Durkheim, Troeltsch, and New Age Spirituality: Individualism Revisited

Authors

  • Michael Hill Victoria University of Wellington

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11157/rsrr1-2-470

Keywords:

Durkheim, New Age Spirituality, Troeltsch

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is twofold. First, it sets out to re-examine the concept of religious individualism, principally in the work of Emile Durkheim but also in the work of his German contemporary Ernst Troeltsch. The recent discussion concerning Durkheim’s understanding of the socially-embedded nature of individualism is also reviewed. Second, the essay asks to what extent New Age spirituality can be analysed by using the predictions both Durkheim and Troeltsch made one hundred years ago about the future of religion.

Author Biography

Michael Hill, Victoria University of Wellington

Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Victoria University of Wellington

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How to Cite

Hill, M. (2012). Durkheim, Troeltsch, and New Age Spirituality: Individualism Revisited. Relegere: Studies in Religion and Reception, 1(2), 243–62. https://doi.org/10.11157/rsrr1-2-470

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 2 (2011)

Section

Articles

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