Asia, modernity, and the pursuit of the sacred : gnostics, scholars, mystics, and reformers /

Examines a large number of Europeans who, disillusioned with western culture and religion after World War I, and anticipating the spiritual seekers of the counterculture, turned to the religious traditions of Asia for inspiration. Harshly criticized by both scholars and religious reformers, their pr...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Kahn, Joel S. (Author)
Format:	Book
Language:	English
Published:	New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.
Subjects:	Asia > Religion > Study and teaching > Europe > History > 20th century. Christianity and other religions > Asian. East and West. Europe > Civilization > Oriental influences. Spirituality > Europe > History > 20th century. Mysticism > Europe > History > 20th century. Ethnology > Religious aspects.

Table of Contents:

Anthropology and the limits of secular reason
Gnosticism and the pursuit of the sacred
Traditionalism : a dialectic of authenticity
Gnostics, religion and the (mis)recognition of modernity
Modern mystics : towards a gnostic science
The inner journey of the gnostic self : ethics and politics
Other worlds or ours? : sacred/secular/gnostic/modern
What if culture didn't matter? : Asian studies and the new universalism(s).