ABSTRACT
If Satanism is confused with Paganism because of assertions of their "dark" interests, New Age is distinguishable from Paganism by its obsession with "light". There are similarities between Paganism and New Age – but no more than there are between Christianity and New Age. Pagans claim that this "one decimal point" is emblematic of the New Age as a predominantly white middle-class phenomenon in which health and wealth are prime indicators of spirituality. New Age celebrates modernity but tries to imbue it with a suitable spirituality. Whether or not these Pagan views of New Age are entirely accurate, they indicate a rejection of the placing of Paganism under the New Age umbrella. Paganism rejects the Gnostic denigration of matter and darkness prevalent in New Age, and celebrates the world as real and as given. It does not equate healing with either positive thinking or problem-solving.
