religion Olav Hammer termed it "a common denominator for
11514-453: The term New Age as a marketing device. In 1994, the scholar of religion Gordon J. Melton presented a conference paper in which he argued that, given that he knew of nobody describing their practices as "New Age" anymore, the New Age had died. In 2001, Hammer observed that the term New Age had increasingly been rejected as either pejorative or meaningless by individuals within the Western cultic milieu. He also noted that within this milieu it
11628-405: The term both spread to other religious traditions and broadened to refer to a wider range of experiences, including a range of esoteric and religious traditions. Modern usages tend to refer to a subjective experience of a sacred dimension , and the "deepest values and meanings by which people live", often in a context separate from organized religious institutions . This may involve belief in
11742-559: The term. Rather than terming themselves New Agers , those involved in this milieu commonly describe themselves as spiritual "seekers", and some self-identify as a member of a different religious group, such as Christianity, Judaism, or Buddhism. In 2003 Sutcliffe observed that the use of the term New Age was "optional, episodic and declining overall", adding that among the very few individuals who did use it, they usually did so with qualification, for instance by placing it in quotation marks. Other academics, such as Sara MacKian, have argued that
11856-429: The twenty-third tirthankara Parshvanatha , whom historians date to 9th century BCE; and the twenty-fourth tirthankara, Mahavira around 600 BCE. Jainism is considered to be an eternal dharma with the tirthankaras guiding every time cycle of the cosmology . Buddhist practices are known as Bhavana , which literally means "development" or "cultivating" or "producing" in the sense of "calling into existence". It
11970-490: The view that most New Agers were "surprisingly ignorant about the actual historical roots of their beliefs". Similarly, Hammer thought that "source amnesia" was a "building block of a New Age worldview", with New Agers typically adopting ideas with no awareness of where those ideas originated. As a form of Western esotericism, the New Age has antecedents that stretch back to southern Europe in Late Antiquity . Following
12084-409: The way of devotion; and Karma yoga , the way of selfless action. In the 19th century Vivekananda , in his neo-Vedanta synthesis of Hinduism, added Rāja yoga , the way of contemplation and meditation, as a fourth way, calling all of them "yoga". Jñāna marga is a path often assisted by a guru (teacher) in one's spiritual practice. Bhakti marga is a path of faith and devotion to deity or deities;
12198-450: The western world and Asia, which also influenced western religiosity. Unitarianism, and the idea of Universalism, was brought to India by missionaries, and had a major influence on neo-Hinduism via Ram Mohan Roy 's Brahmo Samaj and Brahmoism . Roy attempted to modernise and reform Hinduism, from the idea of Universalism. This universalism was further popularised, and brought back to the west as neo-Vedanta, by Swami Vivekananda . After
12312-424: Was Neo-Vedanta , also called neo-Hinduism and Hindu Universalism , a modern interpretation of Hinduism which developed in response to western colonialism and orientalism . It aims to present Hinduism as a "homogenized ideal of Hinduism" with Advaita Vedanta as its central doctrine. Due to the colonisation of Asia by the western world, since the 19th century an exchange of ideas has been taking place between
12426-524: Was New Thought , which developed in late nineteenth-century New England as a Christian-oriented healing movement before spreading throughout the United States. Another influence was the psychologist Carl Jung . Drury also identified as an important influence upon the New Age the Indian Swami Vivekananda , an adherent of the philosophy of Vedanta who first brought Hinduism to the West in the late 19th century. Hanegraaff believed that
12540-409: Was a milieu ; Heelas and scholar of religion Linda Woodhead called it the "holistic milieu". There is no central authority within the New Age phenomenon that can determine what counts as New Age and what does not. Many of those groups and individuals who could analytically be categorised as part of the New Age reject the term New Age in reference to themselves. Some even express active hostility to
12654-512: Was a theme in the poetry of Wellesley Tudor Pole (1884–1968) and of Johanna Brandt (1876–1964), and then also appeared in the work of the British-born American Theosophist Alice Bailey (1880–1949), featuring in titles such as Discipleship in the New Age (1944) and Education in the New Age (1954). Between the 1930s and 1960s a small number of groups and individuals became preoccupied with
12768-512: Was conveying the essence of all world religions, and it thus emphasized a focus on comparative religion . Serving as a partial bridge between Theosophical ideas and those of the New Age was the American esotericist Edgar Cayce , who founded the Association for Research and Enlightenment . Another partial bridge was the Danish mystic Martinus who is popular in Scandinavia. Another influence
12882-428: Was not being replaced by any alternative and that as such a sense of collective identity was being lost. Other scholars disagreed with Melton's idea; in 2004 Daren Kemp stated that "New Age is still very much alive". Hammer himself stated that "the New Age movement may be on the wane, but the wider New Age religiosity ... shows no sign of disappearing". MacKian suggested that the New Age "movement" had been replaced by
12996-444: Was that "any alternative spiritual path is good because it is spiritual and alternative". This approach that has generated a common jibe that New Age represents "supermarket spirituality". York suggested that this eclecticism stemmed from the New Age's origins within late modern capitalism, with New Agers subscribing to a belief in a free market of spiritual ideas as a parallel to a free market in economics. As part of its eclecticism,
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