SITUATING NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS IN CONTEMPORARY IRELAND

In western societies, modernisation and personal experience of the religious belong to the domain of the secular making it difficult to find answers about life as conceptualised in traditional religions. New Religious Movements (NRM) seem to fill this gap by providing their own belief system, by cultivating a sense of community and spirituality, and by providing a sanctuary in alienating modern world. The proliferation of NRMs in Ireland, sometimes described as `New Age Movement, was seen as largely overlooked area of religious landscape due to the prevalence of the Catholic Church and its powerful reach into all spheres in society. While varieties of religious and pagan groups have existed in Ireland for centuries, 1960s and 1970s mark a turning point in the private and public life of Irish society in terms of proliferation, adoption, and diversification of alternative spiritualities. While increase in numbers of alternative religious groups is often linked to secularisation of society, in Ireland a presence of NRMs attests more to pluralisation of world views rather than secularisation. For most of the population in Ireland, some form of religion or spirituality fulfils deeply embedded needs for social belonging and emotional bonding.