
In the last fifteen years the study of Western esotericism has become an academic discipline in its own right. The vast majority of research conducted within the field is focused on older, historical developments, with recent expressions of esotericism receiving far less attention. This has a bearing on the conceptual and methodological tools used in the field as well. The dominant definition of Western esotericism developed by Antoine Faivre might not be entirely suitable when looking at its contemporary expressions. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries Western societies have undergone major processes of transformation, resulting in what many sociologists variously term late modernity, liquid modernity, post-modernity, high modernity (and so forth). Naturally, these transformations affect esoteric spiritualities as well. In this article the author discusses late modern societal transformation and relates this to Western esotericism.
Esotericism, Religious change, Enlightenment, Transnationalism, Methodology, Religion (General), Occult sciences, Postsecularism, Romanticism, New Age movement, Secularization (Sociology), BL1-50, Globalization
Esotericism, Religious change, Enlightenment, Transnationalism, Methodology, Religion (General), Occult sciences, Postsecularism, Romanticism, New Age movement, Secularization (Sociology), BL1-50, Globalization
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