Perspectives on the New Age

James R. Lewis is Research Associate at the Institute for the Study of American Religion, Santa Barbara, CA. J. Gordon Melton is Director of the Santa Barbara Centre for Humanistic Studies, Santa Barbara, CA.

"By the end of the book, the reader will have received a comprehensive education concerning the New Age Movement—what it includes and what people inside it and outside it think about it." — Donald Evans, University of Toronto"What is distinctive about this book is that it proceeds from a well-defined historical orientation, it offers accounts from several perspectives on significant popular phenomena in the present-day, and it anticipates future directions by means of its attention to comparative and international aspects of the subject. This is a very ambitious project that has been well-designed and effectively done."This book has not only made an important contribution to our understanding of "new age" phenomena, it also has taken study of the subject to a higher level and will attract new participants into the discussion." — Gene R. Thursby, University of Florida"It is the first major study of what may well be the most important development in contemporary western religion. It will in itself establish a new field within religious studies. I would not be surprised to see courses develop with this book as the core reading." — Jordan Paper, York University

• Introduction1. Approaches to the Study of the New Age MovementJames R. LewisI. Historical Roots 2. New Thought and the New AgeJ. Gordon Melton3. Roots of the New AgeKay Alexander4. Imagining India: The Influence of Hinduism on the New Age MovementAndrea Grace Diem and James R. Lewis5. How New is the New Age?Robert Ellwood6. The Magical Staff: Quantum Healing in the New AgeCatherine L. AlbaneseII. Aspects Of The New Age 7. Baby Boomers, American Character, and the New Age: A SynthesisSusan Love Brown8. Myth, Metaphor, and Manifestation: The Negotiation of Belief in a New Age CommunityStephen M. Clark9. Channeling: A New Revelation?Suzanne Riordan10. Employing the New Age: Training SeminarsGlenn A. Rupert11. An Update on Neopagan Witchcraft in AmericaAidan A. Kelly12. The Evangelical Response to the New AgeIrving HexhamIII. Comparative Studies 13. The New Age Movement and Feminist Spirituality: Overlapping Conversations at the End of the CenturyMary Farrell Bednarowski14. Who Holds the Cards? Women and New Age AstrologyShoshanah Feher15. The New Age Movement and the Pentecostal/Charismatic Revival: Distinct Yet Parallel Phases of a Fourth Great Awakening?Phillip C. LucasIV. International Dimensions 16. New Age Trends in Nigeria: Ancestral and/or Alien Religion?Rosalind L J. Hackett17. Japan's New Age and Neo-New Religions: Sociological InterpretationsMark R. Mullins18. The "Newness" of the New Age in South Africa and Reactions to ItGerhardus C. Oosthuizen19. Alternative Spirituality in ItalyIsotta PoggiContributorsNotesReferencesIndex