Weiyue Lin-Week10

   
Religion is at the core of spirituality in its distinct forms. The article explores the New Age Movement as a contemporary embodiment of traditional western beliefs. Michael York examines the different dimensions configured to the spiritual multiracialism that reflects Bryan Wilson’s conception of the implications of secularism. The author argues that rapid immigration, capitalism, globalization, and the degradation of religious institutions stems from widespread awareness and numerous religious options. York conducts an in-depth exploration of globalization, the New Age, Neo-paganism, accountability and authority, commodification, and appropriation as the critical dimensions that can support a comprehensive evaluation of the spirit realm. Spiritual traditions have evolved into public commodities that were once the private preserve of religious elites and parochial groups.
York develops a compelling account of the New Age beliefs and the justification for spiritual commercialization, as well as the inconsistencies relating to the traditional doctrines that it appropriates. The author affirms the interconnectedness of different religions with their traditional underpinnings, such as Islam with the Jewish Temple or Christianity and acquired festivals and sacred sanctuaries. Modern-day Western paganism fails to appropriate dominant cultures as much as the New Age. In this way, if contemporary beliefs stem from the critical truths of different cultures, its ultimate success draws from the sacred facts of existing cultures. York explores what it feels like to be on both extremes of the spectrum, and maintains a stance that supports the compatibility of New Age beliefs with those of eco-protestors, the Dongas, and Earth Firsters. Ideally, York assesses the clash between identity and universal rights across different dimensions such as Neo-paganism and the New Age, against economic, social, and political influences. The spirit realm exists, but in a modernized form that seeks to distinguish between commercialism and religion, making people from contemporary society “spiritual” instead of “religious.”