Product Description

Much attention has been given in recent writings about religion to fundamentalism and the 'religious right'. But less attention has been given to their opposite - the emergence of a new generation of progressive religious thinkers and organisations on the 'religious left'. "The New Spirituality" is one of the first books to give a comprehensive and authoritative account of this burgeoning progressive religious movement. It offers a clear and engaging analysis of the cultural roots, key ideas and organisational structures of this new faith, assessing its significance in the changing moral and religious landscape of contemporary western society. Gordon Lynch argues that we are witnessing the rise of a new religious ideology which reveres the natural world, connects religious faith with novel scientific theories, and has a forward-looking agenda for society's transformation. Produced by one of Britain's leading writers on the changing patterns of modern religion, "The New Spirituality" will be essential reading for students attempting to understand the shape of religious belief in the twenty-first century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #176758 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
'Gordon Lynch is a lively writer who knows what is at stake in the present conflict between progressive spirituality and traditional religious belief. He offers us a clear and comprehensive account of the historical, sociological, economic, political and philosophical underpinnings of left-leaning spiritual movements throughout the modern West. Lynch's encyclopedic knowledge of feminist theology, deep ecology, vigorous human rights advocacy and anti-globalization campaigns give his analysis of "the new spirituality" a range and profundity that is unique in the field of religious studies. His book will likely be regarded as the classic text about our contemporary Western religious scene.' - Naomi Goldenberg, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Ottawa

About the Author
Gordon Lynch is Senior Lecturer in Religion and Culture at the University of Birmingham. He is the author of several books which include 'After Religion: "Generation X" and the Search for Meaning', 'Losing My Religion: Moving on from Evangelical Faith', and 'Understanding Theology and Popular Culture'.

Customer Reviews

A religion for today
The New Spirituality: An introduction to progressive belief in the twenty-first century by Gordon Lynch, I.B. Tauris, 2007, 224 ff.

A religion for today
By Howard A. Jones

The attack on religion in recent decades by some prominent scientists, like Richard Dawkins, has really been an attack on fundamentalist or `right-wing' religion that holds dogmatically to the truth of scripture as the word of God. These unshakeable adherents have welcomed the reappearance of creationism as Intelligent Design, convincing themselves the idea has scientific support. However, rather than characterising all religion as `superstitious nonsense' and dismissing it entirely, there are many people, including many prominent scientists, who support a new `left-wing religion' based on the idea of cosmic spirituality, and many (physicists in particular) believe that this concept really does have scientific support.

This is the substance of Gordon Lynch's book - it is about what he calls `progressive spirituality'. It has many strands. There is the process theology strand: `God needing humans to be partners in the process of creation.' There is an environmental strand, embracing what eastern mysticism calls ahimsa, respect for all life, or `working with the spirit of Gaia' in Lynch's words to preserve other species but including our own! This kind of theology sees no need to reject Darwinism but rather to embrace it, for it `sacralizes scientific understandings of evolution as an important source for understanding the nature of the unfolding cosmos.'

While many people in western civilization have levels of health, wealth and comfort undreamt of a hundred years ago, Lynch points out that the decline in number of practicing religious adherents could underlie the statistics that show that `On both sides of the Atlantic since 1950 . . . there have been substantial increases in reported violent crime, suicide amongst young people, births outside of marriage, rates of abortion, declining rates of marriage and increasing rates of divorce, inequalities the richest and poorest members of society, and signs of growing public disengagement from political and other civic structures.'
Lynch feels that this could presage the collapse of civilization if unchecked.

Dr Howard A. Jones is the author of The Thoughtful Guide to God (2006) and The Tao of Holism (2008), both published by O Books of Winchester, UK.

Science and Religion at the Crossroads (Societas)