Queen of the New Age: How Booksellers, Publishers, and Journalists Used Shirley MacLaine to Rebrand the Occult.
Although scholars and practitioners alike have largely abandoned the label New Age , understanding the way the term gained popularity illuminates the way booksellers and publishers have defined and directed public discourse on religion. Shirley MacLaine's Out on a Limb television series generated a...
| Publicado en: | Journal of the American Academy of Religion Vol. 94; no. 2; pp. 319 - 339 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Oxford University Press / USA
Jun2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| Sumario: | Although scholars and practitioners alike have largely abandoned the label New Age , understanding the way the term gained popularity illuminates the way booksellers and publishers have defined and directed public discourse on religion. Shirley MacLaine's Out on a Limb television series generated a significant interest in alternative spirituality, so booksellers and publishers tried to capitalize on this interest by creating a category of books that was anchored in the experiences of MacLaine and shed the negative associations with the "occult." As journalists covered the boom in so-called "New Age" books, the broader public was introduced to not only a category of books but also to a category of religious beliefs and practices. This public understanding of New Age as a category of religion has persisted long after it receded as a popular category of books. |
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