Traditionalism without Tradition: Measuring the New Age Spirituality

Abstract

The paper deals with the issue of measuring New Age spirituality's social impact. Attempts to estimate the prevalence of this kind of religiosity reveal a contradiction - the number of New Age followers is extremely low while esoteric beliefs and practices have much more popularity. The author's main thesis is that it is necessary to combine quantitative research with qualitative data for more accurate measuring. There is a tendency in sociological surveys to expect that respondents would agree with certain beliefs or statements. Ethnographic data collected in New Age pilgrimage in southern Russia demonstrate that the identification with beliefs and narratives is not the main indicator of belonging. Despite the traditionalist background of pilgrimage, its activists would not always have complete agreement on key ideas of esoteric traditionalism. It is important to rely upon the data demonstrating practices people are involved in instead of information about how they identify themselves.