The A to Z of New Age Movements

Michael York

Jun 2009 · Scarecrow Press

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The decline of institutionalized religion in the increasingly secularized West has been offset by the contemporary spiritual development understood in the form of emerging New Age movements. This reference presents the potpourri of spiritual and psycho-physical therapeutic practices associated with this affirmation of the individual's spiritual freedom, the expectation of a future golden age, the emphasis on self-development, and the holistic pluralism that sets the dominant pulse for innovative spirituality in the twenty-first century. The A to Z of New Age Movements furnishes profiles and explanations of New Age spokespeople and leaders, of a range of human potential and self-help practices, of countercultural spiritual developments, and of different groups and organizations that identify as New Age. The dictionary consists of over 240 individual entries along with an introduction that describes the historical foundations of the New Age orientation and its relation with contemporary Western paganism. It also presents the sociological dimension of New Age expression, as well as the kinds of criticism with which the New Age identity must contend. There is both a New Age Chronology and a bibliography also included.

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Michael York is principal lecturer for the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cultural Astronomy and Astrology at Bath Spa University College. He is director of the Bath Archive for Contemporary Religious Affairs, as well as co-director of the Academy for Cultural and Educational Studies in London and director of the Netherlands-based Amsterdam Center for Eurindic Studies. He is an associate editor for the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature to which he has contributed articles on the New Age Movement, Shamanism, Magic, New Religious Movements, Pantheism, Polytheism, UFOs, Channeling, etc.