This self-reliant faith in human potential and wellness then eliminates the need for (traditional) religious faith, right?
No, not necessarily. My thoughts are a little complicated on this, but I'll try to flesh it out some.
What religious systems, if we are talking the Wisdom aspects, or the more
esoteric spiritual transformational aspects of it, all generally focus on seeking a "higher power" than one's own self-reliance. The spiritual transformation, which brings about a higher realization of the human potential; mentally, physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually, is brought on by transcending egoic self-reliance, or the effort of the human will. It is the "spiritual-will" that brings about these things by doing the opposite of "self-reliance".
This is all captured in the religious themes of death and rebirth, or death and resurrection. Jesus says, "Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." Again, themes like "I die daily", as the Apostle Paul says, speaks to laying down our egoic-seekings, and then finding that Life through this act of "Kenosis" or
self-emptying.
The Buddhists likewise emphasize the exact same thing about overcoming the egoic self identification to find the Buddhamind which is the true, "higher nature" of what and who we are. Hindu's same thing with overcoming the illusion of the mind seeing itself as the center of the true self. All of these egoic paths, "whoever finds their life will lose it", is not that path to true Awakening, or the spiritually Realized life.
So now to these modernist folks like a Joe Dispenza and whatnot, and even going back to the origins of the New Thought movement of the early 19th century. First off, it's really not "New Thought" in the sense of a new idea! This realization goes back millenia in human history. Take for instance Proverbs 23:7, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he". Take Jesus, "But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man `unclean. ' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." I could go on and on with citations of this basic principle found throughout human history.
The problem with these modernist takes on this ancient principle is that they seem to try to take the truths of these ancient teachings, and make them a "scientific" formula, without actually getting to the root causes behind why we engage in negative thought cycles, which lead to conflicts and stress, and ill health, mentally, spiritually, and physically. "Just think positive thoughts", through brute force, can in a way just create a conflict of the mind through repression. It doesn't necessarily truly transform thoughts. It can become "forced" and unreal. And unreal means it is not integrated into one's whole being, mentally, physically, and spiritually.
The archetypal forms of religious symbolisms are powerful tools to go deep into our psyches. In externalizing this "higher power", in various deity forms, it engages our own inner spiritual connection with Life itself, beyond our "fallen" nature, or our egoic self-identification, or "self-reliance". We all have in us both our fleshly nature, and our spiritual nature, or our higher Self, what we are beyond the fleshly, temporal, or egoic self.
This is captured perfectly in what Paul says, "I live, and yet not I, but Christ in me". There you have the fleshly I, or the egoic separate self-identification apart from the Divine, and the true "I", that is the Divine, or "Christ in me".
So the problem with these modern marketers of spirituality in the marketplace of the modern consumer who buys "Buddha in a Box" at the checkout lanes of Wallmark, or books from these "Higher self the easy way" folks who sell programs and give seminars for a hefty price tag, enriching themselves by selling Liberation and Enlightenment as a capitalist product, it can become "climbing in another way", to quote Jesus again.
If they really want "new throught", or rather to have their thinking itself transformed, they cannot bypass addressing the egoic craving and self-seeking itself, which is the very source of suffering itself. These "Buddha in a Box", Shortcuts to Nirvana, salvation by works, folks are all just avoiding facing the death of the self and finding liberation and healing though "laying down their life", or their self-seekings.
But this exact same criticism can be leveled at practitioners of religions. It is not unique to this form of "spiritual bypassing", under the cloak of spiritual programs. The ego is a slippery one. It likes to find a way to make you think you're on the right path, when in fact it's just the ego masquerading as spirituality. Think legalistic religious thought, "If I do this, then I will be saved".
The term for all that is Atman Project, all the projects or activities we do in life to avoid facing the Atman, or the higher power, the Self, the "Christ in me" realization. All of which requires the dissolution of the egoic self.
So in a sense these New Thought teachers, are really just the Modernist version of the Televangelist of the fundamentalist fame, selling bottles of healing oils for a donation of $100. The buyer may in fact find good in those, but only if they themselves come to it with a true, self-emptying spiritual intent, laying down their egos and sincerely believing in their "higher power", which in effect brings about "I live, yet not I but Christ in me".
Sorry of that rambled a bit, but as I said it's many complex lines of thought intersecting each other.
This is what the "new thought" movement is about (Joe Dispenza, law of attraction, autosuggestion, positive thinking...). Everything is possible with the right mental technique... I am a little suspicious about NTM. Partly it's true but sometimes this seems exaggerated - like pseudoscience and magical thinking.
Yes, pseudoscience and magical thinking looking to scientific thinking, instead of religious thinking. It follows the thinker, not necessarily the system.
It's not that there's necessarily anything wrong with the principles they teach in either modernist New Thought programs, or in traditional religious systems, but it's the
style or the manner in which it is both presented, or recieved, that makes it that "Atman Project", or spiritual bypassing, or makes it authentic healing through self-emptying of self-seeking egoic projects. "I surrender".
It all boils down to the person and their own Spiritual Intention. And the trick is discerning if it is an authentic spiritual intention, or an inauthentic egoic intention.
