New Age in Norway ed. by Ingvild Sælid Gilhus, Siv Ellen Kraft, James R. Lewis
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the title, this book is about the New Age in Norway. The introduction is short but useful and succinctly sets [End Page 136] the theoretical frame for the subsequent chapters. The chapters focus on a range of subjects under the wide umbrella put up in the introduction: relations with the Lutheran Church of Norway, angels, conspiracy theories, spiritual tourism, alternative medicine, shamanism, and meditation movements all find a place to dwell within the capacious analytical space drawn by the editors and contributors. The Afterword offers instructive comparisons between Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, broadening the purview of the work.
The threefold delimitation of the New Age as a 1) global discourse, 2) structured around small groups and networks both on- and off-line, and 3) a relational term that marks the boundaries of official religion (with New Age being what lies beyond this boundary), is indebted to the two principal scholars who have theorized on the New Age, Wouter Hanegraaff and Steve Sutcliffe. With the addition of "everywhere" to Jonathan Z. Smith's definition of religion in the ancient world as here, there, or anywhere, this book follows much of the theory in Gilhus' previous volume on the New Age co-edited with Sutcliffe (New Age Spirituality 2014). However, the subject matter here is specifically Norwegian. The contributors are weighted toward the faculty of the University of Bergen to the extent that this work can be seen as emblematic of a "Bergen School" of New Age studies.
Where this work really shines is in its individual contributions, which are well-argued, thoughtful, and enlightening about their subject matter. The chapters on conspiracy theories and angels in particular stand out as novel elaborations of topics that are common among New Age circles but as yet have drawn scant attention academically. The formal identification of the New Age is apropos and what was particularly revealing was the way the last part of the threefold definition—that it is a relational term that accomplishes a form of religious boundary work—was worked out in the various contributions. Throughout the work, the New Age was shown to exemplify what lies beyond the boundary of "real" religion for critics and opponents, yet embodies "real" spirituality for adherents. This is a significant trend in modern religiosity, and one that rightly requires analytic development.
This could be taken further, however. The introduction mentions that "new age" has ceased to be a term of self-designation, something that occurred in the 1980s, when "spirituality" became more common in its stead. This is not further remarked on, yet it seems that this directly relates to the threefold definition. If, indeed, the term New Age has disappeared among adherents decades ago, then why continue to use the term academically? If part of the definition is that New Age stands at the boundary of proper religion, isn't it highly relevant that those who participate in New Age call it spirituality? This opposition of spirituality to organized religion indeed inverts the equation of New Age as not real religion, claiming instead that spirituality is the authentic form of [End Page 137] connecting to the divine and that organized religion is merely empty ritual and dogma. This destabilizes accepted notions of what religion is for those who participate in the New Age, and is reacted against by those within the structures of organized religions. Should it not also be allowed to destabilize our scholarly notions of what religion is?
This book will be of interest and use to scholars of religion, particularly those specializing in New Age or alternative religions, and also to a general readership curious about what religion is in a contemporary, secularized society.
