Out of the New Spirituality of the Twentieth Century

The book is focused on the phenomenon of the new spirituality and the impact which it appear to have on the religious sphere and the contemporary culture. It referes to three particular European movements-the 'anthroposophy' of the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner-a movement which has influenced many social spheres like pedagogic (the Waldorf education), medicine, art, etc.; the movement, created by the Bulgarian spiritual teacher Pet?r D?nov, known as the 'White Brotherhood', turned into transnational spiritual community; and the 'Unified Teaching' of the young Russian spiritual writer and healer Zor Aleph, developing between Russia and Bulgaria. The work, based on the anthropological methods of fieldwork and analysis, aims to examine the significance of the three movements and their national and transnational specifics in the framework of the European spiritual sphere.

Svetoslava Toncheva has received her doctoral degree in the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences where she is currently assistant professor in anthropology (Balkan Ethnology Department). She is interested in the contemporary religiosity and new religious movements, working in the area of the Balkans and the Baltic states.