(a/n: This was a particularly scathing essay I wrote for Religious Studies about the New Age. I would just like to state that I personally have no problems with the New Age, but part of earning your degree is learning how to make a decent argument for or against something. This was the first time I turned my had to arguing against something. I know it is very critical and sometimes rather harsh, but it's all researched and backed up with scholastic material.

So before anyone gets upset for the New Age, just remember I don't hate New Agers...(in fact some of my best friends belong to the New Age in some form or another...)

I've removed the footnotes, but kept the bibliography. So annoying footnotes don't work on this site...

The essay question was: "The New Age is the pop culture commodification of religion, the new "opiate of the masses". Discuss with examples.")

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‘The New Age’ has become a buzz word of recent years, a rather loose and umbrella-like term applied to Neopaganism, Spiritualism and Western forms of Hinduism, Buddhism, esoteric occult-like practices, or a combination of some or all. Far from the organized religion we are used to in the West, The New Age is a diverse, postmodern reaction to uptight society of rationality and science. However, criticisms leveled at the movement (it is rather dubious to call it a religion) have led to it being called “loopy” and “air-headed”- criticisms which may be entirely justifiable. Has the new ‘opiate of the masses’ arrived? The Romanticist fantasy of the return to the Real or the sacred may have just met its match in the commercially hard-headed, cobbled together “religion” of the New Age.

The New Age has become a community defined by consumerism. Whilst this accusation can also be pointed in the direction of other major organized religions, The New Age is perhaps the only theological doctrine which requires one to buy into it, in the most literal of senses. To be a practicing New Ager, one acquires a plethora of tools, tapes, compact discs, incense, books, crystals and instructional videos. Whole franchises have been built on this foundation of conning naïve New Agers into purchasing their religion, shops like Gypzy’s dominate almost every mall in Christchurch. A lot of the time, to be a New Ager, ritual is essential; and to perform this ritual (as the fallacy goes) one needs the proper equipment. The more shrewd New Ager will source their own materials, but since the New Age is a largely decentralized movement, based around mostly the internet or literature these mediums are the perfect tools to promote consumerist behavior in the form of buying merchandise.

Furthermore, the format of the New Age movement allows varying depths of involvement. Unlike organized religion where it is largely accepted that fundamental tenets apply to all devotees, the postmodern New Ager can fully submerge themselves in the movement, or just dip their toe in the water. The “casual part-timers” of the New Age, who adopt a dabbling mentality are those who are truly buying into the commodification of religion. The aspect of the New Age where an adherent picks and chooses which doctrine to follow has been largely criticized alongside the blatant capitalism of the whole organization, but even those within the movement are now speaking out against the mixing of religion and consumerism, stating “…religion cannot be consumed, if it is, it is no longer religion.” Alongside those practicing the New Age personally, there is also those who sell their New Age knowledge and/or skills to the (sometimes non-believing) public. Alan Aldridge calls these “client cults” and while these are not as universally condemned as the sale of necessary equipment in stores and online, they are just another facet of the capitalist culture creeping into one of the more modern of religions: the sale of their knowledge or power in the form of hypnotherapy, seances, fortune telling, tarot reading or aura-photographing.

But the New Age is now fully upon us. Pop culture is full of references to the esoteric and the occult, from teen movies such as The Craft (which promotes the potential power of Neopaganism) to books such as The Mists of Avalon by Marion Z. Bradley and The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield, even right down to the classics of literature, like Lord of the Rings, magic and sorcery and knowledge beyond that of the common man presents itself in an alluring package. Scholars have suggested that
this fascination with the occult is really to do with enacting our fantasies, with one writer scathingly commenting that “…despite elements of the macabre and morbid, witchcraft paradoxically provides and extremely safe environment in which its largely middle-class practitioners can indulge their fantasies.” Many practitioners are city-dwellers, perhaps searching for the lost connection with nature, and seeking to rise above the mundane and somewhat sterile atmosphere that living in a city can bring.
Coupled with an overt rejection of Christian and Western religion and culture, indeed, styling itself as its antithesis, this creates a powerful mix that lures in those who are disenfranchised, disillusioned or looking for something more easily tailored to their tastes.

The New Age is a seemingly very popular movement. This could be because ultimately, the New Age is all about the Self. A main tenet prevalent through many New Age sub-genres is the idea of esoteric knowledge, enabling preternatural skill such as Extra Sensory Perception, or the manipulation of forces (nature, personalities etc) that would otherwise be impossible to the layman. Also, as Colin Campbell wrote “…the emphasis tends to be on becoming a god- and hence enjoying the pleasures that life can offer- rather than losing one’s identity within God.” The lure of power beyond our means is a powerful motivator, and unlike more traditional religions, the adherence to doctrine benefits the adherent, rather than others. In Christianity one “does unto others” in order to attain salvation, whereas in the New Age one ‘does as one wills’ and achieves the same ends, a happier eternal existence. It appears, according to the New Age, one can have one’s cake and eat it too. And the widespread appeal of wanting to stand out among the millions of humans who have, will and do exist is obvious. Many New Age movements (like Spiritualism, for example) believe in the existence of telepathy and other such Extra Sensory Perceptions, and also believe that some people are more naturally “gifted” than others, even though these skills can be developed. In a society of rapid communication and mass media, we are only too aware of our unimportance, and those craving meaning in life often turn to (in my opinion) fantasies of self-importance. Also featured in a lot of New Age beliefs is that of karma and reincarnation. Past lives are often stressed as highly important, and their influence is often believed to extend to the circumstances of this life. Undesired situations are often explained away as “we met in a past life” rather than the fallibility of the individual concerned. Collins argues that “past lives are invoked to excuse rather than to justify present failure or inadequacy.” But in my experience the idea of one’s character being shaped by previous experiences in past lives is often misinterpreted and past lives are used to justify and excuse behavior that would otherwise be considered irrational or inappropriate.

The last factor that makes the New Age the ultimate ‘opiate of the masses’ is its universal appeal. Because of its diversity and the ability to apply it only as extensively as one wishes, as well as its position as opposite that of the Western Christian model, it is extremely popular amongst not only those who are of a more spiritual bent but also to those disenfranchised by contemporary religion. Many scholars have commented on the influence feminism has played on (in particular) Neopaganism in the form of the ‘Goddess Cult’ where a resurgence of the sacred feminine is blatantly apparent. Those rejection the ‘Madonna or whore’ mentality of the Christian Church often find themselves amply represented in Neopaganism. The New Age also caters for the Twenty-first Century appetite for the internet, with many groups meeting and convening on message-boards, chat rooms and using websites to spread information. For the young, trendy and drug-using, there is the quasi-spiritual world of raves and dance parties and for the more traditional, there is the familiar church-like format of the Spiritualist Church. The diversity of the New Age is what makes it available to cater to such a large audience, and possibly what has made it such a potent commercial force.

In conclusion, the New Age, with all its different facets has become perhaps one of the largest decentralized religions in the West. Its ability to assimilate aspects of other religions and for the devotee to choose the level of interaction makes it an attractive and non-binding religion for the postmodern individual who wants an out clause, or simply to choose what they believe and then give it a loose label of religion in order to give it authenticity. However the key concept that is prevalent throughout the New Age is spending money. Whether it is money for computer equipment, rave tickets, drugs, self-help guides or spell books, the New Age seems thoroughly contemporary in its desire to gain as much money from the practice of religion as possible. The ‘opiate of the masses’ has a new form, and many seem to be very happy with it.

Bibliography

Aldridge, Alan

Religion In the Contemporary World: A Sociological Introduction

Polity Press (2000) Cambridge

Bromley, David G. and Hammond, Phillip E. (edited by)

The Future of New Religious Movements

Mercer University Press, (1987) Macon

Campbell, Colin

A New Age Theodicy for a new age

From: Peter Berger and the Study of Religion

Ed: Linda Woodhead with Paul Heelas and David Martin

Routledge (2001) London and New York

Davis, Erik

Remains of the Deities, Reading The Return of Paganism

(originally appeared in the Voice Literary Supplement, 1993, obtained from Course Reader)

Ellwood,

Robert S. Jr.

Religious and Spiritual Groups in Modern America

Prentice-Hall International Inc. (1973) New Jersey

Eggers, David

Moodie, David

Tullis, Paul

Borow, Zev

Ness, Matt

Garofoli, Jeff

Requa, Marny

Miller, Nancy

Lehman-Haupt, Rachel

Virtual Enlightenment: Shiny Adidas Tracksuits and the Death of Camp (and other essays from Might Magazine)

Berkley Boulevard Books, (1998) New York

Pike, Sarah M.

New Age and Neopagan Religions in American

Colombia University Press (2004) New York