This insightful and provocative journey through spiritual landscapes explores the ways in which spiritualities of life have been experienced and understood in Western society, and argues that today's myriad forms of holistic spirituality are helping us to find balance in face of the stifling demands of twenty-first century living.
An enlightening book which explores the ways in which spirituality has been experienced and valued in Western society
Traces the development of modern spirituality, from the origins of Romanticism in the eighteenth century, through to the counter-cultural sixties and on to the wellbeing culture of today
Explores the belief that modern spirituality is merely an extension of capitalism in which people consume spirituality without giving anything back
Contends that much of the wide range of popular mind-body-spirit practices are really an ethically charged force for the 'good life', helping us to find balance in the demands of twenty-first century living
Written by an acknowledged world-leader working in the field
Completes a trilogy of books including "The Spiritual Revolution" (2005, with Linda Woodhead) and "The New Age Movement" (1996), charting the rise and influence of spirituality today.

"Religion, Modernity and Postmodernity" is the first book to engage the study of religion with contemporary theorizing about culture. It addresses important issues such as whether there are postmodern forms of religion, whether theories of religion framed in terms of modernity can be recast to suit new or emerging circumstances, and how the study of religion can be better integrated with recent developments in the study of culture.

The book locates the contemporary study of religion in terms of general theorizing, covering such issues as choice, globalization, and what postmodern religion might look like. International perspectives are then introduced, and the postmodernity thesis is explored in connection with Eastern Europe, Japan and Latin America, and the "New Europe." Liberalism and fundamentalism are also addressed in other contexts, including Indonesia.

In the concluding chapters of the volume the emphasis shifts away from the study of religion and cultural change to how postmodern thought, such as the rejection of metaphysics of presence, might serve to open up new theological possibilities.

This collective volume contributes to a growing debate concerning the extent to which we are now living in a "post-traditional" world. One standard account - most forcefully maintained by post-modernists - is that time has moved on to a point where we are now beyond the injunctions of the past. Yet such claims are increasingly being subjected to scrutiny. Have traditions, and all they stand for, really been left behind? And if not, what is their role in contemporary society?

While some contributors to" Detraditionalization" continue to state the case for the collapse of traditional certainties, somewhat surprisingly, most argue that the sustained voices of authority, which reinforce the pre-estabilshed order of things over the self, have by no means lost their significance. They argue that culture has not become lost in a disordered, contingent miasma of post-modernity. They argue for a coexistence thesis: detraditionalizing processes are operating, but so are those to do with retraditionalization, tradition-maintenance and tradition-construction. Finally, there are those contributors who argue that attempts to identify the "traditional" and the "detraditional" at all are mistaken.

This exciting and dynamic collection of essays draws together some of the world's leading commentators on these issues and provides valuable insights into the complexities of the role of the past and present during a time of considerable uncertainty.

This insightful and provocative journey through spiritual landscapes explores the ways in which spiritualities of life have been experienced and understood in Western society, and argues that today's myriad forms of holistic spirituality are helping us to find balance in face of the stifling demands of twenty-first century living.
An enlightening book which explores the ways in which spirituality has been experienced and valued in Western society
Traces the development of modern spirituality, from the origins of Romanticism in the eighteenth century, through to the counter-cultural sixties and on to the wellbeing culture of today
Explores the belief that modern spirituality is merely an extension of capitalism in which people consume spirituality without giving anything back
Contends that much of the wide range of popular mind-body-spirit practices are really an ethically charged force for the 'good life', helping us to find balance in the demands of twenty-first century living
Written by an acknowledged world-leader working in the field
Completes a trilogy of books including "The Spiritual Revolution" (2005, with Linda Woodhead) and "The New Age Movement" (1996), charting the rise and influence of spirituality today.