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Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions pp 1–6Cite as

Science and New Age

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Definition

One of the notable characteristics of New Age thinking is the high regard it displays for modern science. At first sight this may seem surprising given that New Agers also tend to distrust and reject academic rationalism. However, the contradiction is only apparent. Modern scientific developments appeal to New Age concerns for two main reasons: these advances are interpreted in ways that legitimate a spiritual worldview and, at the same time, they also serve as weapons to breakdown the existing scientific consensus (Hanegraaff 1998, p. 62). Nonetheless, this relationship is not one way: we can also identify a “New Age Science.”

Introduction

The relationship between New Age and science is a recurrent topic in the social science literature. These analyses emphasize the historical roots of this connection, pointing to the work of academics and researchers within the countercultural movements that gave rise to the New Age movement while also focusing on the kinds of scientific...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Anthropology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, 90040-060, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Rodrigo Toniol

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  1. Rodrigo Toniol
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Correspondence to Rodrigo Toniol .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sociology/Anthropology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Henri P. P. Gooren

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Toniol, R. (2015). Science and New Age. In: Gooren, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_78-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08956-0_78-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-08956-0

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