The "New Age Movement": A Case Study
VCU Scholars Compass (Virginia Commonwealth University) 1990 DOI: 10.25772/dn79-we62 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case study Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | The "New Age Movement" as a social phenomenon |
| Key findings | Argues that no single sociological framework—activity fads, social movements, or sociocultural shifts—adequately classifies the "New Age Movement," and proposes that a synthetic model drawing on elements of each perspective is the most useful framework for analyzing such a broad and complex social pattern. |
Abstract
Within the last two decades, the United States has witnessed the growth of a phenomenon which the media has referred to as "The New Age Movement". This multi-faceted social pattern includes astrology, meditation, mysticism, and eastern philosophies, the popularity of which have increased significantly in the 1980's. This thesis is a case study of the "New Age Movement". First, I develop a descriptive model of the key ideological themes and organizational structures of this social pattern. Subsequently, I organize this model in terms of several sociologically based theoretical frameworks including activity fads, social movements, and sociocultural shifts, in order to provide the most appropriate classification system. The results suggest that a synthetic model which utilizes elements of each of the individual perspectives is the most useful framework for analyzing a social pattern that is as broad and complex as "The New Age Movement".