New age religions

[anita_fairy]

Hey I was just wondering.... I have recently been reading up on Kabbalah... not because I want to 'become' one but just to inform myself. To me kabbalah sounds alot like Paganism or Wicca. If I am wrong, could anyone who knows about this please better my understanding. Thank you.

[Bobbie]

Just to clarify, do you mean the Kabbalah/Qabbala which relates to the Tora?
If that is what you mean then that is explained really well on the Wikipedia site.
In a nutshell you are looking at Judaism.
Wicca & Paganism have origins in multiple gods or forces in nature as opposed to one god as in Judaism. Fundamental difference in my understanding of these beliefs/religions.

[miriams]

Kabbalah is hardly a new age religion! It isn't a 'religion' per se, more like a set of practices and varying beliefs within Judaism. It is very similar to Islamic Sufism due to the two mystical traditions intermingling in Andalusian Spain in the Middle Ages. Some of the most famous practitioners of Kabbalah emerged from that region and period of time. I guess I can see how you might think it's somewhat related to Paganism/Wicca in terms of it's mystic content. It definitely tends more towards the pantheistic interpretations of G-d etc but it still is very much rooted in a monotheistic conception which does not worship nature (like Paganism) but sees G-d in all of creation. The 'Kabbalah' promoted by some people is just a money-spinner however ( yep, they're there in every religion) so be careful if you want to dabble in it. Christian Gnosticism/early mysticism is very similar if you're coming from a Christian background.

[Saraswati]

So is it similar to Buddhism? As Buddhism also is not a religion but a series of practises... sees the divine in all things etc?