Though a preponderance of news coverage, scholarly
research, and non-academic books have addressed the
topic of modern Christian apocalyptic belief from a
sociological, political and religious perspective,
relatively little has been written about the issue of
what some would see as the other end of the
cosmological or spiritual spectrum: the apocalyptic
beliefs of New Age adherents.
This study gathers new empirical data on this
population through the use of a 40-question survey
designed to measure the ontological beliefs of
participants, apocalyptic expectations and their
level of engagement in the political process.
In a wide variety of correlation and group comparison
tests, a negative relationship was found between New
Age apocalyptic belief and political/civic
engagement. There also seemed to be a hint that more
catastrophic views of the future produce a greater
likelihood of disengagement from the political or
electoral sphere.
research, and non-academic books have addressed the
topic of modern Christian apocalyptic belief from a
sociological, political and religious perspective,
relatively little has been written about the issue of
what some would see as the other end of the
cosmological or spiritual spectrum: the apocalyptic
beliefs of New Age adherents.
This study gathers new empirical data on this
population through the use of a 40-question survey
designed to measure the ontological beliefs of
participants, apocalyptic expectations and their
level of engagement in the political process.
In a wide variety of correlation and group comparison
tests, a negative relationship was found between New
Age apocalyptic belief and political/civic
engagement. There also seemed to be a hint that more
catastrophic views of the future produce a greater
likelihood of disengagement from the political or
electoral sphere.