The Growth of New Age Movements Is Evidence of a Spiritual Revolution
New-Age beliefs and practices have experienced a significant growth in the past 40 years. The term New Age applies to the extensive range of belief systems and therapies that have developed since the 1970s. Where New Age is centred on some form of beliefs, these rarely fit into normal religious categories as they do not follow sacred texts or have a belief in God. Many New-Age movements (NAMs) are less belief systems than what Paul Heelas refers to as the ‘holistic milieu’ embracing a range of therapies and activities associated with healing and self-discovery. Therefore the idea that New Age reflects a growing spirituality depends on the definition and understanding of what constitute New Age and spirituality respectively.
This introduction explains New Age and introduces Heelas’s concept of the ‘holistic milieu’. In terms of addressing the question, it flags up that this really depends on how New Age and spirituality are defined.
The growth of New Age in the past 40 years has coincided with a 50% decline in attendance at conventional religious services. Many argued that declining participation in mainstream religion was evidence of secularisation. Heelas et al. in their study of Kendal investigated the extent to which the ‘congregation domain’ was in decline and whether religion was giving way to spirituality through the ‘holistic milieu’. However, the problem with declining congregations is that this in itself does not necessarily mean that religiosity is declining but rather becoming privatised. Grace Davie summed this process up with the phrase ‘believing without belonging’.
This paragraph introduces the basic premise of the argument that if conventional religion is in decline, is the ‘holistic milieu’ replacing it? Note the good AO2 evaluation point that declining church attendance does not in itself support a decline in religion.
The Kendal Project appeared to suggest that the holistic milieu was growing at a fast rate, providing evidence of a
This introduction explains New Age and introduces Heelas’s concept of the ‘holistic milieu’. In terms of addressing the question, it flags up that this really depends on how New Age and spirituality are defined.
The growth of New Age in the past 40 years has coincided with a 50% decline in attendance at conventional religious services. Many argued that declining participation in mainstream religion was evidence of secularisation. Heelas et al. in their study of Kendal investigated the extent to which the ‘congregation domain’ was in decline and whether religion was giving way to spirituality through the ‘holistic milieu’. However, the problem with declining congregations is that this in itself does not necessarily mean that religiosity is declining but rather becoming privatised. Grace Davie summed this process up with the phrase ‘believing without belonging’.
This paragraph introduces the basic premise of the argument that if conventional religion is in decline, is the ‘holistic milieu’ replacing it? Note the good AO2 evaluation point that declining church attendance does not in itself support a decline in religion.
The Kendal Project appeared to suggest that the holistic milieu was growing at a fast rate, providing evidence of a