Environment and New Age: Contemporary Secularization and New Varieties of Spirituality

Javed Khan^*
*Correspondence: Javed Khan, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Florida International University, Miami, USA, Email:

Introduction

The secularization theory is positioned within this article's context as the reorganization of the religious domain and is linked to ecology. We focus on New Age spiritualties and, more specifically, how they are manifested in eco villages, a contemporary community setup, as part of our conceptualization of the future of religion. These people group introduce themselves as answers for the emergency of (late) innovation, from natural worry to otherworldly anomy, through elective lifestyles and integrating profound practices and convictions firmly associated with new age spiritualties. They have recently attracted the attention of the general public due to their sustainable models, which have the potential to inspire practical solutions to the environmental crisis that can be replicated by the general public.

The spiritual aspect of eco villages is the subject of a select few studies. Albeit this is a peripheral subject, it is progressively getting consideration from scientists in natural and sociologies. The doctoral thesis of one of the authors of this article is currently undergoing an investigation into the manifestations and effects of spiritualties in eco villages. This article focuses on how these intentional communities fit into discussions about ecology and (de)secularization. The outcomes describe these networks as novel and dumbfounding cases inside these discussions.

Description

In order to identify spiritual manifestations in eco villages or spaces configured as such, the authors conducted a systematic literature review on eco villages (or intentional communities) and the New Age (and spiritualties) over the course of the previous ten years. We are able to present some of the results here even though they are being prepared for publication in a scientific journal due to their relevance. 49 carefully selected articles were analysed using the PRISMA method7. Based on the geographical location of the empirical data collection, the findings demonstrate that academic investigation of the spiritual dimension in eco villages is relatively recent, occurring primarily in Europe in the last five years. Although they have a low score, just over half of these studies have an impact factor (Science Journal Ranking). Researchers from the social and environmental sciences, particularly geography (and urban planning), economics and administration, international relations and communications and sociology, prefer to conduct longitudinal ethnographic studies on eco villages. As a result, the majority of the studies that were analysed collected data through interviews and participant observation. They were published in a number of journals dealing with community life, ecology and sustainability in the social and environmental sciences [1].

The subjective examination of the writing basically recognized three different ways of showing spiritualties in eco villages with nature, with networks and with oneself (interiority). By and large, the normal world is viewed as inherently otherworldly. The Earth (as the divine) connects all the material and immaterial planes in an interconnected web of life, like lovelock's Gaia hypothesis and pantheistic religions (Capra, 1996) and it represents a communicative and even intelligent being. Ecocentrism, a new relationship and ethics with nonhuman species, is framed in this vision, as are new forms of communal life and individual beliefs. Spirituality is frequently viewed as essential in community life. Spirituality is expressed as an expression of the identity of the ecovillage through cultural practices like art (such as plastic arts, dances and singing), rituals (such as meals, collective constructions, sacred feminine, readings and recitations about the environment, etc.) and celebrations of the season (festivals, fairs, etc.), physical practices like yoga, shamanic exercises and meditation, as well as education that can change and free people. The majority of the spiritually reviewed literature promotes the union, cooperation, resilience, distribution and self-organization of the collective as well as serves as a springboard for shifting values [2].

Inside a local area display commonly described by a variety of convictions, individual indications of confidence are profoundly important, impacting individual bliss (supporting activities that permit enduring conditions of good inclination), intervening individual prosperity and wellbeing (through the coordination of physical, close to home, mental and otherworldly aspects into human turn of events) and creating natural mindfulness (by means of inborn profound messages and everyday errands, like cultivating and cooking) [3-5].

Conclusion

The combination of two significant trends in the religious field, the anthropocentric rejection of religion and the increase in the embedding of contemporary spiritualties in ecological ethics, led to the establishment of a new field of study known as Religion and Ecology. We call spiritual eco villages intentional, sustainable communities that make New Age spirituality a central part of their daily lives. This is our focus on the second trend.

Acknowledgement

None.

Conflict of Interest

None.

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