Wellbeing-oriented spiritualities as a global phenomenon in risk societies

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ABSTRACT Alternative or holistic spiritualities are almost always discussed within a Western framework, as a Western phenomenon. This leads to a certain ethnocentrism in our analyses. This article makes three arguments. First, New Age related spiritualities constitute a global phenomenon, with corresponding avatars across the world. The article briefly discusses the cases of Latin America, Indonesia, and China, with brief notes on the Muslim world and Eastern Europe. Second, it argues that wellbeing-focused spiritualities are best understood as linked to the penetration of consumerism and the effects of neoliberal marketisation, even outside the West. As such, New Age related spiritualities are prime examples of the lifestylisation of religion. Set on the opposite end of the religious spectrum as Pentecostal type religion, they can be understood as ways to respond to and manage the insecurities and risk in today’s marketised, global societies. Finally, looking at spiritualities from outside the West enables us to clearly see how they constitute a dominant type of religion today, rather than some kind of ‘quasi-religious’ or ‘secular’ ersatz. In this sense, this article makes a strong statement regarding the importance of studying contemporary spiritualities more seriously, alongside well-trodden themes such as religious diversity and ‘non-religion’.