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Abstract
Presenting data from a quantitative survey (N=362) at ‘The Great Alternative Fair’ in Lillestrøm, Norway, this article explores the demographic and religious profiles of the ‘customers’ in the ‘spiritual marketplace’. Many adhere to ideas that are historically associated with different religious traditions. At the same time, there are strong positive statistical correlations between belief in alternative ideas, such as healing, reincarnation, channelling, and clairvoyance. This indicates that such ideas constitute a clustered and shared set of beliefs. Against this background, the article questions the widely held assumption that people who are oriented towards alternative spiritualities are independent of institutions and authorities and it argues that they are informed to a large extent by a set of collective resources. It is suggested that the marketplace, which constitutes a common framework of interaction, plays a key role in connecting various ideas and actors and in creating a common ideological profile.
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my profound gratitude to those who at different stages of the research and writing process have helped me develop my arguments and present the material in an intelligible manner: Knut Aukland, Michael Hertzberg, Knut Melvær, Moumita Sen, Jane Skjoldli, Håkon Tandberg, and Ann Taves. They asked challenging questions and gave me the confidence to continue with the project. Thanks to Ingvild Gilhus and Lisbeth Mikaelsson for their thorough comments on early drafts and to Pål Ketil Botvar’s invaluable advice on statistical methods. Finally, I would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers of the Journal of Contemporary Religion for their thought-provoking comments.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. The term ’New Age movement’ is here employed in a wide sense, referring to a loosely organised and predominantly counter cultural cultic milieu which encompasses alternative therapy, religion, lifestyles, and environmentalism (cf. Hanegraaff 97). The concept is problematic in several ways; firstly, ‘New Age’ has become diluted and contested as an emic term. Secondly, the idea of a ‘movement’ is not entirely appropriate, given its nebulous social outlook (Sutcliffe 198). Nevertheless, the concept is useful as an heuristic tool that can help us demarcate a social and discursive field of study.
2. Existing studies include Ahlin; Botvar and Gresaker; Corrywright; Frisk (“New Age”); Frisk and Åkerbäck; Heelas et al.; Höllinger and Tripold; Kubiak; Rose (“Examination”, Transforming). See Frisk (“Quantitative”) for an overview and discussion.
3. After a nomadic journey across Oslo, whose exhibition arenas it had outgrown, the alternative fair in the capital area relocated to Lillestrøm in 2009. Lillestrøm hosts Norway’s largest exhibition hall and is easily accessible: it involves a ten-minute train ride from Oslo central station.
4. Eirik Svenke Solum is the half-brother of one of VisionWorks’ founders, Øyvind Solum.
5. A video gives a good impression of the outlook and ambience of the fair (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTz1cj3DdZA&feature=player_embedded, access date: 2 September 2013).
6. All percentages in this article were rounded up or down to the nearest round figure.
7. I predicted a somewhat uneven distribution of age groups and occupations between Friday and the other days. People working full-time were expected to come at the weekend rather than on Friday, which was the only day when student discounts were available. The programme of talks and activities, which varied from day to day, might also have attracted visitors interested in different things at different times.
8. The exact return rate was not recorded. Of approximately 450 survey forms distributed, 370 were completed and handed in. In order to make selection as random as possible, I aimed to ask people who had joined the back of the queue.
9. See Margrethe Løøv and Knut Melvær for a discussion on self-designations in this survey.
10. Anne is the name most commonly given to girls in Norway in the 1960s, when the average respondent was born (Statistics Norway, “10 mest”).
11. The Church of Norway—the ‘folk church’—has a special position in Norwegian history, culture, and legislation. The last wave in a series of reforms formally ended its role as the ‘state church’ in 2012. Nevertheless, the church remains regulated by specific laws issued by parliament and is to a large extent financed by public funds.
12. The numbers point to a significant difference between the alternative fair audience and the Norwegian population as a whole, of which approximately 76% are members of the Church of Norway (Statistics Norway, “Den norske”). However, it is probable that some who were in fact church members did not report to be so. Many church members do not actively engage in the church but are members by default, habit or tradition (GESIS; Botvar and Gresaker). We might thus speak of a ‘belonging without believing’—a formal affiliation that is at the periphery of one’s religious identity and less relevant for beliefs and practices (cf. Davie).
13. Inger is the second most common name given to Norwegian girls in the 1940s and 1950s (Statistics Norway, “10 mest”).
14. Anita is consistently in the top ten list of names given to Norwegian girls between 1965 and 1972.
15. The idea of power animals is derived from shamanistic traditions; it refers to the belief that animal spirits follow and help human beings.