Mentor/s
Prof. Daniel A. Rober
Participation Type
Paper Talk
Abstract
New Age spirituality is the religion of capitalism. It not only capitulates to capitalist narratives of radical individualism and the commodification of what is sacred to many other people but is spread and maintained by those narratives. From the beginning, New Age spirituality was rooted in the capitalist exploitation of colonized people and perpetuates a denigration of their religious beliefs. In the process, these religious beliefs are changed to make them fit Western capitalist values and sellable to a Western audience. This loose collection of spiritual beliefs is propped up by capitalism as a weak alternative to mainline Christianity in a secular West and not one that, I believe, will withstand the test of time. This ultimately presents a problem to Catholic institution who find themselves in the position to defend Catholic values in a culture that is propping up more secular and capitalist alternatives while also functioning as a capitalist organization. The question of whether it is even morally for a Catholic institution to operate under a system that runs contrary to the faith is another paper topic in itself but one that may connect with this topic as well.
College and Major available
Chemistry
Location
Digital Commons
Start Day/Time
4-24-2020 2:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-24-2020 4:00 PM
Prize Categories
Best Multidisciplinary Research or Collaboration, Most Scholarly Impact or Potential, Best Writing (formerly called the Writing Across the Curriculum prize; the final submission date to be considered for this award is Apr 1)
Capitalism and New Age
Digital Commons
New Age spirituality is the religion of capitalism. It not only capitulates to capitalist narratives of radical individualism and the commodification of what is sacred to many other people but is spread and maintained by those narratives. From the beginning, New Age spirituality was rooted in the capitalist exploitation of colonized people and perpetuates a denigration of their religious beliefs. In the process, these religious beliefs are changed to make them fit Western capitalist values and sellable to a Western audience. This loose collection of spiritual beliefs is propped up by capitalism as a weak alternative to mainline Christianity in a secular West and not one that, I believe, will withstand the test of time. This ultimately presents a problem to Catholic institution who find themselves in the position to defend Catholic values in a culture that is propping up more secular and capitalist alternatives while also functioning as a capitalist organization. The question of whether it is even morally for a Catholic institution to operate under a system that runs contrary to the faith is another paper topic in itself but one that may connect with this topic as well.
Students' Information
I am Michael Araujo. I am a 4th year Biochemistry major who will be graduating April 2020. I am an Honors student.