Das unsichtbare neue Zeitalter: "New Age", privatisierte Religion und kultisches Milieu

Abstract

As modernity is usually called disenchanted, new religious movements, New Age and occultism \nare taken to mark a u-turn in the social development of religion. They are regarded as indicators of a "postmodern" religion. It is suggested that these movements follow the pattern\nof the invisible religion observed by Thomas Luckmann in the 1960s. They are syncretistic and individualistic as an "esoteric culture"; their structure, the "cultic milieu", can be characterized\nby a low degree of institutionalization and by commercialization of a magical market. From the\npoint of view of the consumer, the esoteric culture offers a 'holistic' understanding of reality.\nThe attraction of esoteric culture lies in a comprehensive integration of knowledge which in its\nlegitimate versions, in specialized institutional spheres, has become structurally invisible or\n'occult' in modern societies.

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