미국 보수교회의 성장과 새로운 영성의 추구

Abstract

It is said that American religions are in crisis now. Some say that religions are facing up to secularization in this age of science and the prevalence of religious pluralism results in a radical relativization of belief systems in the States. This is true. However, an extreme spiritual crisis always invites a new spiritual revaluation of the status quo. In other words, if it is a period of disenchantment, it is also a period of longing now. To me, the evidence is decisive: Human nature cannot stand a vacuum in systems of faith. If so, where is sacredness located in America today? Probably we may consider two areas: conservative churches and new religious movements. Fundamentalists, evangelical conservatives and new evangelicals have continued to thrive, irrespective of popular secularization and religious pluralism. And New Age movements, cult movies, cult music, etc. have introduced new hierophanies in unique forms of cults and a wide spectrum of various avant-garde cultures. In this context, it is very important that these two trends of conservative churches and new religious movements come in contact with each other these days. That is, the growth of extremely conservative churches often reveals something like cults' and understanding cults often aids in analyzing the sectarian pursuits of mainline churches.