New Age Spirituality: What Christians Need to Know

Editor’s note – New Age spirituality has moved from incense-shop novelty to mainstream search trend, showing up in hit films, wellness routines, and even a middle-grade graphic novel pulled off a school library shelf. The author traces this modern surge back through Blavatsky, Bailey, and Spangler to see what’s actually being sold under the banner of “good energy.” We’re running it because Christians need to recognize these ideas by name before we can answer them – and because plenty of believers dabble in New Age practices without realizing how directly they contradict the gospel.

New Age spirituality is having a moment.

The “New Age” refers to a new astrological era that some believe will bring in technological advancement, global consciousness, and social harmony.

Spiritual practices associated with the New Age first reached critical mass in the West in the 1960’s and 1970’s and began to explode again in popularity in the summer of 2025.

Check out the accelerating worldwide search demand for “new age” on Google from 2004–2026!¹

Why the spike today?

Three factors are worth considering:

• It’s on trend culturally. The modern take on shamanism and individual spirituality was a focus in last summer’s smash hit KPop Demon Hunters. It’s one such film bringing these ideas into the mainstream.
• We suffer from widespread digital fatigue. Offline movements focusing on holistic wellness, meditation, and “good energy” are gaining popularity. These elements are all on the New Age buffet.
• We’re leaving religion but can’t leave spirituality behind. Many are leaving churches but many still recognize there is a spiritual world around us. Many of the “spiritual but not religious” folks are interested in things like astrology, reincarnation, spiritual energy, and related New Age practices.²

So why am I, a Jesus follower, interested?

For one thing, I’m persuaded that we live in a world that is spiritual. So if nothing else, I have at least one belief in common with my New Age friends.

For another, my interest in the New Age was further piqued by a book my daughter brought home from her school library. I was surprised to see that it was essentially a manual for New Age philosophy couched as a middle grade graphic novel.

I’ll mention that book at the end. First, let’s take a look at where this all comes from.

Editor’s note – It’s true that Christians and New Age practitioners agree the world is more than matter. But agreeing the universe is spiritual is a long way from agreeing on who – or what – inhabits it. Scripture calls us to test every spirit, not simply affirm that spirits exist (1 John 4:1).

Where Does New Age Spirituality Come From?

The modern origins of the New Age come from a blend of 19th century occultism, Gnosticism, Eastern religious concepts like reincarnation and karma, esotericism, psychology, and universal consciousness.

There’s no single founder, but there are some prominent individuals who have shaped the movement.

• David Spangler wrote Revelation: The Birth of the New Age in 1976, and his book helped the “New Age” term stick in spiritual communities. He advocates bridging everyday life with subtle spiritual energies.³
• Alice Bailey preceded Spangler and was deeply interested in theosophy (Greek for “divine wisdom”). She wrote Discipleship in the New Age in 1944 and focused on themes like meditation, astrology, group consciousness, and global unity.⁴
• But the true pioneer of the New Age is a 19th century Russian-American woman named Helena Blavatsky.

It was Blavatsky who first predicted a coming “new age” that would see a shift towards a peaceful and collective view of humanity. She represents the vast collection of spiritual interests and practices that are connected with the New Age.⁵

A Short Story of Helena Blavatsky

Blavatsky founded the Theosophical Society in 1875.

The purpose of the society was to form a universal brotherhood of humanity. The group focused on searching out what they considered to be hidden laws of nature and latent powers within humans.

It encouraged comparative studies of philosophy, religion, and science. Blavatsky thought a “synthesis” of these fields would help understand ancient, occult wisdom.

Here are 4 elements of legacy that have continued into today’s New Age.

Concepts from Eastern Religions (1)

Ideas like karma, cosmic evolution, and reincarnation were foreign in the West before Blavatsky.

She was a pioneering evangelist for Buddhism and Hinduism. These belief systems all play a role in the New Age today.

Yoga, which appears in 4,000 year old Rig Veda (the oldest of the Hindu texts), was interesting to Blatavasky. She saw yoga as a spiritual and mental practice rather than a physical one.

“In each yoga, in each struggle, we invoke the Strong (Indra) as friends for our defense.” Rig Veda 1.30.7

A Synthesis of “Ancient Wisdom” (2)

Blavatsky introduced the idea of a secret system of “ancient wisdom” that could form the basis of a future one-world religion.

Blavatsky believed the Eastern religions of Hinduism and Buddhism shared a common, secret heritage with Kabbalah, Hermeticism, paganism, Gnosticism, and more.

The Power of Manifestation (3)

To Blavatsky, there was a real connection between the human spirit with various elements of the universe. And this connection could be used to manifest new spiritual insights.

She first used the term, “Law of Attraction” in her 1877 book, Isis Unveiled.

A modern version of similar occult principles (albeit with more materialistic aims) is Rhonda Byrnes’ 2006 book, The Secret.

While their stated goals for manifestation were different, both Blavatsky and Byrnes believe that thought and intention have spiritual power over reality.

Masters of Ancient Wisdom (4)

Just as Alice Bailey would later come to believe, Blavatsky believed she was in touch with highly advanced spiritual beings that she called the “Masters” or “Mahatmas.”

Her view of higher beings who help to guide human development became a foundational concept in New Age channeling and views on “Ascended Masters.”

Blavatsky called her primary contact “Master Morya” or “Mahatma Morya.” She credited all of her ideas to this and other spiritual beings.

She considered Raja Yoga (which she called “true yoga” and equated with occultism) to be an essential method for consciously receiving insights from these masters. Interestingly, she was wary of the more physical Hatha Yoga which she believed could result in “disordered” or “accidental” mediumship from dangerous, lower level spiritual beings called “elementals” or “Bhutas”.⁶

Editor’s note – Blavatsky’s “Masters” and Bailey’s “Ascended Masters” deserve a closer look: spiritual beings who offer secret knowledge from behind a veil and ask for trust in return. That is a very old pattern. Scripture warns that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, and the temptation in Eden used exactly this pitch – hidden knowledge, promised through a spiritual intermediary (2 Corinthians 11:14).

Some New Age Practices Common Today

New Age practices and influences are commonplace today. Here are a few:

• Yoga: for “self mastery” and learning to engage the flow of life force energy (“prana”)
• Mindfulness and meditation: Often used in a New Age framework to engage the “universal consciousness” by “emptying the mind.”
• Crystals: Viewed as energy tools that can harness “spiritual vibrations”
• Astrology: New Age practitioners truly believe the cosmos affects the destiny of the individual
• Manifesting: Each individual is seen as a creator of his or her own reality through thoughts and intentions. Positive affirmations, incantations, or even vision boards are a part of this practice.
• Massage and bodywork: “Reiki” and “polarity massage” are seen as tools to channel life force energy (Reiki), and balance the body’s electromagnetic fields (polarity massage) within New Age healing.

Plenty of people practice these things today. Some even do them along with elements of the Christian faith.

But they are quite different.

The New Age vs. Faith in Christ

Here’s a quick comparison:

• Whose will? The New Age is about the ascendancy of the self: My will be done. The Jesus follower knows that to follow Christ is to pray that God’s will would be done above all.
• What is sin? The Christian believes sin is a moral transgression that separates us from God and our fellow humans. This is why we need redemption in Christ. The New Age worldview considers “sin” as a lack of awareness of one’s true divine nature.
• What is the Universe? The New Age teaches there is an impersonal, yet conscious “Source” that can respond to your energy. To the Christian, the universe is separate from God and created by Him.
• The Ascended Masters: According to the New Age, these are enlightened beings who help guide human development. In the Christian worldview, these are beings who do indeed have an interest in the human condition but with far less noble aspirations. Just like the Apkallu in Mesopotamia, they pretend to be divine helpers but desire to put humans under subjection.

The New Age is really not so new.

It’s quite similar to Gnosticism in that is based on a foundation that the human problem is a lack of knowledge.

Rather than repenting of moral failings and turning to Christ, both the Gnostic and New Age practitioner believe salvation requires acquiring inner knowledge that awakens an inner divinity.

Editor’s note – The comparison above is the whole issue in miniature. Christianity says the problem is guilt and rebellion, answered by a Savior outside ourselves; the New Age says the problem is ignorance, answered by knowledge found within. Only one of those requires a cross.

Wrapping Up

What is new is how prevalent the New Age worldview is today.

In the weeks ahead we’ll look at a modern take on the New Age through the graphic novel about a preteen girl named Pia Xing.

Pia has been going through a brutally hard time in life and hopes that a bus tour to a supposedly magical lake can turn things around.

According to the Maine Children’s and Young Adult Book Review Group, it’s a “recommended purchase for all middle grade graphic novel collections.”⁷

It will give us a chance to look at a few ideas related to the New Age, including:

• Why people get into the New Age
• The power of intentions (manifestation) and charms / talismans in the New Age
• Spirit guides and the comparison to the Holy Spirit

See you then.

Sources and References

• 1. Google Trends “new age”: https://trends.google.com/trends/
• 2. Spiritual But Not Religious: https://www.ufmindfulness.org/post/blog-uf-mind-17-spiritual-but-not-religious
• 3. David Spangler: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Spangler
• 4. Alice Bailey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Bailey
• 5. Helena Blavatskyu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_Blavatsky
• 6. Raja Yoga or Occultism, by Helena Blatavasky (1889): https://www.theosophy-ult.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Raja-Yoga-or-Occultism-H-P-Blavatsky.pdf
• 7. Next Stop Book Review: https://mslbookreview.org/next-stop/

A Word from the Editor
Every generation dresses up the same old lie in new language: you don’t need a Savior, you need better information. Genesis 3 called it ‘you will be like God, knowing,’ and the serpent hasn’t changed his sales pitch since. The good news is that Christ didn’t come to enlighten us about a divine spark we already possessed – He came to raise the spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-5). That is a better hope than any crystal or vision board can offer.

Editor Comment: You're right that the hunger for the spiritual doesn't vanish when someone leaves the church, and naming that hunger plainly is the first step toward answering it with Christ instead of argument alone. The chart contrasting the New Age view of sin as ignorance with the Christian view of sin as rebellion gives readers a clear, ready tool for the conversations ahead.

This article appeared on Medium and is reprinted with modifications and by permission.