why do some sociologists argue there has been a spiritual revolution?
Trad Christianity is being replaced by new age spiritual beliefs and practices-> emphasise personal development, growth of spiritual market= self help books, therapy, meditation etc
what are new age movements?
movements that promote spiritual health and wellbeing on a personal level rather than institutional e.g. Tai Chi and Reiki
how do heelas and woodhead distinguish between religion and spirituality?
- Religion= conforming external authority, life is a duty, self-sacrifice, trad values
- Spirituality= autonomy, personal development, connecting with inner self
what did heelas and woodhead aim to find through their kendal study?
has traditional religion decline and been replaced by growth of NAM
what were the 2 religious groups in kendal H+W defined?
- Congregational domain- traditional and evangelical Christianity (7.9%)
- Holistic milieu- spirituality and the new age (1.7%)
In congregational domain, trad churches are losing support, hm growing
what explanations do heelas and woodhead give for increasing nam?
- Subjective turn in today’s culture, move towards exploring inner self through spiritual growth
- Trad church is declining as people seek answers for themselves
- Evangelical churches are more successful- emphasise the importance of spiritual healing and personal growth
how does bruce criticise heelas and woodhead’s study on nam?
- Problem with scale- number of new age movements are increasing BUT are not big enough to fill the gap of traditional religions
- Weak commitment- many people dabbled with NA, few show serious commitment even those who claim to be spiritual did not see NA as imp
- Structural weaknesses- new age spirituality= cause of secularisation, lacks external power to encourage commitment, cannot achieve consensus d2 individualism, cannot evangelise (believes enlightenment comes from within)
