Religion is a powerful force in today’s world, as almost any newspaper or news broadcast will make clear. Inextricably linked with nationalism, popular culture, social norms and the lives of individuals, it touches almost every area of public and private life. This course examines many of the most exciting and controversial issues in religion today, including the impact of globalisation/Evangelicalism, feminism and environmentalism, and whether secularisation might mean the eventual death of religious practices and institutions, or whether New Age, Wicca and other alternative spiritualities might become the new face of post-modern religion. This material is taken from The Open University Course AD317 Religion today: tradition, modernity and change.