Devotion, idealism, and abstraction: Perspectives on the religious impulse from the work of Alice A. Bailey

The work of the neo-Theosophist Alice A. Bailey constitutes one of the contemporary Western esoteric traditions, which, among others, include the Theosophy of Helena Blavatsky, Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy, modern Rosicrucianism, and the work of Edgar Cayce and Manly P. Hall. In many respects, Bailey's work is an elaboration of the writings of Helena Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society and author of the landmark The Secret Doctrine , published in 1888. Bailey has described her work as an exposition of the Ageless Wisdom.;This dissertation presents an exegesis of material found within the entire Bailey corpus on the specific and recurring theme of the religious impulse. This theme is considered esoterically, or from the point of view of the energies and forces which determine its existence in manifestation. According to Bailey, the principle underlying energy of the religious impulse is known as the energy of devotion and idealism, or the principle of abstract devotion. Within the Theosophical cosmological system which informs Bailey's work, the esoteric name for this underlying energy is the sixth ray.;This dissertation focuses primarily on the influence of the religious impulse on human evolution, rather than on Bailey's cosmology or her view of planetary trends in relation to the religious impulse. In order to accomplish this aim, three essential qualities of the sixth ray will be considered in detail. These qualities are devotion, idealism, and mystical abstraction. They are considered first as causal energies underlying the religious impulse in the human being; then, in the second half of the dissertation, in relation to several relevant contemporary themes in religious studies. These contemporary themes are the mystic path as a category for spiritual practice; spiritual authority and problems with spiritual teachers; and religious diversity, pluralism, and the challenge of religious unity.