The last decades witnessed the rise of a new form of religiosity that is often referred to as spirituality. Whereas in scholarly research the idea dominated that spirituality poses an 'alternative' to religion, I want to argue that spirituality must not be necessarily conceived of in opposition to religion but rather transgressing the boundaries of the religious. By reason of this transgression spirituality becomes 'popular'. On the basis of a sociological definition of the spiritual that includes, among others, a decisive stress on the experience of great transcendencies, I want to back this view with empirical data. Since there is already a large amount of qualitative data, I am drawing here on large-scale quantitative data from a recent multinational survey. The data proves that huge numbers of people in various societies and religious cultures claim to have had experiences of great transcendencies. Thus the number of people who had such an experience indicates the quantitative aspect of what I call the popularity of spirituality.
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In Anthropological Journal of European Cultures
- Published (Print):
- 01 Mar 2010
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 24–39 (15 total)
Anne Markey
This article explores the construction of boyhood in short fiction written by Patrick Pearse, the Irish nationalist and political activist executed for his leading role in the abortive Easter Rising of 1916. Pearse’s focus on the spiritual dimension of boyhood in his first collection of Irish-language stories, Íosagán agus Sgéalta Eile [Iosagan and Other Stories] (1907), simultaneously undermines and endorses imperialist and patriarchal assumptions about gender differentiation. In later stories published in An Mháthair agus sgéalta eile [The Mother and Other Stories] (1916), Pearse moved from advocacy of boyish spirituality to a more physical and militant representation of boyhood. This changing representation of Irish boyhood illustrates how Pearse’s increasing militarism reflected his ongoing construction of national identity.
In Boyhood Studies
- Published (Print):
- 01 Sep 2008
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 140–153 (13 total)
Rutger Henneman
In the past, land agitations have had a clear spiritual and theological dimension. The morality of ownership over land itself is often questioned. Many see land as a community resource, and community ownership is an emergent 'model' of land tenure, both in word and in practice. This project on the role of spirituality and theology in Scotland's modern land reform is linked to research into the spirituality of community regeneration, supported by WWF International in Geneva. The findings show that for contemporary Scottish land reformers spiritual and theological dimensions are very important.
In Anthropological Journal of European Cultures
- Published (Print):
- 01 Mar 2008
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 151–154 (3 total)
Assessing Ritual Experience in Contemporary Spiritualities
The Practice of ‘sharing’ in a New Age Variant of Umbanda
Viola Teisenhoffer
spirituality. Even though they ‘manifest’ themselves as easily recognizable spiritual entities of Umbanda, it is not rare that the Temple’s mediums, French and Brazilian, have visions about their entities as being Tibetan monks or North American shamans or
In Religion and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Sep 2018
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 131–144 (14 total)
Speaking in Celestial Signs
The Language of Western Astrology and the (Tenuous) Bonds of Occult Sociality
Omri Elisha
Alternative spiritualities informed by New Age beliefs and occult practices such as astrology, divination, and ritual magic have never been more popular or pervasive as they have become in the age of digital and social media. In North America in
In Religion and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Sep 2021
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 149–162 (14 total)
Learning to Pray by Singing
Gregorian Chants with Texts Based on the Psalms
Stefan Klöckner
changed fundamentally. Esteem for the genuinely Jewish Psalter stands on an equal footing with the reception of the Psalter as part of the Christian history of spirituality. Three factors in particular are decisive for the understanding of the Psalm
In European Judaism
- Published (Print):
- 01 Sep 2021
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 113–121 (9 total)
The Religious Foundations of Capoeira Angola
The Cosmopolitics of an Apparently Non-religious Practice
Sergio González Varela
; Reis 2000 ), which state that although capoeira involves a form of spirituality, it is in essence ‘non-religious’, and why this has become the misguided standardized solution to the definitional problem. The second part moves the discussion from the
In Religion and Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Sep 2017
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 79–93 (15 total)
Kyrgyzchylyk
Searching New Paradigms for Ancient Practices
Gulnara Aitpaeva
This essay discusses the concept of kyrgyzchylyk (rather inadequately rendered in English as 'Kyrgyzness') as a way of transcending different boundaries: the Soviet past, Koran-based Islam, rational thinking. Several aspects of the concept and its meaning in everyday life are discussed; in particular the idea of kyrgyzchylyk as spirituality is examined. Moreover, the concept can be seen as transcending the boundaries between traditional beliefs and Islam. Traditional practitioners - healers, clairvoyants, epic storytellers, sacred sites custodians and others - are seen as becoming powerful people through their practices, and the role of kyrgyzchylyk in the context of the traditional worldview is assessed.
In Anthropological Journal of European Cultures
- Published (Print):
- 01 Sep 2008
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 66–83 (17 total)
Zdeněk R. Nešpor
The Czech Republic is widely known as 'the least religious' country in the world. However, Czechs might be considered unchurched rather than nonreligious, with various forms of modern New Age spirituality steadily gaining in popularity. The question is, therefore, what is the position of religion - both 'traditional' and 'new' - within a 'non-believing' society? The article commences with a presentation of data taken from two recent sociological surveys on religion, but the author mainly exploits ethnographical research carried out in the medium-sized Czech town of Česká Lípa to address the issue. This research examined both 'old' and 'new' church religion, 'alternative' spiritual outlets, and the religious attitudes of the general population. The author concludes that the traditional religionists of various denominations, followers of the New Age movement(s), and the 'rest' of the population can be seen as three distinctive groups within society and that mutual understanding and acceptance are practically non-existent.
In Anthropological Journal of European Cultures
- Published (Print):
- 01 Mar 2010
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 68–84 (16 total)
Mirjam Lücking
Whereas the word is that the congregations of the official Protestant Churches and the Catholic Church are shrinking and few people take part in the services, a clear increase can be seen in the area of popular esotericism and spirituality. In the double sense, the question arises here as to the relationship of 'word' and 'deed'. How do our traditions respond to the challenge to our ability to act in relation to the individual's search for spirituality and to responsibility for society? Anthropological ways of seeing modernity, secularisation and Christianity (1) indicate theories regarding developments in religion and Christianity, and these are illustrated by empirical examples of a spiritual society (2). This is discussed in terms of what it can mean to take on responsibility (3), and what the relationship is between this and piety's end in itself.
In European Judaism
- Published (Print):
- 01 Mar 2013
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 103–114 (11 total)