A Spiritual Revolution?

    Cards (7)

    • Some sociologists argue that a 'spiritual revolution' is taking place today, in which traditional Christianity is giving way to 'holistic spirituality' or New Age spiritual beliefs and practices that emphasise personal development and subjective experience. Increased interest in spirituality can be seen in the growth of a 'spiritual market', with an explosion in the number of books about self-help and spirituality, and the many practitioners who offer consultations, courses and 'therapies', ranging from meditation to crystal healing.
    • In their study of Kendal in Cumbria, Paul Heelas and Linda Woodhead (2005) investigate whether traditional religion has declined and, if so, how far the growth of spirituality is compensating for this. They distinguish between two groups:
      • The congregational domain of traditional and evangelical Christianity.
      • The holistic milieu of spirituality and the New Age.
    • They found that in 2000, in a typical week, 7.9% of the population attended church and 1.6% took part in the activities of the holistic milieu. However, within the congregational domain, the traditional churches were losing support, while evangelical churches were holding their own and faring relatively well. Although fewer were involved in the holistic milieu, it was growing. Heelas and Woodhead offer an explanation for these trends:
      1. New Age spirituality has grown because of a massive subjective turn in today's culture. This involves a shift away from the idea of doing your duty and obeying external authority, to exploring your inner self by following a spiritual path.
    • 2. As a result traditional religions, which demand duty and obedience, are declining. As Heelas and Woodhead put it: 'Religion that tells you what to believe and how to behave is out of tune with a culture which believes it is up to us to seek out answers for ourselves.'
    • 3. Evangelical churches are more successful than the traditional churches. They both demand discipline and duty, but the evangelicals also emphasise the importance of spiritual healing and personal growth through the experience of being 'born again'.
    • In the spiritual marketplace, therefore, the winners are those who appeal to personal experience as the only genuine source of meaning and fulfilment, rather than the received teachings and commandments of traditional religion.