Should We Be Counting Down To Christmas Or Catastrophe?
11 December 2012
Derby sociology academic Andrew Wilson
Whether that is a change in culture or a world-wide event - most believers in an apocalypse won't be preparing for an earthly end but looking forward to an imminent transformation.
”As people rush to the shops to make their final preparations for Christmas, groups who believe the world is set to end on December 21 (2012) certainly won't be joining them.
A University of Derby academic who has carried out research into the origins, nature and uptake of a belief in a 2012 apocalypse by new religious movements tells us whether we should wrap up our gifts and prepare the Turkey, or spend the next few days living as if they're our last.
"This particular apocalyptic event has an unusual history," said Andrew Wilson, Assistant Head of Social Studies at Derby.
"The significance of December 21 2012 in 'New Age' circles actually emerged from the work of 'ethnobotanist' Terence McKenna as he travelled deep into the Amazon in the 1970s. His calculations of a 'zero time wave' suggested the world would go through a large change on December 21.
"A hippy guru named Jose Arguelles, who had a long-held interest in Native American spiritualties, was inspired by McKenna's work. He popularised the date in connection with the 'long count calendar' of the Mayan people in his new-age circles.
"This resulted in a centuries-old and obsolete way of measuring time becoming an end-of-the-world prediction.
"Since then, this apocalyptic date has become embedded into the beliefs of many new religious movements. For instance, 'The Galactic Federation of Light' believes that 'Planet X' will make a close pass by the earth in 2012 - causing a deep transformation of human life on Earth.
"What this and other apocalyptic dates have in common across new religious movements is that they are often predicted to occur within a believer's lifetime - making their beliefs urgent and important," added Andrew.
"This is not limited to new religions, or indeed religious beliefs. The promise of an earthly paradise for a chosen people that comes after cataclysmic change is one that shapes secular as well as religious beliefs.
"However, most people who believe in the significance of December 21 2012 have tempered their predictions of an apocalypse to, instead, signifying some significant change in humanity. Whether that is a change in culture or a world-wide event - most believers in an apocalypse won't be preparing for an earthly end but looking forward to an imminent transformation."
Andrew presented his paper - From Mushrooms to the Stars: 2012 and the apocalyptic milieu at the London School of Economics' Prophecy in the New Millennium conference in May 2012 It is to be published by Ashgate in 2013.
