Religions of modernity : relocating the sacred to the self and the digital / / edited by Stef Aupers and Dick Houtman.

• Superior document: International studies in religion and society ; 12
• TeilnehmendeR: Aupers, Stef, 1969-; Houtman, Dick.
• Year of Publication: 2010
• Language: English
• Series: International studies in religion and society ; 12.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (285 p.)
• Notes: Includes index.

Religions of Modernity' challenges the social-scientific orthodoxy that, once unleashed, the modern forces of individualism, science and technology inevitably erode the sacred and evoke the profane. The book’s chapters, some by established scholars, others by junior researchers, document instead in rich empirical detail how modernity relocates the sacred to the deeper layers of the self and the domain of digital technology. Rather than destroying the sacred tout court, then, the cultural logic of modernization spawns its own religious meanings, unacknowledged spiritualities and magical enchantments. The classical theoretical accounts of modernity by Max Weber, Emile Durkheim and others, it is argued in the introductory chapter, already hinted that there's a future for such religions of modernity.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / S. Aupers -- Chapter One. Religions Of Modernity: Relocating The Sacred To The Self And The Digital / Dick Houtman and Stef Aupers -- Chapter Two. Real Religion And Fuzzy Spirituality? Taking Sides In The Sociology Of Religion / Linda Woodhead -- Chapter Three. I Did It My Way? Individual Choice And Social Conformity In New Age Religion / Olav Hammer -- Chapter Four. Private Religion In The Public Sphere: Life Spirituality In Civil Society / Siobhan Chandle -- Chapter Five. Seeing Invisible Religion: Religion As A Societal Conversation About Transcendent Meaning / Kelly Besecke -- Chapter Six. Ethics Of Sensitivity: Towards A New Work Ethic / Kirsten Marie Bovbjerg -- Chapter Seven. Beyond The Spiritual Supermarket: The Social And Public Significance Of New Age Spirituality / Stef Aupers and Dick Houtman -- Chapter Eight. Silicon Valley New Age: The Co-Constitution Of The Digital And The Sacred / Stef Aupers and Dick Houtman -- Chapter Nine. Science, Fiction And Religion: About Real And Raelian Possible Worlds / Stef Aupers and Dick Houtman -- Chapter Ten. Religion And Spirituality In Science Fiction Narratives: A Case Of Multiple Modernities? / Adam Possamai and Murray Lee -- Chapter Eleven. ‘Where The Zeroes Meet The Ones’: Exploring The Affinity Between Magic And Computer Technology / Stef Aupers -- Chapter Twelve. Digital Apocalypse: The Implicit Religiosity Of The Millennium Bug Scare / Karen Pärna -- Name Index / S. Aupers -- Subject Index / S. Aupers.