Trajectories to the New Age. The Spiritual Turn of the First Generation of Dutch New Age Teachers

Abstract Most studies on New Age spirituality remain overly descriptive and lack solid, empirically grounded historical-sociological explanations for its increasing popularity since the counter culture of the 1960s and 1970s. In this article we therefore study the motivations of the ‘first generation’ spiritual seekers to turn to the New Age on the basis of 42 qualitative in-depth interviews with Dutch New Age teachers that grew up in the counter culture. The analysis demonstrates that they were motivated by discontents about Christian churches and modern work organizations, especially in the... Mehr ...