Has the new age movement got to do with new age music such as enya, enigma etc?

Question

a friend of mine just told me that she won't listen to new age music such as enya, just because she is a christian. I am a christian too and i absolutely love new age music but I do not believe that the movement / religion has to do with the music I love to listen to. Has the new age movement got to do with the new age music I love to listen to? Music such as enya, enigma, loreena mckennit, gregorian, yanni, libera, and celtic music to name a few.

Answer 1

Not particularly. Just because music gets put into a particular category doesn't mean that it has anything to do with a particular religous/spiritual mindset (unless it's a religion-specific mindset.) Frankly, "new age music" is perhaps better served being titled "easy listening" (for whatever that means) - it's soothing and light, which a lot of new agers favor, but it's not new age specific.

If your friend wants to worry about Enya, point out that several Enya songs are specifically Christian in nature - not only does Enya do a Christmas album, but there's some songs on 'Memory of Trees' that involve Gaelic and Latin prayers.

Answer 2

I'd doubt it. The whole spirituality thing can be traced way back to the hippie era of the late 60s.