The Concepts and Ideas of ‘Spirituality’ Within Worldviews of Alternative Religiosities in the Post-Communist Region: Vissarionites and Anastasians
June 2, 2021 DOI: 10.1163/18748929-20211515 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study |
|---|---|
| Population | Representatives of two nature-based spirituality movements, Vissarionites and Anastasians, in the Baltic states and Russia |
| Duration | Fieldwork conducted 2004–2015 |
| Key findings | Argues that the Vissarionite and Anastasian movements exemplify how New Age concepts of Oriental origin—energy, non-violence, vegetarianism, karma, and reincarnation—were transmitted through Western cultural influences, transformed, and embedded in post-communist contexts, expressing individual and communal thinking oriented to esotericism, magic, and ecology. |
Abstract
The article presents research on contemporary religiosities related to individuality and subcultural features, influenced by the processes of social change and religious diversification in the post-communist region. Its aim is to discuss individual and communal thinking (orientated to esotericism, magic, and ecology) typical for representatives of two nature-based spirituality movements—Vissarionites and Anastasians, which is expressed through concepts of New Age spirituality of Oriental origin. The concepts of energy, non-violence, vegetarianism, karma, and reincarnation are used in both movements and appear as an example of how such concepts arrived through Western cultural influences, transformed, and took root in the post-communist cultural context of New Age spirituality. The findings are based on data obtained from fieldwork in 2004–2015, including participant observation and interviews with respondents in the Baltic states and Russia.