New Age Spirituality: The Sacralization of the Human Person

Growth implies change and change of perspective is characteristic of human history. History has been characterized by paradigm shifts and the most significant is the shift from a geocentric to a heliocentric perspective of the universe. ¿New Age¿ is a new way of seeing human life and an alternative way of interpreting reality. It aims at responding to the polarizing views of objectivity and rationalism by offering a Holistic view that emphasizes the underlying unity of all reality. As an African, the term ¿New Age Spirituality¿ initially sounded unfamiliar and fascinating, but as I delve into it, I realized that what is labeled ¿New Age¿ was something old because of its resonances with Traditional African Religion. The initial fascination, surprise and recognition inspired me to develop interest in ¿New Age¿ and motivated me to conduct a research on it. The first chapter explores the nature of the New Age phenomenon and its historical evolution from Gnosticism through Western esotericism to the religious synthesis labeled ¿New Age¿. Key concepts and beliefs of ¿New Age¿ are examined in the second Chapter. The third, addresses the controversial issue of the belief in ¿God-within¿.