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Occult Spirituality with Dr. Tara Isabella Burton

September 10th, 2019 | 2 min read

By Caleb Wait

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."

Timestamps:

Intro + The rise and importance of “intuitional religions” [0:00 - 4:04]

The convergence of progressive Christianity and New Age spirituality [4:04 - 6:02]

The depth and breadth of “remixed” spiritual views in the culture today [6:02 - 11:27]

Why New Age spirituality and witchcraft are seen as appealing and resourceful in today’s political and cultural climate [11:27 - 20:35]

“Resistance witches” and the appeal of an intuitional religious view [20:35 - 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 [26:30 - 34:04]

How social media helps people affiliate with anti-authority and radicalized views + Conclusion [34:04 - 40:06]

Resources mentioned:

[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

If you’re interested in supporting the show financially, you can check out our Patreon here.

Finally, as always, follow DerekAndrew, and Alastair for more tweet-sized brilliance. Thanks to Timothy Motte for his sound editing work. And thanks to The Joy Eternal for lending us their music, which everybody should download out of gratitude for their kindness.

Caleb Wait

Caleb Wait (MATS, Westminster Seminary California) is a writer and the producer of Mere Fidelity. He and his wife Kristin have two children and live in Northern California. You can follow him on Twitter @calebwait and he invites you to email him at ciwait93@gmail.com.