Growth of New Ageism (audience/client cult)

Heelas (2008) — estimated number of NA ativities and practitioners in 🇬🇧

• Activities: 2,000

• Practitioners: 146,000

Heelas (1996) — 2 common themes of NA

1. Self-spirituality

2. Detraditionalisation

Heelas (1996) — self-spirituality

• Look inside selves to find what trad. ext. religions used to offer

Heelas (1996) — detraditionalisation

• Rejection of authority of external trad. sources like priests and sacred texts

• Value personal experience

• Truth can be found for o.s. in o.s.

PoMo and NA — Drane (1999)

• NA = part of shift to PoMo soc

  • Represents loss of faith in meta-narratives

Drane (1999) — science → NA

• Science promised progress but gave us nothing

• People lost faith in experts and ⛪️ for their spiritual needs

• Instead turn to NA

NA and modernity — Bruce (1995; 2011)

• Modern society values individualism and places more emphasis on expressive professions (key part of NA and those it appeals to)

• NA basically = softer version of trad. Eastern religions like Budhism

• NA eclecticism = typical of consumerism of late-modern religions

Heelas (1996) — 4 links between NA and modernity

1. Source of ID — modern = fragmented, NA = authentic

2. Consumer culture — modern = dissatisfaction as never perfect, NA = other ways to achieve perfection

3. Rapid social change — modern = anomie, NA = certainty, truth

4. Less organised religion — secular society, no alt. to NA beliefs