PART 3

THE TEACHINGS OF THE NEW AGE MOVEMENT

As the New Age Movement becomes more widely accepted within our society, more Americans are going to be affected, perhaps unknowingly by New Age teachings.

Just how many New Agers are there today? Nobody really knows. However, according to Jay Ogilvy of the Esalen Institute, as much as 7 percent of our population, or 11.5 million people, consider themselves New Agers.53/ The potential appeal of the New Age Movement must not be underestimated! It speaks to the needs and questions people have about God and man, which many people feel are not being adequately answered by Christian religions. Some have even gone as far as to declare the New Age Movement as a significant alternative to the Judeo-Christian tradition.

New Age teachings find a massive audience among those who came through the 1960's and became disillusioned with yuppism, and Reaganism of the 70's and 80's. Most people who get involved in the New Age Movement and its teachings are very intelligent, magnanimous and idealistic in character. According to many experts, affluent "baby boomers" or yuppies are the ones who are most likely to become involved in the New Age Movement.