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Doreen Virtue

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Doreen Virtue
Virtue in 2022
Born
Doreen Hannan

April 1958 (age 66)
California, United States
EducationChapman University (MA) California Coast University (PhD) Western Seminary (MA)
OccupationYouTuber
Known forNew Age books and practices, YouTube channel [1]
Websitehttps://doreenvirtue.com/

Doreen Virtue (née Hannan, born 1958) is an American author, formerly writing exclusively about New Age topics. Virtue states that in 2017 she rejected her New Age spiritual beliefs and became a born again fundamentalist Christian.[2][3]

Early life and education

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Doreen Virtue was born Doreen Hannan in 1958 in Southern California. She spent the early part of her childhood in North Hollywood until her family moved to Escondido, California when she was 10 years old.[4] When Virtue was growing up, she and her family practiced Christian Science and followed the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy.[2]

Virtue earned a master's degree in counseling psychology at Chapman University, a private research university located in Orange, California.[2] Through distance learning, she later was granted a PhD in psychology from California Coast University. At the time she received the degree, the school was unaccredited.[5]

In 2017, Virtue earned a Master’s Degree in Biblical and Theological Studies from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon.[7]

Spiritual beliefs

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New Age practice and writing

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Before 1995, Virtue worked as a psychotherapist. Following her experience of being the victim of a carjacking, she attributed "angelic intervention" for preventing her from harm in the incident. Following the event, Virtue closed her therapy practice and began performing tarot readings. Between 1995 and 2015, she published more than fifty books and her divination cards through Hay House, a New Age publishing company.[5]

The primary focus of Virtue's spiritual practice at that time was "angel spirituality", a form of New Age thought that attributes esoteric and occult qualities to Christian angelic beings.[6] Her works drew from symbolism across several religions. These included Christianity, Hinduism, Celtic mythology, and Native American spirituality.[5]

Conversion to Christianity

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In February 2017, Virtue was baptized by an Anglican priest at Kawaihae Beach, Hawaii.[5] Later that year, she publicly announced she was renouncing her New Age beliefs and was embracing born again Christianity. She encouraged her followers and readers to do the same.[5][3]

Along with two other former New Age adherents, Virtue hosts a YouTube channel called, "New Age to New Heart". The trio talks of their former lives in the New Age movement and current lives as Christians and is also available on Spotify, Apple TV, and American Gospel TV. The channel was created in February 2024.[7]

Virtue also has a long-time monetized YouTube channel called "Doreen Virtue". With over 350,000 subscribers, the channel hosts Virtue in teaching videos. The video content, which assumes a fundamentalist perspective, contains criticism of New Age practitioners and beliefs[1][non-primary source needed] in addition to Christian groups, pastors, churches, and ministries she claims are connected to New Age beliefs and what she says are anti-Christian practices. She also speaks against those in Christian ministry, to include Rick Warren and Steven Furtick, the late author Sarah Young, as well as megachurches such as Elevation Church and Bethel Church. Some of her teaching videos contain content where she criticizes various Contemporary Christian Music groups and artists in addition to Christian books and devotionals. Virtue has also released several videos on YouTube where she strongly criticizes The Chosen, a popular TV series on the life of Jesus, claiming it has New Age themes and music embedded in the storylines.

Personal life

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Virtue has been married multiple times[4] and has two children: two sons. Currently, she and her fifth husband live in Washington state after moving from Hawaii in 2017.[5]

See also

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Bibliography (selected)

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  • The Lightworker's Way: Awakening Your Spiritual Power to Know and Heal. Carlsbad: Hay House. 1997. ISBN 978-1-5617-0390-6.
  • Messages from Your Angels: What Your Angels Want You to Know. Hay House. 2002. ISBN 978-1-4019-0049-6.
  • Archangels & Ascended Masters: A Guide to Working and Healing With Divinities and Deities. Carlsbad: Hay House. 2003. ISBN 978-1-4019-0063-2.
  • The Crystal Children: A Guide to the Newest Generation of Psychic and Sensitive Children. Carlsbad: Hay House. 2003. ISBN 978-1-4019-0229-2.
  • Angel Numbers 101: The Meaning of 111, 123, 444, and Other Number Sequences. Carlsbad: Hay House. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4019-2001-2.
  • Angels 101: An Introduction to Connecting, Working, and Healing with the Angels. Carlsbad: Hay House. 2014. ISBN 978-1-4019-4603-6.
  • Divine Prescriptions: Spiritual Solutions for You and Your Loved Ones. Macmillan. 2014. ISBN 978-1-58063-216-4.
  • Virtue, Doreen (2018). Sweet Dreams Scripture: Bible Verses and Prayers to Calm and Soothe You. ISBN Services. ISBN 978-1-64255-933-0.
  • Deceived No More: How Jesus Led Me out of the New Age and into His Word. Harper Collins Publishers. 2020. ISBN 978-0-7852-3410-4.
  • Don't Let Anything Dull Your Sparkle : How to Break Free of Negativity and Drama. Carlsbad: Hay House. 2022. ISBN 978-1-7818-0412-4.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Doreen Virtue videos". www.youtube.com.
  2. ^ a b c Virtue, Doreen (February 14, 2022). "I Left the New Age Behind When I Read the Old Testament". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on October 26, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  3. ^ a b O’Neill, Louise (February 22, 2019). "I turned to new age spirituality to appease my need for something sacred". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  4. ^ a b White, Ethan Doyle (July 23, 2022). "Doreen Virtue". World Religions and Spirituality Project. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Aldrich, Renu (September 5, 2017). "Doreen Virtue's conversion to Christianity sparks debate". The Wild Hunt. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  6. ^ Utriainen, Terhi (2024). "Doreen Virtue". In Asprem, Egil (ed.). Dictionary of Contemporary Esotericism. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill.
  7. ^ "New Age Guru Turns to Jesus". WesternSeminary.Edu.
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