Occult Spirituality with Dr. Tara Isabella Burton - Mere Fidelity: a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy

Dr. Tara Isabella Burton joins the crew to discuss why occultism, astrology, tarot cards, folk religion, and New Age spirituality are all the rage and why this phenomenon is not particular to religious “nones.”

[Article] “The Rise of Progressive Occultism” by Tara Isabella Burton

[Article] “The Religious Hunger of the Radical Right” by Tara Isabella Burton

[Article] “The Religious Hunger That Drives Jordan Peterson’s Fandom:
Jordan Peterson, The Alt-Right, and the Reactionary Allure of Mythology” by Tara Isabella Burton

[Book] Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars From 4Chan And Tumblr To Trump And The Alt-Right by Angela Nagle

Timestamps

0:00

Intro + The rise and importance of “intuitional religions”

4:04

The convergence of progressive Christianity and New Age spirituality

6:02

The depth and breadth of “remixed” spiritual views in the culture today

11:27

Why New Age spirituality and witchcraft are seen as appealing and resourceful in today’s political and cultural climate

20:35

“Resistance witches” and the appeal of an intuitional religious view

26:30

How atavist theology intersects with alt-right views (e.g., “alpha male” culture and “beta male” culture) + why the pejorative “woke millennial” does not capture the whole picture

34:04

How social media helps people affiliate with anti-authority and radicalized views + Conclusion

Follow Derek, Andrew, and Alastair for more tweet-sized brilliance. Thanks to Caleb Wait for keeping us organized. Special thanks to Tim Motte for sound editing. And thanks to The Joy Eternal for lending us their music, which everybody should download out of gratitude for their kindness.

Culture Modernity Occultism The Youth of Today Social Media

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