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description: Some New Agers advocate living in a simple and sustainable manner to reduce humanity's impact on the natural resources of Earth; and they shun consumerism. The New Age movement has been centered aroun ...
Some New Agers advocate living in a simple and sustainable manner to reduce humanity's impact on the natural resources of Earth; and they shun consumerism.[168][169][170] The New Age movement has been centered around rebuilding a sense of community to counter social disintegration; this has been attempted through the formation of intentional communities, where individuals come together to live and work in a communal lifestyle.[171]
New Age centres have been set up in various parts of the world, representing an institutionalised form of the movement.[172] Notable examples include the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado, Holly Hock Farm near to Vancouver, the Wrekin Trust in West Malvern, Worcestershire, and the Skyros Centre in Skyros.[173]
Criticising mainstream Western education as counterproductive to the ethos of the movement, many New Age groups have established their own schools for the education of children, although in other case such groups have sought to introduce New Age spiritual techniques into pre-existing establishments.[174]
Music
See also: List of new-age music artists and List of ambient artists
New-age music is peaceful music of various styles intended to create inspiration, relaxation, and positive feelings while listening. Studies have determined that new-age music can be an effective component of stress management.[175]
The style began in the 1970s with the works of free-form jazz groups recording on the ECM label; such as Oregon, the Paul Winter Consort, and other pre-ambient bands; as well as ambient music performer Brian Eno and classical avant-garde musician Daniel Kobialka.[176][177] In the early 1970s, it was mostly instrumental with both acoustic and electronic styles. New-age music evolved to include a wide range of styles from electronic space music using synthesizers and acoustic instrumentals using Native American flutes and drums, singing bowls, and world music sounds to spiritual chanting from other cultures.[176][177]
Many online radio stations exemplify new-age, which has always been a non-empirical phenomenon-intuitive-ethereal genre. For example, Gaia Radio
Reception
Academia
The earliest academic studies of the New Age movement were performed by specialists in the study of new religious movements, such as Robert Ellwood.[178] However, this research was often scanty because many scholars of alternative spirituality thought of the New Age movement as an insignificant cultural fad.[179] Alternately, much of it was largely negative and critical of New Age groups, as it was influenced by the U.S. anti-cult movement.[180] In 1996, Wouter Hanegraaff published New Age Religion and Western Culture, a historical analysis of New Age texts.[181] That same year, Paul Heelas published a study of the movement which focused on its manifestation in Britain.[182]
While J. Gordon Melton,[183] Wouter Hanegraaff,[184] and Paul Heelas[185] have emphasised personal aspects, Mark Satin,[186] Theodore Roszak,[187] Marilyn Ferguson,[188] and Corinne McLaughlin[189] have described New Age as a values-based sociopolitical movement.
In the 2003 book A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America written by Michael Barkun, professor emeritus of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs[190] Barkun argues New Age beliefs have been greatly facilitated by the advent of the internet which has exposed people to beliefs once consigned to the outermost fringe of political and religious life. He identifies two trends which he terms, " the rise of improvisational millennialism" and "the popularity of stigmatized knowledge". He voices concern that these trends could lead to mass hysteria and could have a devastating effect on American political life. Richard H. Jones has given a sustained attack on the New Age use of science.[191]
Christian perspectives
In the United States, the New Age movement became a major concern of evangelical Christian groups in the 1980s, an attitude that gradually also influenced British evangelical groups.[192] During that decade, evangelical writers such as Constance Cumbey, Dave Hunt, Gary North, and Douglas Groothuis published books criticising the New Age movement from their Christian perspective; a number of them have been characterised as propagating conspiracy theories regarding the origin and purpose of the movement.[193] The most successful such publication however was Frank E. Peretti's 1986 novel This Present Darkness, which sold over a million copies; it depicted the New Age movement as being in league with feminism and secular education to overthrow Christianity.[194] This criticism has been sustained since; in 2003 Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention stated that there's "widespread agreement" by Baptists who regard New Age ideas as contrary to Christian tradition and doctrine.[195]
The Roman Catholic Church published A Christian reflection on the New Age in 2003, following a six-year study; the 90-page document criticizes New Age practices such as yoga, meditation, feng shui, and crystal healing.[196][197] According to the Vatican, euphoric states attained through New Age practices should not be confused with prayer or viewed as signs of God's presence.[198] Cardinal Paul Poupard, then-president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said the "New Age is a misleading answer to the oldest hopes of man".[196] Monsignor Michael Fitzgerald, then-president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, stated at the Vatican conference on the document: the "Church avoids any concept that is close to those of the New Age".[199]
Contemporary Pagan perspectives
An issue of academic debate has been regarding the connection between the New Age movement and contemporary Paganism, or Neo-Paganism. Sarah Pike asserted that that there was a "significant overlap" between the two religious movements,[200] while Aidan A. Kelly stated that Paganism "parallels the New Age movement in some ways, differs sharply from it in others, and overlaps it in some minor ways."[201] Hanegraaff suggested that whereas various forms of contemporary Paganism were not part of the New Age movement – particularly those who pre-dated the movement – other Pagan religions and practices could be identified as New Age.[202] Various differences between the two movements have been highlighted; the New Age movement focuses on an improved future, whereas the focus of Paganism is on the pre-Christian past.[203] Similarly, the New Age movement typically propounds a universalist message which sees all religions as fundamentally the same, whereas Paganism stresses the difference between monotheistic religions and those embracing a polytheistic or animistic theology.[203] Further, the New Age movement shows little interest in magic and witchcraft, which are conversely core interests of many Pagan religions, such as Wicca.[203]
Many Pagans have expressed criticism of the high fees charged by New Age teachers, something not typically present in the Pagan movement.[204] Followers of the Goddess movement have severely criticized the New Age as fundamentally patriarchal, analytical rather than intuitive, and as supporting the status quo, particularly in its implicit gender roles. Monica Sjöö (1938–2005) wrote that New Age channelers were virtually all women, but the spirits they purported to channel, offering guidance to humanity, were nearly all male. Sjöö was highly critical of Theosophy, the "I AM" Activity, and particularly Alice Bailey, whom she saw as promoting Nazi-like Aryan ideals. Sjöö's writings also condemn the New Age for its support of communication and information processing technologies which, she believes, may produce harmful low-level electromagnetic radiation.[205][206][207]
Integral theory
Further information: Integral Theory
The author Ken Wilber posits that most New Age thought falls into what he termed the pre/trans fallacy.[208] According to Wilber, human developmental psychology moves from the pre-personal, through the personal, then to the transpersonal (spiritually advanced or enlightened) level.[209] He regards 80 percent of New Age spirituality as pre-rational (pre-conventional) and as relying primarily on mythic-magical thinking; this contrasts with a post-rational (including and transcending rational) genuinely world-centric consciousness.[208][209] Despite his criticism of most New Age thought, Wilber has been categorized as New Age due to his emphasis on a transpersonal view,[210] and more recently, as a philosopher.[211]
Native American
Further information: Indigenous peoples of the Americas
Indigenous American spiritual leaders, such as Elders councils of the Lakota, Cheyenne, Navajo, Creek, Hopi, Chippewa and Haudenosaunee have denounced New Age misappropriation of their sacred ceremonies[212] and other intellectual property,[213] stating that "The value of these instructions and ceremonies [when led by unauthorized people] are questionable, maybe meaningless, and hurtful to the individual carrying false messages."[212] Traditional leaders of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota peoples have reached consensus[214][215] to reject "the expropriation of [their] ceremonial ways by non-Indians". They see the New Age movement as either not fully understanding, deliberately trivializing, or distorting their way of life,[216] and have declared war on all such "plastic medicine people" who are appropriating their spiritual ways.[214][215] The United Nations General Assembly has issued a declaration protecting ceremonies as part of the cultural and intellectual property of their respective Indigenous nations:
Article 31 1. "Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, as well as the manifestations of their sciences, technologies and cultures, including human and genetic resources, seeds, medicines, knowledge of the properties of fauna and flora, oral traditions, literatures, designs, sports and traditional games and visual and performing arts. They also have the right to maintain, control, protect and develop their intellectual property over such cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions." - Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples[213]
Indigenous leaders have spoken out against individuals from within their own communities who may go out into the world to become a "white man's shaman," and any "who are prostituting our spiritual ways for their own selfish gain, with no regard for the spiritual well-being of the people as a whole".[216] The term "plastic shaman" or "plastic medicine people" has been applied to outsiders who identify themselves as shamans, holy people, or other traditional spiritual leaders, but who have no genuine connection to the traditions or cultures they claim to represent.[217][218][219]
The academic Ward Churchill criticized the New Age movement as an instrument of cultural imperialism that is exploitative of indigenous cultures by reducing them to a commodity to be traded. In Fantasies of the Master Race, he criticized the cultural appropriation of Native American culture and symbols in not only the New Age movement, but also in art and popular culture.[220]
Social and political movement
While many commentators have focused on the personal aspects of the New Age movement, it also has a social and political component. The New Age political movement became visible in the 1970s, peaked in the 1980s, and continued into the 1990s.[221] In the 21st century, the political movement evolved in new directions.
Late 20th century

Mark Satin, author of New Age Politics (1978)

Marilyn Ferguson, author of The Aquarian Conspiracy (1980)

Fritjof Capra, author of The Turning Point (1982)
After the political turmoil of the 1960s, many activists in North America and Europe became disillusioned with traditional reformist and revolutionary political ideologies.[222] Some began searching for a new politics that gave special weight to such topics as consciousness, ecology, personal and spiritual development, community empowerment, and global unity.[223][224] An outpouring of books from New Age thinkers acknowledged that search and attempted to articulate that politics.
According to some observers,[225][226] the first was Mark Satin's New Age Politics (1978).[186] It originally appeared in Canada in 1976.[227][228] Other books that have been described as New Age political include Theodore Roszak's Person / Planet (1978),[187][229] Marilyn Ferguson's The Aquarian Conspiracy (1980),[188][221] Alvin Toffler and Heidi Toffler's The Third Wave (1980),[221][230] Hazel Henderson's The Politics of the Solar Age (1981),[221][231] Fritjof Capra's The Turning Point (1982),[221][232] Robert Muller's New Genesis (1982),[233][234] John Naisbitt's Megatrends (1982),[234][235] Willis Harman's Global Mind Change (1988),[2][236] James Redfield's The Celestine Prophecy (1993),[2][237] and Corinne McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson's Spiritual Politics (1994).[2][189]
All these books were issued by major publishers. Some became international bestsellers. By the 1980s, New Age political ideas were being discussed in big-city newspapers[238][239] and established political magazines.[226][240] In addition, some of the New Age's own periodicals were regularly addressing social and political issues. In the U.S., observers pointed to Leading Edge Bulletin,[234][241] New Age Journal,[242][243] New Options Newsletter,[234][244] and Utne Reader.[242][245] Other such periodicals included New Humanity (England),[246] Alterna (Denmark),[247] Odyssey (South Africa), and World Union from the Sri Aurobindo Ashram (India).
As with any political movement, organizations sprang up to generate popular support for New Age political ideas and policy positions. In the U.S., commentators identified the New Age Caucus of California,[248][249] the New World Alliance,[250][251] Planetary Citizens,[234][252] and John Vasconcellos's Self-Determination: A Personal / Political Network[234][253] as New Age political organizations. So, on occasion, did their own spokespeople.[254] There may have been more New Age political organizing outside the U.S.;[252] writer-activists pointed to the Future in Our Hands movement in Norway (which claimed 20,000 adherents out of a population of four million),[255] the early European Green movements,[256] and the Values Party of New Zealand.[257]
Although these books, periodicals, and organizations did not speak with one voice, commentators found that many of them sounded common themes:
Our world does not reflect who we at our best can be.[226]
All our most significant social and political problems go back at least 300 years.[258]
The political system therefore needs to be transformed, not just reformed,[221] with the help of a new political theory appropriate to our time.[222]
Holism – seeing everything as connected – is the first step on the way to creating that new political theory.[221][226]
Doing away with the categories of "left" and "right" is another essential part of that task.[221][226]
Significant social change requires deep changes in consciousness; institutional change is not enough.[222][259]
Above all, consciousness needs to become more ecologically aware,[226][234] more feminist,[226][234] and more oriented to compassionate global unity.[221][234]
Desirable values include nonviolence, diversity, a sense of community, and a sense of enoughness.[234][240]
Human growth and development, not economic growth, should be the overarching goal of New Age society.[240]
Ownership and control of institutions is important. But the size of institutions is at least as important. We must move away from big governments, big corporations, and other large institutions to the extent it enhances our lives.[221][240]
We can begin this process by interlacing hierarchical structures with horizontal networks.[234][260]
Global unification is a key goal, but is probably best accomplished by networking at many levels rather than establishing a centralized world state.[221]
The agent of political change is no longer the working class, or any economic class. Instead, it is all those who are developing themselves personally and spiritually – all who aspire to live lives of dignity and service.[222]
Evolution is to be preferred to revolution. However, the forces of evolutionary change need not be a statistical majority. A "critical mass" of informed, committed, and spiritually aware people can move a nation forward.[221][250]
Over time, these themes began to cohere. By the 1980s, observers in both North America[226][259] and Europe[261][262] were acknowledging the emergence of a New Age political "ideology".
Political objections at century’s end
Toward the end of the 20th century, criticisms were being directed at the New Age political project from many quarters,[263][264] but especially from the liberal left and religious right.
On the left, scholars argued that New Age politics is an oxymoron: that personal growth has little or nothing to do with political change.[265][266] One political scientist said New Age politics fails to recognize the "realities" of economic and political power;[259] another faulted it for not being opposed to the capitalist system, or to liberal individualism.[222] Antinuclear activist Harvey Wasserman argued that New Age politics is too averse to social conflict to be effective politically.[226]
On the right, some worried that the drive to come up with a new consciousness and new values would topple time-tested old values.[252] Others worried that the celebration of diversity would leave no strong viewpoint in place to guide society.[252] The passion for world unity – one humanity, one planet – was said to lead inevitably to the centralization of power.[267][268] Some doubted that networking could provide an effective counterweight to centralization and bureaucracy.[234]
Neither left nor right was impressed with the New Age's ability to organize itself politically.[226][250] Many explanations were offered for the New Age's practical political weakness. Some said that the New Age political thinkers and activists of the 1970s and 1980s were simply too far in advance of their time.[269] Others suggested that New Age activists' commitment to the often frustrating process of consensus decision-making was at fault.[250] After it dissolved, New World Alliance co-founder Marc Sarkady told an interviewer that the Alliance had been too "New Age counter-cultural" to appeal to a broad public.[270]
New political directions in the 21st century
Dozens of people talking at tables in a large room.
AmericaSpeaks event, 2011. In the 21st century, organizations like AmericaSpeaks embodied the approach of listening to and learning from everyone.
In the 21st century, writers and activists continue to pursue a political project with New Age roots. However, it differs from the project that had come before.
The principal difference was anticipated in texts like New Age Politics author Mark Satin's essay "Twenty-eight Ways of Looking at Terrorism" (1991),[271] human potential movement historian Walter Truett Anderson's essay "Four Different Ways to Be Absolutely Right" (1995),[272] and mediator Mark Gerzon's book A House Divided (1996).[273][274] In these texts, the New Age political perspective is recognized as legitimate. But it is presented as merely one among many, with strong points and blind spots just like all the rest. The result was to alter the nature of the New Age political project. If every political perspective had unique strengths and significant weaknesses, then it no longer made sense to try to convert everyone to the New Age political perspective, as had been attempted in the 1970s and 1980s. It made more sense to try to construct a higher political synthesis that took every political perspective into account, including that of the New Age.[275][276]
Many 21st century books have attempted to articulate foundational aspects of this approach to politics and social change. They include Ken Wilber's A Theory of Everything (2001),[277] Mark Satin's Radical Middle (2004),[278] David Korten's The Great Turning (2006),[279] Steve McIntosh's Integral Consciousness and the Future of Evolution (2007),[280] Marilyn Hamilton's Integral City (2008),[281] and Carter Phipps's Evolutionaries (2012).[282] In addition, many organizations are providing opportunities for focused political listening and learning that can contribute to the construction of a higher political synthesis. They include AmericaSpeaks,[283] Association Reset-Dialogues on Civilizations,[284] Listening Project,[285] Search for Common Ground,[286] Spiral Dynamics Integral,[287][288] and World Public Forum: Dialogue of Civilizations.[289]
Another difference between the two eras of political thought is that, in the 21st century, few political actors use the term New Age or post-New Age[290] to describe themselves or their work. Some observers attribute this to the negative connotations that the term "New Age" had acquired.[224][290] Instead, other terms are employed that connote a similar sense of personal and political development proceeding together over time. For example, according to an anthology from three political scientists, many writers and academics use the term "transformational" as a substitute for such terms as New Age and new paradigm.[258] Ken Wilber has popularized use of the term "integral",[277] Carter Phipps emphasizes the term "evolutionary",[282] and both terms can be found in some authors' book titles.[280][281]

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