Seeking Transcendence: The Quest for Spirituality in an Age of Detachment [Hardcover]

Seeking Transcendence?examines the various paths taken by those who have detached themselves from their traditional, institutional religious roots but are seeking non-traditional paths to spiritual experiences.

Seeking Transcendence examines the various paths taken by those who have detached themselves from their traditional, institutional religious roots but are seeking non-traditional paths to spiritual experiences. Called the nones or non-affiliated in popular mass media, these include a significant number of Western folks who maintain a belief in God or at least consider themselves spiritual but not religious.

Each chapter of the book explores these trends with a specific theme, as well as a case study based on the authors ethnographic observation of alternative spiritual communities and practices in North America and Western Europe.

Ultimately, this book shows how contemporary alternatives to traditional institutional religion appeal to nones, presenting the relevance of new religious movements and more secular spiritual paths to transcendence.

Acknowledgements

Prologue: A Spiritual Journey

1. Introduction: Transcendence

Im Spiritual, Not Religious, But. . .

An Italian Fantasy

An Age of Detachment

Mainstream and Tradition

Europe vs. North America

What the Data Reveal

2. Are There Cults?

What is a Cult?

Higher Ed Moonies

Cultification

Summary

3. Evangelicals: Politics and Media

Evangelism in a Barn

Summary

4. From East To West

An Age of Gurus

Look Toward Easternization

Tls(