Possession, Power and the New Age

Ambiguities of Authority in Neoliberal Societies
1. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 978-1-03-224350-4
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 214 Seiten, Format (B × H): 235 mm x 156 mm, Gewicht: 336 g

Reihe: Theology and Religion in Interdisciplinary Perspective Series

This book provides a new sociological account of contemporary religious phenomena such as channelling, holistic healing, meditation and divination, which are usually classed as part of a New Age Movement. Drawing on his extensive ethnography carried out in the UK, alongside comparative studies in America and Europe, Matthew Wood criticises the view that such phenomena represent spirituality in which self-authority is paramount. Instead, he emphasises the role of social authority and the centrality of spirit possession, linking these to participants' class positions and experiences of secularisation. Informed by sociological and anthropological approaches to social power and practice, especially the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault, Wood's study explores what he calls the nonformative regions of the religious field, and charts similarities and differences with pagan, spiritualist and Theosophical traditions.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Wood, Matthew

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Vergleichende Religionswissenschaft

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1 Approaching New Age; Chapter 2 The field of New Age studies; Chapter 3 Power, self and practice; Chapter 4 The meditation group; Chapter 5 Channelling workshops; Chapter 6 The Nottinghamshire fair; Chapter 7 Spiritualism and paganism; Chapter 8 Nonformativeness, possession and class in neoliberal societies;

Über Autor(innen)

Matthew Wood is Lecturer in Sociology in the School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work at Queen's University Belfast, UK.