The Re-Enchantment of the West considers the emergent spirituality in the contemporary West. It focuses on the nature, evolution and significance of new forms of religion and alternative spiritualities, analyzing the way this new spirituality is explored, why it is explored, and who explores it.
The Re-Enchantment of the West provides the theoretical background and guides the reader through some of the principal debates. After an overview of the secularization thesis – which argues that the West is becoming increasingly disenchanted – the book turns to the sociological analysis of new religions and alternative spiritualities. Particular attention is given to the ideas of the sociologist of religion Ernst Troeltsch (especially his enigmatic analysis of the emergence mystical religion) which presciently provides helpful insights into understanding the contemporary alternative religious milieu. Against sociologists such as Bryan Wilson and Steve Bruce, Partridge argues that, rather than being insignificant, new forms of spirituality are actually proving to be a significant part of Western re-enchantment. The Re-Enchantment of the West also constructs a general theory of the re-enchantment of the West.
