Possession, Power and the New Age

Ambiguities of Authority in Neoliberal Societies

Matthew Wood (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

214 Seiten

2021
Routledge (Verlag)
978-1-032-24350-4 (ISBN)

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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.

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

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;

Erscheinungsdatum	14.12.2021
Reihe/Serie	Theology and Religion in Interdisciplinary Perspective Series
Verlagsort	London
Sprache	englisch
Maße	156 x 234 mm
Gewicht	322 g
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Esoterik / Spiritualität
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Regional- / Ländergeschichte
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Weitere Religionen
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Spezielle Soziologien
ISBN-10	1-032-24350-3 / 1032243503
ISBN-13	978-1-032-24350-4 / 9781032243504
Zustand	Neuware