The Re-Enchantment of the West: Alternative Spiritualities, Sacralization, Popular Culture and Occulture

The Re-Enchantment of the West #1

by Christopher Partridge

Western society and culture are often described in sociological and theological texts as increasingly secular. This work (the first of two volumes) challenges this thesis and introduces the reader to the principal theories and debates surrounding the state of religion in the West (including secularization, sacralization, Easternization and the development of New Religious Movements).

As a book about emergent spirituality in the contemporary West, this books focuses on the nature, evolution and significance of new forms of religion and alternative spiritualities. Part one provides the theoretical background and guides the reader through some of the principal debates. After an overview of the secularization thesis, which argues that the West is becoming increasingly disenchanted, the second chapter turns to the sociological analysis of new religions and alternative spiritualities. Chapter three constructs a general theory of the re-enchantment of the West, while in chapter four the author pursues some of the principal lines of thought raised by the thesis which suggests the existence of an 'occulture.' In chapter five, the significant influence of the East will be examined. The last two chapters will elucidate the role of literature, film, and music in the re-enchantment of the West.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Spirituality, History, Occult, New Age, Esoterica

265 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Dr Christopher Hugh Partridge is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Lancaster, Lancashire, England.

Partridge (born 1961) is an author, editor, professor, and founding Co-director of the Centre for the Study of Religion and Popular Culture. According to Gordon Lynch, Partridge is a leading scholar of topics in popular culture.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contrary to popular modern opinion that the West is undergoing a process of secularisation, Professor Partridge argues in these two volumes that a contemporary alternative religious milieu has emerged. Having undergone something of a 'secularization' process myself after a loosely religious upbringing, this discovery made enormous sense to me, as my spiritual impulse had never fully abandoned me.

And, as Professor Partridge points out, while church attendance has dwindled and traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs are unlikely to regain substantial ground in the West, these have shifted into a broad 'occulture' of beliefs and practices that permeate society, from healthcare, environmentalism and drug use to popular music, film and the internet.

The idea that the West has become reenchanted in diverse and personal ways rather than disenchanted inspired me (although there is also a dark side to this, as with all things) and made me look at religion and spirituality in a whole new way.

I've selected this as one of 10 books that have influenced my life in some way. Please check out my blog, Inky Squiggles, to see the others!

[Khanim Garayeva · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a book about the emergence of the re-enchantment and new spiritualities in the modern Western society and culture, it does not describe the decrease of the religion and increase of the atheism. Instead, it gives a very detailed information about the rise of new spiritualities, the acceptance of the minor beliefs by the majority and their de-exotification, the Easternisation and development of new religions. By this, he introduces the historical changes leading to the secularisation of the society starting from 1960s and treats it as a main inspiration for the alternative spiritualities. Along with providing a theoretical background of the formation of the mentioned concepts in book, Partridge also reveals the main debates to the reader for the objective view formation. Book also depicts a comparative description of the manifestation of these alternative spiritualities in the different forms of the popular culture like literature, film, music, etc. He argues that the producers of the popular culture are diving into the modern occulture for the inspiration. And the end products of the popular culture gives rise to occulture. The book was immensely useful for me in the analysis of Dan Brown’s esoteric concepts as his books are more modern and very popular at present.

[Anusha Datar · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, Partridge argues that the west is not becoming more secular, even if church/organized religion attendance is decreasing and more people identify as atheists than ever before. Instead, he points to popular media, widely held societal beliefs, and growing social movements to highlight the emergence and propagation of “occulture,” which draws inspiration from ancient cultures, new age beliefs, and western spiritual trends.

Maybe it is because the book is now a bit too old to be contemporary but not so old to be either irrelevant or timeless but I did not think that many of the conclusions or examples in this book were all that novel or reflective of deep synthesis. I also thought that for that lack of novelty this book was much more long winded than it needed to be. That being said, I thought the premise was interesting and the theoretical foundations were solid.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to believe this is now 20 years old.

[Michal Puchovský · Rating 4 out of 5]

Autor rozvíja za mňa veľmi cennú teóriu o "novom" okultúrnom naratíve, ktorý od 60.rokov dopĺňa v západnom kultúrnom okruhu ten žido-kresťanský. Partridge to dokazuje na množstve príkladov. Len škoda, že sa kniha tak úzko zameriava na "západný" svet a že donekonečna niekoho cituje. Text pôsobí vďaka tomu zbytočne rozkúskovane, keď skoro na každej strane dokazuje, ze prečítal naozaj VEĽA kníh.