Gordon Lynch is Michael Ramsey Professor of Modern Theology at the University of Kent. He has written widely on moral meanings in modern societies, including The Sacred in The Modern World: A Cultural Sociological Approach and On the Sacred.

Much attention has been given in recent writings about religion to fundamentalism and the 'religious right'. But less attention has been given to their opposite - the emergence of a new generation of progressive religious thinkers and organisations on the 'religious left'. "The New Spirituality" is one of the first books to give a comprehensive and authoritative account of this burgeoning progressive religious movement. It offers a clear and engaging analysis of the cultural roots, key ideas and organisational structures of this new faith, assessing its significance in the changing moral and religious landscape of contemporary western society. Gordon Lynch argues that we are witnessing the rise of a new religious ideology which reveres the natural world, connects religious faith with novel scientific theories, and has a forward-looking agenda for society's transformation. "The New Spirituality" will be essential reading for students attempting to understand the shape of religious belief in the twenty-first century.

Much attention has been given in recent writings about religion to
fundamentalism and the 'religious right'. But less attention has been given to their
opposite - the emergence of a new generation of progressive religious thinkers
and organisations on the 'religious left'. The New Spirituality is one of the first
books to give a comprehensive and authoritative account of this burgeoning
progressive religious movement. It offers a clear and engaging analysis of the
cultural roots, key ideas and organisational structures of this new faith, assessing
its significance in the changing moral and religious landscape of contemporary
western society. Gordon Lynch argues that we are witnessing the rise of a new
religious ideology which reveres the natural world, connects religious faith with
novel scientific theories, and has a forward-looking agenda for society's
transformation. The New Spirituality will be essential reading for students
attempting to understand the shape of religious belief in the twenty-first century.