The Aquarian Confusion: Conflicting Theologies of the New Age

A number of problems are involved in studying the New Age movement, ranging from the enormous task of dealing with even a fraction of the phenomena associated with it, to the fact that prominent ‘New Age’ figures wish to dissociate themselves from this label. There is also the growing recognition that the New Age is fraught with contradictory ideas, and this makes the claim of a universally consistent ‘New Age worldview’ difficult to maintain. The paper seeks to explore such contradictions, with particular reference to theological claims. It is contended that the New Age embraces two antithetical dynamics, termed ‘patriarchal’ and ‘ecological’. The paper concludes with a discussion of problems involved in a definitive characterisation of New Age beliefs.