Spiritualities of Life – From the Romantic to Wellbeing Culture : New Age Romanticism and Consumptive Capitalism

Building on The New Age Movement (1996) and The Spiritual Revolution (2005), Spiritualities of Life serves to complete a trilogy of books that Paul Heelas has published with Blackwell. The primary aim of this volume is to explore the three main ways in which spirituality have been experienced, understood and valued in western settings.

This insightful and provocative journey through spiritual landscapes explores the ways in which spiritualities of life have been experienced and understood in Western society, and argues that today’s myriad forms of holistic spirituality are helping us to find balance in face of the stifling demands of twenty-first century living. An enlightening book which explores the ways in which spirituality has been experienced and valued in Western societyTraces the development of modern spirituality, from the origins of Romanticism in the eighteenth century, through to the counter-cultural sixties and on to the wellbeing culture of todayExplores the belief that modern spirituality is merely an extension of capitalism in which people consume spirituality without giving anything backContends that much of the wide range of popular mind-body-spirit practices are really an ethically charged force for the ‘good life’, helping us to find balance in the demands of twenty-first century livingWritten by an acknowledged world-leader working in the fieldCompletes a trilogy of books including The Spiritual Revolution (2005, with Linda Woodhead) and The New Age Movement (1996), charting the rise and influence of spirituality today.