Talk:New Age Gaian

I'm concerned with the title of this page. I believe it implies either a comparison whose compared components are not linked (such as Non-new Age Gaian), or a bias capitalizing upon the negative stereotypes of the term New Age. I found this page after an etymological search for an English term which contains all the meanings of "Pagan" and "Heathen" with neither the amelioration nor pejoration that has occurred with these words. In addition, I wanted a word that does not specify "non-Abrahamic religion," or even religion at all. It would instead specify the worldview of people free from religion, while also being free to engage in religion. At first, I avoided words including the element "gai-", "gae-" and "ge-" in order to avoid a word with mixed etymology. However, words derived from "terra" and "nat-" proved problematic and unpopular in contemporary coinage. It was at that point that I remembered this word, and found that, in contrast to dictionaries available online, Wikipedia features the word "gaian," including the sense that I intend: describing or associated with a philosophy and ethical worldview which, though not itself religious, implies a transrational devotion to Planet Earth as a superorganism. Another concern is the assumption implied in the term "New Age." Gaian, to me, describes a worldview and philosophy which, while appearing from the outside to involve supernatural beliefs similar to a religion, actually arose squarely within the sphere of science. That it has attracted the attention and following of many adherents to New Age religions and practices does not mean that it is a New Age concept. It seems that I am the first to comment on this issue. Therefore, I should give adequate time for others to consider and answer my concerns before making any changes to the wiki. I will check back weekly, and if I do not receive any comments, I will feel free to change the title after a month. --Sierkejd (talk) 16:06, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

As a Gaian myself, I hardly see the point in tacking on any term before or after the name. 'New Age' would symbolize that there was some format of 'Gaian' before it, or at least imply such. I do not consider it new age in any fashion, nor do I really care, however, in what name people want to put to it. All that matters to me are the ideals such conveys, regardless of the name its' given.

Aoi Freedom (talk) 04:27, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

Thank you, Aoi Freedom. I think that is a fairly good validation of my intention to drop the term "New Age" for this article. I will also look at ways in which the subject's associations with the New Age movement can be qualified as a subtopic. --Sierkejd (talk) 01:50, 14 April 2011 (UTC)

I went ahead and removed the redirect that had caused "New Age" to appear in the article's title. When I checked the history page for "Gaianism", I discovered that the redirect to "New Age Gaian" had been inserted by the sock puppet of a banned user. It may be that the original content of "Gaianism" was changed at that time as well. This topic needs some peer review.--Sierkejd (talk) 02:18, 14 April 2011 (UTC)