More and more Germans believe in esotericism and miracles

More and more Germans believe in esotericism

05/16/2013

Esotericism is becoming increasingly popular - every fourth German is now open to miraculous and spiritual healers, according to the current results of the General Population Survey of the Social Sciences (Allbus).

Esoteric is booming in West Germany
As the „TIME“ reported in terms of the current Allbus data, the field of esoteric currently experiencing a veritable boom - according to which would have about 40 percent of the population sympathy for astrology or New Age, more than 50 percent of respondents had also expressed a positive attitude towards anthroposophy and theosophy , However, there are clear differences between East and West, where every second would believe in miracles and about one in four would believe in rebirth, according to the ZEIT report.

Esoteric ideas are increasingly considered normal
Themes like rebirth seem to her „Off The Hook“ To gradually lose image, but instead "esoteric ideas [.] Are increasingly considered normal," said the Münster sociologist Detlef Pollack in the „TIME“. The Bayreuth religion sociologist Christoph Bochinger sees reasons for this in the increasing individualization - so there would be a strong need, especially among city dwellers in the West, high school graduates, religiously interested and women, to construct their own world view and to act accordingly. Here help the esoteric, according to pollack a supermarket with the collected fund of religions same, so the TIME.

Is there a silent spiritual revolution ahead??
According to the occultism researcher and president of the University of Augsburg, Sabine Doering-Manteuffel, the great openness to esoteric content could point to a "silent spiritual revolution" that would spread across Europe, because here „Worldviews changed as in no mission phase of European history before“, the TIME report continues.

Long-term engagement with esoteric topics rather rare
For Christel Gärtner, spokeswoman for the Section Sociology of Sociology, the current figures, however, less meaningful - because even if 40 percent of Germans would be open to astrology, this would not mean from the point of view Gärtners that here is a long-term deep Roots exist. According to the sociologist, especially in the field of esotericism, it would be rather rare for people to deal with a topic - such as astrology - over a longer period of time. Instead, the proportion here has been constant at only about five percent for years. In contrast, the offer of esoteric literature has received significant growth in recent years - which, in combination with the media presence of esoteric topics from Gärtner's point of view, has led to more and more people coming into contact with spirituality.

Critical researcher calls „religious consumer protection“
The field of esotericism could, in the view of Hartmut Zinser, become even stronger in the coming years, because „esoteric and occult ideas have become part of our everyday culture. This could increase even further with the aggravation of social issues, ie unemployment, lack of orientation and lack of perspective“, said the retired professor of religious studies at the Free University of Berlin in an interview with the „world“. According to Zinser, who critically researches esotericism, the reasons for the growing sympathy for spiritual content are on the one hand interest in the extraordinary, curiosity and entertainment, on the other hand, the desire for an orientation and decision support. But here, too, the professor sees dangers, because in his opinion, there would be no „respectable esoteric offers“ - that is true „unsolved things we do not know. But there is nothing to begin with the esoteric interpretation of spirits and gods“. In his opinion, special caution should be exercised, „when it comes to healing processes, when people are sick and therefore do not go to the doctor“, but rather trust spiritual medicine, the religious scholar said in an interview with the „world“. In such a case it must be one „religious consumer protection“ give, but there would be little room for maneuver on account of freedom of religion: „We can only blame wheelers. If an information is wrong or something does not work: Money back. If you buy a car that does not drive, you get your money back.“ (No)

Picture: Wilhelmine Wulff