The ''New Age'' worldview of Polish students

Journal/Book: Soc Compass. 1999; 46: 6 Bonhill Street, London EC2a 4Pu, England. Sage Publications Ltd. 215-224.

Abstract: After factor analysis of the 85 items of a worldview questionnaire, the author constructed a ''New Age'' scale of 18 items related lo,oriental religious beliefs, occultism, and magic. The scores were found to be positively correlated with mysticism, anxiety and self-esteem, and negatively with father's religiosity. A ''New Age'' worldview is interpreted as a loosely structured belief system, individually constructed by way of bricolage, ''this-worldly'' rather than ''other-worldly'' in orientation, and emphasizing experiential rather than institutional legitimation; this appeals more to those with only a weak connection to traditional Christianity. The role of the individual self in the construction of the ''New Age'' worldview, the lack of certainty of these beliefs, and their magical and mystical orientation, are interpreted in terms of narcissism (heightened self-esteem as a form of defence against anxiety), a trait fostered by deinstitutionalization and subjectivization of modern culture.

Note: Article Doktor T, Warsaw Univ, Inst Appl Social Sci, Nowy Swiat 69, PL-00300 Warsaw, POLAND

Keyword(s): MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE

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