New Age Negotiations of Power in Türkiye: A Representation of Diverse Profiles

ABSTRACT: New Age spirituality intersects with power relations in complex ways. This exploratory study investigates how practitioners in Türkiye navigate these intersections. Employing a Bourdieusian framework and utilizing survey data analyzed through cluster analysis, we examine practitioners' motivations for engaging with New Age spirituality and their interactions with its media and discourses. This analysis reveals distinct approaches to power relations within both the New Age field and the broader socio-political context. Our findings identify three distinct groups: vigilant adopters, negotiated readers, and devoted practitioners. This paper argues that these diverse engagements demonstrate that New Age spirituality in Türkiye functions not as a unified challenge to or acceptance of power relations, but as a complex field where individuals strategically navigate meaning-making, personal needs, and social positioning, often resulting in nuanced or even contradictory stances towards societal structures.