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Nova Religio

The Re-Enchantment of the West: Volume 1. Alternative Spiritualities, Sacral-

ization, Popular Culture and Occulture. By Christopher Partridge. T&T
Clark, 2004. $34.95 paper.

For better or worse the secularization debate has arguably become

the central debate within the sociology of religion, at least in the United
Kingdom. However, while the respective positions in the debate have
effectively become entrenched, a new and interesting approach to the
fate of religion in modern Western societies is provided in this volume
by Christopher Partridge. While accepting that institutional forms of
Christianity are witnessing a decline, Partridge argues that this is only half
the story; spiritual ideas continue to persist—if not, indeed, flourish—
within the reservoir of popular culture. Hence “what we are witnessing
in the West is the confluence of secularization and sacralization” (p. 4);
disenchantment as a precursor to re-enchantment.
This first volume of two provides the introduction to Partridge’s thesis.
After reviewing the literature on secularization/disenchantment and
discussing the emergence of sects and the New Age over recent decades,
the broad thesis is presented in chapter three. Here he makes the case,
convincingly in my view, that Western societies, while becoming increas-
ingly secular on one level are also permeated by a vast reservoir of spir-
itual ideas, beliefs, and practices drawn from a variety of traditions and
places (what he terms “Occulture”). These ideas, he argues, are con-
stantly recycled in popular culture and drawn upon by individuals in
their lives. Occulture, then, is simultaneously “the spiritual bricolour’s
Internet from which to download whatever appeals or inspires,” as well

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Reviews

as being “the well from which the serious occultist draws” and “the clut-
tered warehouse frequently plundered by producers of popular culture
searching for ideas, images and symbols” (p. 85).
In the second half of the volume Partridge then discusses several sites
within popular culture, examining the impact of Occultural ideas upon
them (further sites will be examined in volume II). Firstly, he examines
literature and film, focusing on vampire fiction, the popularity of
Wiccan beliefs among teenagers and young adults, and the ways in
which films and television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The
Matrix, and Star Wars explore spiritual issues; the point being made that
such cultural products “are not merely expressions of contemporary reli-
gious interests and concerns, but they lead, first, to familiarization and
fascination, and secondly, to the development of spiritualities” (p. 141).
Following on from this, he then turns his attention to popular music,
examining the post-Beatles impact of Eastern philosophies on Western
music, and the impact of spiritual ideas generally on festival culture, and
the psychedelic trance and dub/ambient scenes.
This is a really excellent book, written in a clear, accessible style, draw-
ing on a range of material from different fields as well as the author’s own
fieldwork. It deserves to be read by academics across sociology, religious
studies and cultural studies, as well as by all those curious about the
changing nature of religious belief and practice in the West.
John Walliss, Liverpool Hope University

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