Spiritualities of Life
New Age Romanticism and Consumptive Capitalism
Religion and Spirituality in the Modern World
1. Edition March 2008
296 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
This insightful and provocative journey through spiritual landscapes explores the ways in which spiritualities of life have been experienced and understood in Western society, and argues that today's myriad forms of holistic spirituality are helping us to find balance in face of the stifling demands of twenty-first century living.
* An enlightening book which explores the ways in which spirituality has been experienced and valued in Western society
* Traces the development of modern spirituality, from the origins of Romanticism in the eighteenth century, through to the counter-cultural sixties and on to the wellbeing culture of today
* Explores the belief that modern spirituality is merely an extension of capitalism in which people consume spirituality without giving anything back
* Contends that much of the wide range of popular mind-body-spirit practices are really an ethically charged force for the 'good life', helping us to find balance in the demands of twenty-first century living
* Written by an acknowledged world-leader working in the field
* Completes a trilogy of books including The Spiritual Revolution (2005, with Linda Woodhead) and The New Age Movement (1996), charting the rise and influence of spirituality today.
Introduction.
PART I: PORTRAYING SPIRITUALITIES OF LIFE.
1 From the Romantics: The Repertoire.
2 Wellbeing Spirituality Today.
PART II: THE 'CONSUMING GROWTH' DEBATE.
3 The Debate.
4 The Language of Consumption and Consumeristic Aspects of
Mind-Body-Spiritualities of Life.
5 The Sacred and the Profane: Spiritual Direction or Consumer
Preference?.
6 The Matter of Personal Significance: Profaned
Superficiality?.
7 Work: Consumptive or Productive?.
PART III: TO WORK BEYOND THE CONSUMING SELF.
8 A 'Fag Ending' of the Sacred or Fit for the
Future?.
9 Inside Out.
Epilogue: Birthright Spirituality Beyond the West.
Appendix: Evidence Indicative of Inner Life
'Beliefs'.
Notes.
References.
Name Index.
Subject Index: Some Main Themes and Arguments
culture ... .An alternative to the popular idea that everything
within the New Age can be denounced as simple individualist
consumerism." (Reviews in Religion and Theology, January
2010)
"[Heelas] convinced me, a skeptic when encountering his book,
that new age philosophies are more complex than their American
Journal of Sociology critics allow." (American Journal of
Sociology, November 2009)
"Heelas' style is, as ever, measured, elegant and good-humored,
and this book will undoubtedly appeal to, and be accessible to,
those outside the academy who are interested in religion and
culture, and who might wish to think through the changing spiritual
landscape in Britain today." (Theology, November 2009)
"His emphasis is on inner-life spirituality or simply
'spiritualities of life,' rooted in a universal human potential and
developed by a variety of effective practices. [He] makes plausible
the importance of holistic forms of complementary and alternative
medicine. Recommended." (CHOICE, November 2008)
"Well prepared after his path-breaking books The New Age
Movement (1996) and The Spiritual Revolution (2005, with
Linda Woodhead), Paul Heelas now bravely enters the minefield.
Tracing the trajectory of spiritualities of life from the Romantics
to contemporary wellbeing culture, he convincingly critiques the
widespread tendency to depict them as 'mere consumption'. Well
written, clearly argued, and richly documented, Spiritualities
of Life sheds light on contemporary spirituality and consumer
culture alike."
-Dick Houtman, Erasmus University, the Netherlands
"This is an engaging and lively discussion about the nature of
spirituality in contemporary society. It shows Heelas at his best -
original, creative, imaginative and searching intellectual
questions."
-Jeremy R. Carette, Kent University
"Paul Heelas' work in charting the subjective turn in
contemporary spiritualities has been one of the most important
contributions to the field of the sociology of religion in the past
decade. In Spiritualities of Life, Heelas offers a
passionate defence of this spiritual movement, and argues that it
represents a viable moral and cultural resource for the modern
world. By positioning himself as an advocate of the movement that
he has traced so effectively, Heelas poses questions about the
nature of the good life and contemporary forms of the sacred that
no serious scholar of religion can afford to ignore."
-Gordon Lynch, Birbeck College, London
"The quicksilver shape of popular spirituality today is hard to
hold in focus... This sharp-eyed, sure-footed book is equal to
the task, and unequaled in its revelations of a God within the
unbounded self of an expressive humanism that embraces all of
life."
-Steven M. Tipton, Emory University
