Talking about alternative and emergent religion in the late modern era is not an uncomplicated task. Non-traditional religion is, more or less by definition, decoupled from many, if not most, normative assumptions of what constitutes acceptable religious beliefs, communities and practices. Simultaneously, a post-modern bent and the primacy of subjectivity in the Western world has reoriented the attribution of value towards a strongly relative and subjective position, which manifests in both sacred and secular locales. Such positions tend to be pitted in a silent war with more traditional hierarchies of value which might, for instance, denigrate new religions for a lack of authenticity or dismiss fantasy literature as juvenile escapism. Given the contested and constantly negotiated nature of these areas of engagement, this chapter is given over to exploring current understandings of religion, occulture and the circumstances of the modern world.

RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY: NEW, ALTERNATIVE AND ENCHANTING

Religion

The problems are manifold in delineating a general definition of religion: a situation that is particularly exacerbated by the attempt to incorporate often-obscure new religious movements. From the outset, academic definitions of the term “religion” are lacking in consensus, as we are still without a designation that is both widely accepted and capable of incorporating the many and varied beliefs and practices that are commonly accepted as religious. That said, there are some general approaches that allow for some degree of precision in locating what is considered to be the mark of religiosity in any given situation.