And they applaud again, cheer and weep for sheer emotion. As the twentieth century comes to a close, the search for meaning in life is on again in earnest. Mainline churches continue to wither, but new religious movements are flourishing, and even forcing traditional denominations to adapt to a changing spiritual and political agenda. On the contrary, we are likely to meet her more often and in a greater variety of places as the new millennium begins. It is time to tell her true story.
Goddess spirituality is a new religion.
Like most religions, it is meant to be much more than a weekly break from the hectic routine of work, workouts, and socializing which constitutes life in the cities of the modern West. An effective religion shapes its believers understanding of reality as a whole, of their own place in the scheme of things, of those values which are worthy of upholding and of course of human history. The Goddess movement makes provocative assertions in fields as diverse as theology, anthropology, ancient history, sociology, psychology, and art history. As many writers of all shades of opinion have noted, we live in paradoxical times. By most obvious standards of measurement, life has never been better.