New Age : religinio sinkretizmo ir sekuliarizacijos sąsajos

LTNaujosios pagonybės pavadinimas nenoriai vartojamas. Iš tikrųjų tai yra ne kas kita kaip judėjiško-krikščioniško paveldo atmetimas, atsigręžiant į tradicinius pagoniškuosius kultus ir gamtinės religijos papročius. Ši gamtinėmis ir maginėmis galiomis besiremianti srovė iki krikščionybės traktuota kaip labiau atitinkanti nesugadintą šalies ar tautos dvasią. Vis dėlto, jei sakome, kad senoji visuomenė buvo nesubrendusi monoteistiniam Dievui, tiksliau, krikščioniškajam tikėjimui priimti ir jį praktikuoti, tai šiandieninė visuomenė – priešingai, pliuralizmo sąlygomis tolsta nuo monoteizmo ir atsakymų ieško politeistinėje, gamtos, kosmoso įvairovėje. Įsitikinus, kad visa yra Dievas arba kad visa yra Dieve ir Dievas visame kame, kiekvienas visatos elementas tampa dievybe. Naujosioms pagoniškoms srovėms rekonstravus senosios pagonybės formas atsirado pliuralistinių pažiūrų panteonas, kuriam esant nesunkiai gali būti tenkinami šiuolaikinių ideologijų poreikiai. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Individualus religingumas; Naujasis amžius; New Age; Pagonybė; Religinis pliuralizmas; Religinis sinkretizmas; Sekuliarizacija; Individual religiosity; New Age; Paganism; Religious syncretism; Religiuos pluralism; Seculiarisation.

ENThe New Age (also referred to as the New Age movement, New Age spirituality, or Cosmic Humanism) is a decentralized Western social and spiritual movement that claims to seek "Universal truth" and the attainment of the highest individual human potential. The term "New Age" is used herein as an umbrella term to describe various movements which seem to exhibit one or more of the following beliefs: all is one, all reality is part of the whole; everything is God and God is everything; man is God or a part of God; man never dies, but continues to live through reincarnation; man can create his own reality and/or values through transformed consciousness or altered states of consciousness. The said term is somewhat misleading as it actually refers to a coming new era, a new state of existence - the "dawning of the Age of Aquarius." New Age movement attaches significance to science, but it identifies as true, reliable and intellectually acceptable only that kind of science, which is acceptable to it. It could be explained by the fact that the movement includes aspects of occultism, astrology, esotericism, metaphysics, alternative medicine, music, collectivism, sustainability and nature. At the same time New Age spirituality is characterized by an individual approach to spiritual practices and philosophies. Although many of the scientific and humanistic advocates of the New Age philosophy are not yet willing to accept all the astrological and occult aspects of this movement, there has been a steady growth in these pagan accompaniments of its revived pantheism.The amalgamation of Eastern evolutionary pantheism into Western evolutionary scientism was greatly facilitated also by the "Aquarian Age" emphasis of the student revolution of the sixties. New Age is a globally mysterious and actively expressive world view. As far as people who profess Christian faith are concerned, today they cannot remain passive observers. As we see how Christian position is being pushed aside, we have to pay attention to what is recognized as an official science, official faith and official religion, and what kind of method is being used. Christians have to understand that nowadays the competition is not only in business, but also in science, faith, religion and in a world view. As the formulation of modern time or conventionalism are being rewritten more and more, the followers of the New Age provides for the explanations of naturalism, which, as neologisms, should answer our society's questions. Without a precise definition of natural law, however, moral law acquires many meanings and is not explicit. With the attribution of a holistic content to science and the separation of the latter from metaphysics, it is difficult to discover natural unity and integrity of the human family. Space energy and a human being, regulated as a hormone mechanism, will give no answer about mans mission if we do not look for that answer in God who is a Person. [text from author]

• Teologija / Theology
• Sociologija / Sociology