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The Concept of Spirituality and Its Place in Contemporary Societies

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A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 16958

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Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Giordan

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Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology (FISPPA), University of Padova, 35123 Padova, Italy
Interests: cultural and religious pluralism; religion and spirituality; religion and human rights; interreligious dialogue; freedom of/from religion
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Stefano Sbalchiero

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Guest Editor

Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology (FISPPA), University of Padova, 35123 Padova, Italy
Interests: social research methods; text-mining approaches; religion and spirituality; science and spirituality; Interreligious dialogue
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In contemporary societies, the concept of spirituality covers an increasing variety of individual experiences related to well-being and the search for wholeness and unity within the divine and the universe.

According to us, spirituality means the subjectivization of religion, a process which is primarily related to the search for the sacred. This process fosters the idea of the sacredness of a unique subjective life lived in deep connection with the self. Sociologists of religion consider spirituality in terms of unfinished, developing, open, and dynamic experiences and practices, contrasting and/or relating them to the sociological dimensions of religiosity (Ammerman; Giordan; Giordan and Sbalchiero; Heelas and Woodhead; McGuire).

The role that spirituality plays in personal identity, self-awareness, embodiment, and well-being makes this concept relevant to multiple processes in contemporary societies. It covers a variety of concerns questioning modern public discourses related to gender, cross-generational issues, cultural contexts, profession/the workplace, and religious pluralism and non-religion.

For the understanding of the spiritual perspective, different sociological theories and approaches have been developed and applied to explain the relations and dynamics between individual spiritual experiences and observable sociocultural contexts of social interactions linked to them.

We invite contributors to this Special Issue to consider these dynamics within broader sociological theories and empirical research, especially focusing on the following topics:

Spirituality and religious pluralism;
Spirituality at the workplace;
Gender and spirituality;
Youth and spirituality;
Spirituality in everyday life;
Sociological measures of spirituality.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor ([email protected]) or to the Religions Editorial Office ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor for the purposes of ensuring the proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo a double-blind peer review.

References:

Ammerman, N. T. (2013). Sacred stories, spiritual tribes: Finding religion in everyday life. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Giordan, G. (2007). Spirituality: From a religious concept to a sociological theory. In K. Flanagan, & P. C. Jupp, (Eds.), A sociology of spirituality (pp. 161–190). Farnham, UK: Ashgate.

Giordan G., Sbalchiero S. (2020), La spiritualità in parole. Autonomia degli stili, Mimesis, Milano.

Heelas, P. & Woodhead, L. (2005). The spiritual revolution: Why religion is giving way to spirituality. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

Wuthnow, R. (1998). After heaven: Spirituality in America since the 1950s. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Giordan
Dr. Stefano Sbalchiero
Guest Editors

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

spirituality and religion
spiritual experiences
well-being
everyday life
youth
gender

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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13 pages, 1070 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Youth, Spirituality, Religion, and the Categories in Between

by Stefano Sbalchiero and Giuseppe Giordan

Religions 2024, 15(8), 923; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080923 - 30 Jul 2024

Viewed by 660

Abstract

Spirituality among young people has garnered attention within the realm of social studies of religions and spiritualities, both globally and in Italy. In this study, we present findings derived from a survey conducted with 1384 students aged 13 to 20 who were attending a high school in Vicenza, in the Veneto region. Viewing young individuals as active participants in a transition to greater autonomy, one with religious and spiritual dimensions, our empirical findings indicate the emergence of a distinct orientation: the ‘spiritual but not completely religious’ mindset. From this perspective, not only methodologically but also in terms of content, the domains of religion and spirituality, for this age group, appear to be more porous than exclusive or alternative. The identified orientation seems to characterise a compromise between what one has been during childhood and adolescence and the transition to adulthood, which is characterised by increased independence. This orientation not only captures a momentary snapshot of a fluid phenomenon but also contributes to ongoing discussions about spiritualities, which evolve within diverse social and cultural contexts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Concept of Spirituality and Its Place in Contemporary Societies)

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26 pages, 2248 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Religious Nones and Spirituality: A Comparison between Italian and Uruguayan Youth

by Olga Breskaya and Valentina Pereira Arena

Religions 2024, 15(7), 769; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15070769 - 25 Jun 2024

Viewed by 1202

Abstract

Who are the religious Nones, given their representation as both a minority and a majority group within the religious landscape? This article presents findings from a comparative study of Italian and Uruguayan youth (n = 2047, with 844 Nones), focusing on sociodemographic profiles of “Nones”, their spirituality, religious belief, practice, and atheist and agnostic identities. The findings suggest that regardless of cultural context—whether in predominantly Catholic Italy or more secular Uruguay—young “Nones” tend to be males, hold beliefs, and engage in religious practices, albeit with varying degrees. Among participants in this study, those originating from Uruguay exhibit a stronger degree of belief and slightly more pronounced engagement in private prayer and attendance of religious services compared to their counterparts from Italy. Additionally, the endorsement of spiritual identity is notably stronger among religious Nones in the Uruguayan sample than in the Italian one. Instead, atheism is more prevalent among Italian Nones, whereas agnosticism constitutes a larger proportion within the Uruguayan sample. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Concept of Spirituality and Its Place in Contemporary Societies)

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15 pages, 336 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Charisma and Memory in a Spiritual Community: The Case of Damanhur in Italy

by Alberto Ghio

Religions 2024, 15(2), 219; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15020219 - 16 Feb 2024

Viewed by 1150

Abstract

This paper explores the dynamic relationship between the spiritual community of Damanhur and its founder, Oberto Airaudi. Scholars consider Airaudi to be an example of Weberian charismatic leadership that was sui generis; the community, however, experienced an early routinisation, which granted it longevity and stability. Doctrinal and social evolution instead suggests a change in this charismatic relationship over the years, which occurred in four phases. His charisma passed from the ability to perform occult practices (occultist), to ideate a syncretic cosmology centred on Damanhur (religious), eventually allowing him to become an “inspirer from the outside” (inspirational). The last phase explains the survival and partial routinisation of the charisma after his death (post mortem). The study primarily relies on the analysis of Damanhurian writings, with a particular focus on the initial ten years. It also incorporates qualitative data from fieldwork and ethnographic material available in the scientific literature. The analysis suggests that Damanhur did not start as a charismatic community but as a social experiment. The development of Airaudi’s charisma, via a syncretic mythology based on a religious concept of memory, absorbed Damanhur’s social dimension, shaping it according to a collective spiritual endeavour aimed at reconnecting human beings with their divine inner nature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Concept of Spirituality and Its Place in Contemporary Societies)

15 pages, 741 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Personal Aspects of Religiosity and Civic Engagement: The Mediating Role of Prayer

by Małgorzata Tatala, Ryszard Klamut and Celina Timoszyk-Tomczak

Religions 2024, 15(2), 192; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15020192 - 5 Feb 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1497

Abstract

The aim of the presented research was to test the relationship between basic beliefs about a religious object (Transcendence, God) operationalized by Hutsebaut and various forms of civic engagement. In discovering these relationships, the mediating role of prayer importance, understood as an indicator of the strength of commitment to the relationship with God, was taken into account. In the study conducted with 535 young adults, the following tools were used: Post-Critical Belief Scale, Civic Engagement Questionnaire and Prayer Importance Scale. The results showed that social activities were more strongly associated with beliefs accepting the existence of God, while political activities were more strongly linked with attitudes rejecting the existence of God. Prayer importance was shown to mediate the relationship between beliefs accepting the existence of God and social activities and to increase the strength of service-oriented activities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Concept of Spirituality and Its Place in Contemporary Societies)

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16 pages, 252 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Spirituality of Deconstruction in United States Theological Schools

by Nicolette Manglos-Weber, Claudia Alvarez Hurtado and David C. Wang

Religions 2024, 15(2), 188; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15020188 - 2 Feb 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1673

Abstract

Building on a movement within the sociology of religion to better situate studies of spirituality in relation to contexts, practices, and power relations, the current study examines shifts in spiritual practice associated with “deconstruction” among graduate students within theological education. We rely on new interview data with a cohort of 30 students at time 1 (2020) and follow-ups with 22 of those students at time 2 (2022), comparing students at four different types of schools (Mainline Protestant, Evangelical Protestant, Catholic, and Black Protestant), and oversampling for students of historically minoritized identities. After identifying patterns in the spirituality of deconstruction, including trends toward embodiment, attunement to the natural world, social activism, and syncretism, we examine how these students perceive the responses of their theological schools to students’ deconstructing spirituality. We especially note a pattern of ambivalence, where certain aspects of the institution (especially some individual faculty and administrators, and student affinity groups) support and model deconstruction for their students. We argue that the spirituality of deconstruction may, therefore, function to both challenge and regenerate institutionalized contexts of religion in an overall setting of institutional decline. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Concept of Spirituality and Its Place in Contemporary Societies)

15 pages, 285 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Contested Professionalism and Spiritual Legitimization: Catholic Religious Education Teachers and the Theme of Spirituality in Contemporary Italian Schools

by Guillaume Silhol

Religions 2024, 15(1), 130; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010130 - 20 Jan 2024

Viewed by 1241

Abstract

Based on observations and in-depth interviews with Catholic Religious Education teachers in Italy, this sociological study tackles “spirituality” as a register of legitimization in their professional settings. Compared with more established topics of “religious culture”, the motives of “spirituality” appear as a lesser category of justification in teachers’ discourse in two significant aspects: teaching about “spirituality” as a necessary component of human experience, and talking about their own relationship to “spirituality” as proof of sincere commitment and/or professionalism. Thus, in the context of teachers’ labor, “spirituality” constitutes an ambivalent category that can serve the purposes of Catholic institutions as well as forms of criticism of authority. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Concept of Spirituality and Its Place in Contemporary Societies)

15 pages, 833 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evoking, Grounding, and Defining: How Contemporary Scientists Connect Religion, Spirituality, and Aesthetics

by Bridget Ritz, Di Di and Brandon Vaidyanathan

Religions 2024, 15(1), 65; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010065 - 4 Jan 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2030

Abstract

Social scientific research challenges stereotypes of scientists as irreligious, on the one hand, and lacking aesthetic sensitivity, on the other. Yet, while some research suggests connections between these domains, the question remains as to whether and how scientists themselves connect their religion or spirituality with their aesthetic experiences in science. Drawing on interviews with 71 biologists and physicists in India, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, we find three distinct logics by which scientists connect these experiences, which we call “evoking”, “grounding”, and “defining”. We also find some scientists assume a modernist logic on which religion or spirituality and science are seen as separate to explain why they do not experience their religion or spirituality and aesthetic experiences as connected. Our findings enhance our understanding of how personal beliefs can shape and be shaped by professional experiences and suggest opportunities for dialogue between scientists and communities of faith centering aesthetic experience. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Concept of Spirituality and Its Place in Contemporary Societies)

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14 pages, 256 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Theoretical and Epistemological Questions for the Study of Contemporary Spirituality in Catholic Italy on Nature, Well-Being, and Mystery

by Stefania Palmisano

Religions 2024, 15(1), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010022 - 22 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1265

Abstract

In this article I present the main findings of an empirical study about contemporary spirituality in Italy begun in 2017 by reasoning about the analysis of twelve case studies which are particularly eloquent concerning the different spiritual worlds emerging in Catholic Italy. I argue that three main narratives—the spirituality of nature, wellbeing, and mystery—are useful to synthesize the heterogeneousness of groups, communities, festivals, and organizations engaged in the Italian “holistic milieu”. In order to address this reflection, firstly I will trace the international sociological debate that has accompanied the concept of contemporary spirituality and the relationship between spirituality and religion, a couple which I have named “frenemies”. Then, I will extend the analysis to the concept of the secular, examining the intertwining of the spiritual, religious, and secular spheres. After illustrating the landscape of contemporary spirituality in Catholic Italy more broadly, I shall focus on the case studies taken as examples of the spirituality of nature, the spirituality of health and wellbeing, and the spirituality of mystery. In the Discussion and Conclusion, I shall raise some fundamental questions that the study of contemporary spirituality poses for the sociology of religion with reference to secularisation, one of its most classic and yet contested paradigms. I shall claim that future research paths could further contribute to strengthening the idea, raised in this article, that secularisation can also be understood not only as an antithetical force to religion but as the process in Western history that has led to the emergence of a secular social space in dialogue with the religious sphere. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Concept of Spirituality and Its Place in Contemporary Societies)

14 pages, 281 KiB

Open AccessArticle

I Am Young, Religious and/or Spiritual—Is It Beneficial to Me? Association of Religiosity, Spirituality and Images of God with Meaning in Life and Self-Esteem in Adolescents

by Alice Kosarkova and Marcela Fojtikova Roubalova

Religions 2024, 15(1), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010017 - 21 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1464

Abstract

Religiosity and spirituality (R/S) have been suggested to be positive factors in adolescents’ well-being and development. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship of R/S and images of God with meaning in life and self-esteem in adolescents in a secular environment. A sample of Czech adolescents (n = 984, mean age 16.61, SD 1.21; 28% male) participated in an online survey. We measured religiosity, religious affiliation (Raf), religious attendance (Ratt), spirituality, images of God (IMG), meaning in life (ML), subdivided into components of presence (ML-P) and search (ML-S), and adolescents’ self-esteem (ASE). Religiosity, Raf, Ratt, and a higher level of spirituality were associated with ML-P, with odds ratios (OR) ranging from 1.56 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.34–1.80) for spirituality to 1.88 (1.27–2.80) for church affiliation. ML-S was associated with religiosity, OR 1.41 (1.10–1.82), and spirituality, OR 1.73 (1.51–2.00). No associations were found for self-esteem. The combination of spirituality with Raf and Ratt led to associations with ML-P, ML-S, and ASE for those who were spiritual and affiliated/non-affiliated, with ORsof 2.14–6.00, as well as for those who were spiritual and attending/non-attending, with ORs of 1.84–4.84. Respondents who reported positive images of God were more likely to report an increase in ML-P, ML-S, and ASE, whereas those reporting negative images were more likely to report a decrease. Our findings suggest that R/S, in particular their mutual interactions with higher levels of spirituality and images of God, are associated with adolescent development and encourage the internalisation of R/S values among youth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Concept of Spirituality and Its Place in Contemporary Societies)

19 pages, 351 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spiritualities of the Body: Yoga, Spirituality and Health in Italy

by Matteo Di Placido

Religions 2023, 14(12), 1478; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14121478 - 28 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1435

Abstract

Modern postural yoga, a body–mind practice developed in the last hundred and fifty years at the intersection of therapeutic, fitness and spiritual logics, is experiencing an unprecedented worldwide diffusion, including in Italy. This article, relying on discourse analysis of three yoga manuals and twenty-seven biographical interviews of yoga practitioners, aims at exploring yoga’s positioning in the Italian context, with particular attention paid to its practical–discursive construction as a contemporary form of spiritualities of the body, defined as spiritualities oriented towards practitioners’ ‘unmediated’ relationship with the sacred and the cultivation of well-being through “body work”. More specifically, the article investigates the “cultural pragmatics” of a selection of Italian yoga manuals, scripted performances (regarding health and spirituality) capable of directly influencing and impacting practitioners’ “social imaginaries” of yoga in their everyday practice. In so doing, it also contributes to discussing the circular and reciprocal relationship between “discourses” and “practices” within specific contexts of practice, such as yoga classes and teacher training courses. The article concludes by emphasizing which conceptualizations of health and spirituality are promoted, transmitted and in turn embodied during yoga practice, the role of health discourses and pedagogies in the professionalization of yoga and the growing practical–discursive construction of the yoga teacher as a spiritual director and health expert. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Concept of Spirituality and Its Place in Contemporary Societies)

21 pages, 1014 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Attributes and Activities of Religious Communities in Italy: First Results from a City Congregations Study (CCS)

by Olga Breskaya, Giuseppe Giordan, Martina Mignardi and Stefano Sbalchiero

Religions 2023, 14(6), 709; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14060709 - 26 May 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2107

Abstract

This article explores the attributes and religious, social and political activities of local religious groups in three Italian cities across all religious traditions. This is the first application of Congregations Study methodology in Italy to analyze the social composition, structure and activities of religious communities. The research was conducted between 2020 and 2021 with a total number of 877 communities mapped in the cities of Bologna, Milan and Brescia, and their surroundings. All local religious groups in three cities and their surroundings were counted and one key informant per group was interviewed (N = 566) with a Congregations Study questionnaire. Based on the results of the interviews, we found that, during the last decade, the dynamics of growth of adults’ and children’s regular religious participation was distinct within the Muslim and Christian Orthodox communities. Social service for elderly, environmental programs and political activity were found to be promoted by the Catholic communities to a stronger degree, while activities linked to the support of migrants were endorsed stronger by Muslim and Orthodox groups. Moreover, this study assessed the theological, ethical and political orientation of religious communities, highlighting different trends across religious traditions. The article discusses various configurations of urban religious diversity by bringing similarities and contrasts between communities of dominant religious tradition and minority religions, thus questioning the applicability of City Congregations Study (CCS) methodology to the analysis of configurations of religious diversity in Italy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Concept of Spirituality and Its Place in Contemporary Societies)

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