The Making of the New Spirituality: The Eclipse of the Western Religious Tradition

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New spirituality. A massive shift in Western religious attitudes has taken place almost without our noticing it. The Judeo-Christian tradition of Western culture has slowly but steadily been eclipsed by a new way of viewing spirituality. This shift has been in the making for some three hundred years. James A. Herrick tells the story of how the old view has been dismantled and a new one created not primarily through academic or institutional channels but by means of popular religious media--books, speeches, magazines and pamphlets, as well as movies, plays, music, radio interviews, television programs and websites. Although the new spirituality is diffuse and eclectic in its sources and manifestations, Herrick demonstrates a significant convergence of ideas, beliefs, assumptions, convictions and images in the myriad ways this New Religious Synthesis makes its way into our culture. In fact, the new spirituality, says Herrick, directly calls into question each major tenet of Judeo-Christian tradition and so represents a radical alternative to it. Interest in spirituality increases while participation in institutional religion wanes. Many welcome this evolution of religion. However, few are familiar with its roots, and fewer still have critically examined its prospects. As we stand at a spiritual crossroad, Herrick questions whether we are wise to discard the Western religious tradition and adopt the new spirituality.

In this wide-ranging survey, Herrick (a professor of communications at Hope College) explores the historical roots of what he calls the "New Religious Synthesis." This synthesis, which brings together streams of thought from Darwin to Swedenborg to Jung, is challenging the "Revealed Word" tradition of historical Christianity with increasing success thanks to its doctrinal flexibility and knack for public relations. (Herrick amply documents the popularizing instincts of several centuries' worth of spiritual innovators, from medieval kabbalists to Joseph Campbell.) Herrick is clearly no fan of the New Religious Synthesis, and his tone wavers between academic detachment and disdain. But he does an impressive job of showing just how continuously a tradition of pantheism, evolutionary thinking, mysticism and shamanism has existed in Western culture, thus dispelling the notion that today's alternative spiritualities are either genuinely new or a leap over history into a purer past. He shows particular insight into the long relationship between magic and science, and his chapter on Darwin admirably charts the legacy of evolution in spiritual thought. A final chapter unveils Herrick's own evaluation of the New Synthesis's claims and scores some telling points. Unfortunately, Herrick's prose (and a small type size) do little to engage the reader, and his cover-the-waterfront approach diminishes the book's analytical vigor. Still, this is a solid introduction to a vast subject.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.