Identity Formation in Modernity

In Modernity and Self-Identity, Anthony Giddens describes modernity as a “risk culture,” where doubt is a pervading force both valuable for self-reflexivity but also related to the anxiety produced by risk culture (Giddens 3-4). Self-reflexivity becomes essential in the maintenance of identity against a backdrop of change and the influx of media and mediated experiences (Giddens 5). As a result, crafting one’s lifestyle becomes increasingly prioritized as “tradition loses its hold” and individuals are forced to (or given the opportunity to) choose from an array of lifestyle options (Giddens 5).

New Age as Lifestyle

The growing popularity of New Age beliefs exists alongside the capacity to choose one’s lifestyle. New Age, defined by Paul Heelas “as a form of ‘Self-Spirituality,’” is spirituality with a modern twist (Carrette 88). Asian traditions such as Taoism and Buddhism are secularized and take on an individualistic bend to address the “stress and strain” of modern Western life (Carrette 90). It appears that one man’s tradition is another one’s modernity, as the Western audience seeks “ancient wisdom with some ‘exotic cachet’” (Carrette 90) to imbue them with “‘feel good’ spirituality” (Carrette 107). As discussed in class, these de-traditionalised spiritual practices feel hollow – the religions are flattened by detaching the belief systems from a community or social context. Instead, New Age beliefs give credence to the very structures that bolster modernity’s stress and strain. Their modern take on spirituality enforces the importance of the individual when they frame suffering as a “self-imposed” limitation that can be undone through a positive mindset (Carrette 106-107).  

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Resonance from Relationships

German political scientist and sociologist Hartmut Rosa offers the theory of acceleration as a byproduct of modernity, which he defines as the “constant growth” and innovation required to maintain institutional structures in “modern capitalist society” (UNESCO). Hartmut’s theory of resonance provides a solution to the sense of alienation in modernity’s culture of change and risk. While New Age spirituality presents techniques for overcoming anxiety within “existing social norms” (Carrette 111), resonance is a means of fulfillment by seeking a deep connection to life and transformation through relationships (UNESCO). He expands that resonance can be a relationship with people, but “also with music, work, philosophy, nature, and ideas” (UNESCO). This concept addresses the gap left by New Age spiritual beliefs by shifting the focus to relationships, or the space between two entities, as opposed to a fixation on the individual, when one aims to find agency and relief in modern life. 

Works Cited 

Carrette, Jeremy, and Richard King. Selling Spirituality: The Silent Takeover of Religion. Routledge, 2005. 

Giddens, Anthony. Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Stanford University Press, 1991.  

UNESCO. UNESCO Talks: Hartmut Rosa. YouTube, uploaded by UNESCO, 23 April 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuXsoK7y1FQ.