By: Julius-Kei Kato, SSL, PhD
These thoughts are the result of my reading of Dr. David Tacey's The Spirituality Revolution [henceforth, SR]: The Rise of Contemporary Spirituality (2004), as well as my own various reflections, research, and experiences related to this theme. [jkk]
[1] There is an Ongoing "Spirituality Revolution" Today | Many studies and surveys show that there is a high level of interest in—what we can call—"spirituality" today among people from all backgrounds and persuasions, surprisingly even those who are not interested in traditional and organized “religion.” Of course, the term "spirituality” itself is difficult to define in a simple way because there are many ways to understand it. I usually explain spirituality as the quest to live not superficially but more deeply, not egoistically but for something bigger than one’s selfish interests. Hence, spirituality—as I understand it—is a quest for “deeper and bigger”; in fancier terms, it is a quest for “depth and transcendence.” Spirituality (or cultivating your own spirituality) is deeply and fundamentally a human trait (or a human activity). It is the core of all religion (SR, p. 87) but, as is common today, it does not have to be linked with organized religion.
In other words, one can be both spiritual and religious, or one can even be—as the common buzzword today states—“spiritual but not religious.” To share my own self-perception, I describe myself as “spiritual but not-and yet religious” to express both my deep ambiguity toward the dark sides of organized religion yet, at the same time, also my deep recognition of religion’s ongoing importance for myself and many others in today’s world.
Spirituality is not per se an enemy of religious faith. But it will definitely make a believer seek the core and the origin of one’s religious faith. And in that process, the spiritual seeker-believer discovers both the wholesome and the dark sides of religion. This is the reason why “spiritual” people are sometimes viewed as “rebels.” They try to call out and reform the religious traditions to purify themselves and return to their authentic roots.
Australian professor of humanities Dr. David Tacey, who observes trends in spirituality in contemporary society, is convinced that we are actually in the midst of—what he calls—a "spirituality revolution" today. Being myself a professor who teaches religion & spirituality courses to young adults at a liberal arts university, I strongly agree with him. I have experienced firsthand this spiritual thirst among many young people at the university. This seems ironical because a lot of these same young people do not affiliate with institutional forms of religion.
Tacey’s central premise in the abovementioned book (The Spirituality Revolution [SR]) is this: “We are entering a new aeon, governed by a new ethos and a new spirit. The secular period has peaked and is drawing to a close. The dry, arid wasteland of the modern era is being eclipsed by something new, and it is still too early to determine exactly what it is” (SR p. 16, numbers in parentheses refer to pages in Tacey’s book).
[2] A "Post-Secular" Age | Linked with this contemporary heightened interest in spirituality is the fact that we are living at present in--what some call--a "post-secular" age. What that means is, many people (particularly, youth and young adults) have moved beyond a purely secular worldview (one that is fundamentally materialistic and dogmatically scientific but unable to provide people with a deeper meaning for their human existence) into something else that (happily, I think!) is open to and includes spiritual and transcendent realities. In other words, being a dogmatic materialist (“I only believe what I can see and touch”) is no longer cool. Being “spiritual” is actually “in” to such an extent that I have seen a study that says, saying you are “spiritual” makes you more attractive as a date.
Tacey bases his claim of a spiritual revolution mainly from his experience of observing firsthand the spirituality movement "from below,” that is, the spiritual ferment happening among the youth who take his courses at the university setting. In his book, he mentions a famous line from a poem titled "Dover Beach" (by British poet Matthew Arnold) which proclaimed (in 1867!) that the "sea of faith" (referring to some parts of Western Europe at the time) has come to be at a low tide. Going back to our present day, in light of the heightened interest in spirituality today, Tacey disagrees with the line from Dover’s Beach. He actually thinks we are once again at "high tide" about matters of the spirit, hence, his claim of a present-day "spirituality revolution" (SR, p. 21). And I definitely agree with him.
[3] The Spirituality Revolution as Evidenced in the Contemporary Quest for Spirituality | To describe this current spirituality revolution more concretely, let's try to identify its main characteristics. We can observe some important common trends from the experiences of many people today who are seeking and questing for a more meaningful spirituality. These trends seem to form a set of principles and practices that can give a deeper meaning to life in the midst of the many challenges of our contemporary age.
Let me start by enumerating some common themes that—we can say—are characteristic of the common quest for spirituality particularly in the West (and in Westernized contexts) today. These themes all express a quest for—what I often express as—"inner depth & self-transcendence.” However, that quest includes the following prominent features that relate to: the body, the feminine, gender equality, nature & ecology, the desire for a greater wholeness, the struggle for social justice and peace, among others. To organize these various themes more systematically, I'll group them into three big areas that I will label as follows: (1) creation spirituality (SR, p. 84); (2) spirituality as a quest for greater wholeness, depth, and transcendence (SR, pp. 80-91); (3) the struggle to attain greater social justice & peace, especially for the marginalized and oppressed (SR, pp. 66, 147-48).
