The Re-enchantment Of The West: Alternative Spiritualities, Sacralization, Popular Culture and Occulture (#1)

Western society and culture are often described in sociological and theological texts as increasingly secular. This work (the first of two volumes) challenges this thesis and introduces the reader to the principal theories and debates surrounding the state of religion in the West (including secularization, sacralization, Easternization and the development of New Religious Movements).As a book about emergent spirituality in the contemporary West, this books focuses on the nature, evolution and significance of new forms of religion and alternative spiritualities. Part one provides the theoretical background and guides the reader through some of the principal debates. After an overview of the secularization thesis, which argues that the West is becoming increasingly disenchanted, the second chapter turns to the sociological analysis of new religions and alternative spiritualities. Chapter three constructs a general theory of the re-enchantment of the West, while in chapter four the author pursues some of the principal lines of thought raised by the thesis which suggests the existence of an 'occulture.' In chapter five, the significant influence of the East will be examined. The last two chapters will elucidate the role of literature, film, and music in the re-enchantment of the West.