Examine the roots of many ideas, and you will uncover the decay that hides beneath their attractive surfaces. Spiritual discernment is challenging, especially as secular materialism and New Age philosophies promote concepts such as universalism, relativism and subjectivity. In doing so, they often lose sight of—and even invert—the lofty ideal that once united European civilisation: Jesus Christ.
For many, the term “Jesus” is loaded and carries significant weight. It is deeply intertwined with the prominent religion of Christianity with numerous variations, distortions, and truths beyond the original Apostolic faith upheld by the apostles—and the Churches that constitute the Mystical Body of Christ. In our contemporary world, faith presents many challenges for various reasons (materialistic mindsets, scientistic adoration, and, ironically, being disconnected from understanding the ‘sacred’ are part of the problems). While the New Age movement is understandable in this context of materialism, however, it ultimately represents an illusion that aligns with the falsehoods of our time.
Many in the new age community have nice intentions and seek a more enlightened world. However, New Agers often do not recognise their relationship with secular materialism. Despite claims of transcending all religious structures, they remain confined within their own frameworks, shaped by the prevailing spirit of the age. I can relate to this perspective, as I have experienced it myself. The New Age movement rightly rejects the materialism found in many parts of Protestantism. Yet, paradoxically, it also collaborates with secular materialism, which has been spiritually damaging to our civilisation.
It is important to note that the New Age movement is deeply rooted in post-Enlightenment philosophy. This connection is ironic because, while it rejects the materialism associated with Protestant Christianity, it simultaneously mirrors aspects of that very materialism. New Age spirituality, which is primarily an Anglo-American phenomenon, seems to emphasise a distance from the materialistic traits of Protestantism that have, unfortunately, diminished the sacred and distorted the understanding of Jesus Christ.
Secularism and New Age spirituality both advocate for ‘tolerance’ while hypocritically denying their own intolerance. Both promote commonly agreed values while stigmatising those that fall outside the consensus of the zeitgeist of contemporary liberalism. New Age spiritualists are blind to see their sense of tolerance simply comes from the liberal political system that has been made mainstream in its bloody birth from the French Revolution onwards. They haven’t fully considered the implications of their ideas. Nonetheless, there are pseudo-thinkers like David Icke who represent the so-called “paradigm breakers” of today. In truth, he blends some elements of truth with conjecture, all supported by his own metaphysical beliefs. This approach is something that the Perennialist Traditionalist school, from figures like Guénon to Evola, would rightly criticise as part of the falsehood inherent in the modernist spirit of our age.
New Agers may aspire to rise above the materialism of secular culture, but they ultimately become part of the same system when they adopt a reductionist approach. An example highlighted by Roger Buck illustrates how New Agers seek to eliminate everything in traditional religions that involves doctrines, names, and theology. Their naive and spellbound ignorance leads them to overlook the importance of orthodoxy, doctrine, and theology. Since their worldview is often based on feelings, it raises the question: how can one discern spiritual truth? Instead of seeking clarity, they tend to idolise their feelings and the concept of “going with the flow,” effectively creating a version of God based on emotions rather than solid principles.
By concentrating on emotions and simplifying and reducing spirituality to widely accepted beliefs, they fail to grasp the essence of genuine religious frameworks, much less the depth and grandeur of the Christian faith.
New Age spirituality can be argued to empower global secular materialism by reducing the loftiness of spirituality. Ironically, New Agers perceive this as an ‘expansion’ that claims to transcend dogma, promoting values that predate, for example, the passion of Christ. This New Age perspective allows atheists and pre-Christian pagans to find common ground. While this may seem beneficial to some universalist thinkers, it is misguided, as one must discern to strive for good. Virtue is objective and cannot be falsified. The journey up the archetypal mountain remains relevant. Both New Age spirituality and secular materialism lack a higher transcendence beyond basic philosophical materialism. Additionally, New Agers tend to marginalise Christianity and other religions, which indeed advocate for something more significant than mere agreement or seeking for the lowest common dominator, allowing for the discernment of good from evil.
Minimalism is embedded with both secular and New Age ideologies, as secular culture erodes unified cultural identities, a trend evident in many European nations. Similarly, New Age spirituality contributes to the fragmentation of civilisation by undermining its unifying mythos and narratives. Both New Age and Secular materialist paradigms promote moral solutions to the lowest common denominator, the minimalist attitude. Therefore, New Age spirituality is part of the spiritual cracks of our age. Thus, no collective challenge can be provided by New Agers because of their universalism, which reduces any higher ideals, and the minimalist consensus that supports progressive ideological soundbites, for example. The New Age movement has been seen as countercultural since the 1960s, but rather than addressing current issues, it tends to reinforce secular, materialistic, and liberal values. It’s not surprising that New Age spirituality is heavily marketed. You can find a wide range of mainstream New Age spiritual books in bookstores, yet profound mystical theology related to the Christian faith is notably absent. Prominent figures like Oprah Winfrey promote New Age beliefs, and when individuals lack a solid spiritual foundation, they often resort to secular methods of ‘finding themselves,’ whether that means visiting beaches in Bali or attending Ayahuasca retreats in Central America.
When minimalism, as a reductionist philosophy, aims to find the lowest common denominator, both New Agers and Secularists contribute to a descent into materialism. These paradigms—New Age and Secularist—often embrace relativism, which is prevalent in our anti-human world, with many promoting this mindset both consciously and unconsciously. In this atmosphere, the understanding of good and evil becomes muddled due to the overwhelming subjectivity present in today’s culture. As a result, it is impossible to follow a narrow path when one lives under this worldview. It is essential to confront this illusion before the haze obscures your perception. Ultimately, our modern age seeks truth in what is considered, as mentioned, the “lowest common denominator,” neglecting the higher values that exist beyond materialism. This neglect can be seen as a consequence of materialistic scientism, which suggests that if something cannot be measured, its results are not considered valid or worthy of attention.
What severe spiritual harm has the idolisation of Anglo Mercantilism created in our modern world? Sundays have turned into another workday aimed at boosting the economy rather than serving as a day for reverence, worship, divinisation and rest. The Anglo economic project and the effects of the Industrial Revolution ruptured Catholic civilisation. The sound of healing bells echoed across the lands of Europe, while the call to the Angelus prayer in morning, noon, and evening was disrupted by the perceived benefits of increased economic productivity. Ironically, this led to a civilisation that turned against the very tenets of its Christian roots.
Who can truly measure this spiritual harm? There is no material evidence; alas, the reign of quantity, as warned by René Guénon and others, undermines one’s humanity.
As the dominant religion in the Latin West, Catholicism has faced significant anti-Catholic propaganda. This included one-sided portrayals of the Crusades and the psychological smear campaign known as the “Black Legend,” which targeted the Spanish Empire and Catholicism. Additionally, propagandistic narratives emerged in the English-speaking world, driven by a Protestant secular perspective that was hostile toward “Popery.” Rodney Stark’s book, “Bearing False Witness,” effectively sheds light on the realities behind these issues.
The Anglophone world also gave rise to Theosophy and later birthed the New Age spiritual movements. Unfortunately, this background of anti-Catholic rhetoric has permeated New Age thought. Such sentiments ultimately undermine Christianity as a whole, affecting all believers, including our Protestant and non-denominational brothers and sisters who sincerely and lovingly seek to promote the message of Jesus Christ.
Thus, utopia is a dangerous game that comes with its iconoclastic tendencies. As Catholic civilisation weakened, the Protestant destroyers cut the chord with the Church, called the Pope “the anti-Christ”, and Rome “the whore of Babylon”. Simultaneously, they shared their idealistic visions and dreams of liberation from the constraints of authority and tradition, resulting in the destruction of over a thousand years of Western European Christendom. The French Revolution surpassed even the Protestant iconoclasts, driven by a revolutionary spirit that aimed to eradicate Christianity in favour of a new Deist religion completely. Then later, the Marxist iconoclasts, as a product of this further descent into matter, declared religion as the “opium of the masses” and further pushed utopian dreams of an atheistic workers’ paradise, one that, in reality, worshipped the state rather than something higher. When one paradigm is removed, another worldview emerges to replace what has been lost. Continuing with this meta-perspective, individuals drawn to New Age beliefs may unknowingly align themselves with an anti-Christ, anti-traditional, and anti-human spirit. This force seems to push humanity toward its ultimate destiny. From their perspective, this transition from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius is closely linked with a secular elitist agenda aimed at moving humanity into a post-human, transhumanist, and technologically advanced realm.
So, to conclude. To discern is to stand for good. To be universal is to stand for evil. You may face mockery for taking a stand, and those corrupted in power and authority could hate you—In John 14:30, Jesus alludes to the prince of this world as the evil one, and this truth remains evident in our present age. From a place of love and understanding, the New Age movement can be seen as spiritual fluff, rooted in an ideology of liberal tolerance, influenced by Theosophy and colluding with the secular materialism of our age. In the final analysis, it represents part of the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times.
