英文摘要 |
The New Age Movement (NAM) in the West is a new form of social movement that originated from the US and west Europe, which cultivates spiritual awareness and personal development within a holistic framework. New Age ideas were introduced from the US to Taiwan in the early 1980s and have subsequently developed into a fluid spiritual social movement. Since then, the preference for a sacralized 'Self and self-transformation by means of healing has been attracting a growing number of followers among the diverse religious and spiritual marketplace in Taiwan. This article aims to answer three questions: first, why do a number of people leave various religious groups and get involved in the NAM? Second, to what extent can the NAM in Taiwan be considered as Paul Heelas's 'self-religion'? Third, what kind of spirituality does it manifest in Taiwan? Data analysis for this article is based on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 40 people who acknowledge, and become strongly involved in, the Movement. Related theoretical explanations for the NAM in the West are also referred to in order to get a broad, comparative overview. I then draw the following conclusions. First, my informants acknowledge, elaborate and revise a form of 'self-religion' according to their life experiences in reality. Second, people who get involved in the NAM regard themselves as being 'spiritual but not religious,' which is shown in their criticisms of characteristics of 'religions' such as authoritarianism, exclusivism, orthodoxism, ritualism, and rigid institutionalization, according to their previous religious experiences. Another characteristic of the spirituality of the NAM in Taiwan is 'transformational but not salvational.' In this respect, participants emphasise their experiences of self-transformation and do not regard it as a kind of 'salvation' by 'transcendental power' or 'personified gods/goddess.' Moreover, they do not embrace ideas of original 'Sin' and 'Karma'. Instead, they are encouraged to cultivate self-awareness in the process of self-reflexivity while participating in New Age practices to reconstruct their self-identity. The characteristics of New Age spiritualities in Taiwan imply that many people in the NAM seek a new balance between 'tradition and modernity' or 'new age spiritualities and 'old age' religion'. |