Possession, Power and the New Age

Ambiguities of Authority in Neoliberal Societies

Bibliographic Data

ID19926613
AuthorsMatthew Wood (0000-0002-0433-2972, corresponding author)
Year2016
Publication date2016-04-08
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenuePossession, Power and the New Age (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.4324/9781315601588
OpenAlexW2597448594
ISBN9781315601588
Open LibraryOL36231767M
LanguageEN
Citations received22

This book provides a new sociological account of contemporary religious phenomena such as channelling, holistic healing, meditation and divination, which are usually classed as part of a New Age Movement. Drawing on his extensive ethnography carried out in the UK, alongside comparative studies in America and Europe, Matthew Wood criticises the view that such phenomena represent spirituality in which self-authority is paramount. Instead, he emphasises the role of social authority and the centrality of spirit possession, linking these to participants' class positions and experiences of secularisation. Informed by sociological and anthropological approaches to social power and practice, especially the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault, Wood's study explores what he calls the nonformative regions of the religious field, and charts similarities and differences with pagan, spiritualist and Theosophical traditions

Linguistics · Physics · Possession (linguistics) · Power (physics) · History · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices · Religious Tourism and Spaces

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