ABSTRACT
For the last four centuries, the West had equated Enlightenment with the avenue to modem progress.1 This was the enlightenment of mind over matter, the ability to call forth the powers of reason as a human mirror of divine perfection. Under the aegis of the Western Enlightenment, religion gradually took on the mantle of performative disbelief. Religion became an instrument of institutional growth rather than an end in itself. Yet as the twentieth century wore on, the realization that modernity did not engulf religion compelled people to question the wisdom of progress without eschatological meaning. Hence, the emergence of the New Age movement, the Western discovery of Eastern religions, the zest of neo-Pentecostalism, the revival of religion in post-communist societies, and the apparent rise of fundamentalism comprise significant events that suggest a radicalization of religion. Old and new gods, gums and new religious movements compete vigorously for spiritual attention. Are we witnessing a trend towards the re enchantment of the world? To answer this question, we need to explore the factors that have transformed the quest for world mastery into a revitalization and redefinition of sacred identity.
