The Spiritual Revolution: Why Religion is Giving Way
to Spirituality
Paul Heelas, Linda Woodhead
et al.
Introduction
Increasing numbers of people
prefer to call themselves “spiritual” rather than “religious”. A visit to the local bookshop or shopping
centre leaves little doubt that Christianity has a new competitor in the
“spiritual marketplace”. How assess and
explain the growth of such “spirituality?
What exactly is it? How
significant is its growth? Is it
altering the whole shape of the spiritual landscape in the West? Are we living through a “spiritual
revolution”? In trying to answer these
question this book explores the significance for contemporary religion and
spirituality of the subjective turn in modern culture.
The Subjective Turn
This is a major cultural
shift, described by some as the defining cultural development in modern western
culture. Both self-understanding and
socio-cultural arrangements have been developing in a person-centred, or
subjectivity-centred direction (e.g. “child-centred” or “learner-centred”
education, “consumer-centred” commerce, “patient-centred” health care,
etc.) It is a turn away from life lived in terms of external or objective roles,
duties and obligations, and a turn towards
life lived by reference to one’s own subjective experiences (relational as much
as individualistic). The subjective turn
is a turn away from “life-as” (life
lived as a dutiful wife/husband, father/mother, son/daughter, leader, manager,
worker, self-made-man, etc…) to “subjective-life”
(life lived in deep connection with the unique experiences of my
self-in-relation.
|
Life-as |
Subjective-life |
|
·
Belonging to
established and given orders of things ·
These “orders” are
transmitted from the past flowing forward into the future ·
Transcendent
orders are “higher” and “greater” than the individual ·
These
collective supra-self orders serve as people’s primary “sources of
significance” ·
Key value =
conformity to external authority |
·
Has to do with
states of consciousness, states of mind, memories, emotions, passions,
sensations, bodily experiences, dreams, inner feelings, inner conscience,
sentiments (incl. moral sentiments like compassion). ·
Subjectivities
of each individual become a, if not the, unique source of significance,
meaning and authority. ·
Key value =
authentic connection with the inner depths of one’s life-in-relation |
Each mode has its own
satisfactions, but each finds only danger in the other and there is deep
incompatibility between them.
Parallels in Religion and Spirituality
The authors of the research
use these two categories of “life-as” and “subjective-life” to sharpen the
distinction between religion and spirituality by distinguishing between “life-as”
religion and “subjective-life” spirituality.
They acknowledge that these distinctions are not necessarily in
accordance with the way these terms are used in the culture.
The Spiritual Revolution Claim
Given the cultural
significance of this subjective turn, it would be expected that the sacred
landscape would be affected by it: that forms of the sacred which are
experienced as compatible with the turn to “subjective-life” will be faring
better than those that serve to reinforce “life-as” modes of existence. The formulation to be tested is that
“life-as” forms of the sacred are most likely to be in decline while
“subjective-life” forms of the sacred are most likely to be growing. The spiritual revolution can be said to take
place when “holistic” activities having to do with subjective-life spirituality
attract more people than do “congregational” activities having to do with
life-as religion.
Testing the Claim
The precise nature of the
spiritual revolution claim renders it rigorous enough to be tested empirically. This was done by way of a locality study of
“Patterns of the Sacred” in the relatively self-contained market town and
regional centre of
Summary of Findings
The research found robust
evidence of a pattern: a correlation between subjective-life spirituality and
growth on the one hand, and between life-as religion and decline on the
other. Thus the findings have a bearing
on the study of secularisation and on whether there is a growth in the
territory of the sacred in Western culture (the study of sacralisation). However, rather than viewing decline and
growth as mutually exclusive, the evidence suggests the West is currently
experiencing both secularisation and sacralisation. This leads to an interesting question: could
there be a single explanation for both processes? Answering this question in the affirmative
the authors propose a theory of coexistence – the subjectivisation thesis.
This invokes the massive subjective turn of modern culture to explain
why there are ever more people who – if they are concerned about, or become
concerned about, the sacred – are much more likely to be, or become involved with
those forms which help them cultivate the unique “irreplacibilities” of their
subjective-lives than those which emphasise the importance of conforming to
higher authority. The “winners” are most
likely to be those which appeal to persons for whom subjective life is the key
source of significance – they succeed because they bring the sacred to
life. The “losers” are most likely to be
those life-as forms of the sacred which cater for the decreasing number of
people oriented to life-as forms of significance.
Caution: subjectivisation
should not be confused with individualisation, the subjective turn need not
imply that persons become atomistic, discrete or selfish. Above all else subjective-life spirituality
is “holistic”, involving self-in-relation rather than a self-in-isolation. It is common for the subjective turn to
involve what McMullers (1973) refers to as the “we of me”, being understood as
the true, subjective, me.
Distinguishing Religion and
Spirituality – Findings from Kendal
The initial feasibility study
found that conformity to life-as is
in fact the dominant emphasis in the congregational domain and, conversely,
that the resourcing of unique subjective-lives is in fact the primary focus of the holistic milieu.
A. Life in the Congregational Domain
In 2000 there were 25
different congregations in Kendal, all rooted in the Christian tradition with a
weekly (mainly Sunday) public congregational service as their main activity.
Similarities between the different congregations
1.
Attention is directed
away from oneself towards something higher
2.
Conviction that
truth and goodness lie not in the cultivation of unique individuality so much
as in curbing individuality by way of conformity to a higher, transcendent,
common, authoritative good – “life-as” roles are privileged over “subjective-life”
uniqueness, what I should be over what I am.
3.
The common good,
the higher authority is represented in different terms, but in every case
belonging to a congregation had more to do with being caught up into a vision
of the higher good than in going inwards to discover truth and goodness by
trusting and exploring one’s own feelings, intuitions and experiences.
4.
There is a
pervasive stress on deference – nearly all congregations were characterised by
a hierarchical form of organisation in which the most important decisions and
activities were the responsibility of a small number of authorised personnel
who were nearly always male. God is
almost always approached by way of male pronouns and imagery, particularly
fatherhood, a personal being of unlimited power who created and controls all
things. His will is made known in the
external mediating authorities of text, tradition and community, and is to be
willingly obeyed. The underlying belief
is that God (bible, church) knows what is best for us better than we know
ourselves, and better than our subjectivities might tell us.
5.
Jesus Christ
functions as the immediate focus of devotion, reference and deference, and the
inspiring model of perfect obedience and self-sacrifice. He was not interpreted as an example of
self-realisation to be imitated, but as an example of obedience and deference
who must be deferred to.
6.
Congregational
life characterised by a strong ethical and metaphysical dualism – a stress on
the difference between Creator and created, the supernatural and the natural,
the overarching moral order of things and the everyday (dis)order of things,
the life I should be living and my actual subjective-life, the spirit and the
body.
7.
There is finally
a strong moralism present in all the congregations – belief in an overarching
moral authority and acceptance that the authorities of church and chapel are
there to instruct people in how to live their lives. The effect of moral preaching is to
discipline subjectivities. It is rare in
the congregations to hear people speak openly about the full range of their
emotions. Generally speaking, what one
should be tends to be given more prominence in the congregational domain than
that which one is.
Variations between the congregations
The researchers found that
the congregations fell into one of four main types:
|
Congregations
of difference |
Congregations
of humanity |
|
Stress the distance between God and humanity,
creator and creation and the subordination of the latter to the former. Largely evangelical churches.
·
Stress on
absolute difference between God and the world.
·
Those who
submit to God will be rewarded by nothing less than reconstructed inner lives
– “born again”. This new life is
normativised.
·
They offer
subjective enhancement and cultivation in terms that can make sense to a
subjectivised culture, but insist that this comes not through reliance on
one’s inner resources but through submission to the higher authority of God,
Christ, the Bible and congregational instruction.
·
Make a powerful
appeal to people who feel their lives are not working by offering to heal
brokenness, restore joy, contentment, calm, hope and security in the Lord.
·
Each one is
uniquely loved by God and called to make a free personal decision to give one’s
life to Him – salvation is found in surrender/conversion (the climax of
evangelical life)
·
They pay
serious attention to life problems and the healing of minds and bodies.
·
Devote
considerable energy to affecting and enhancing memories, moods and feelings
(e.g. extensively singing emotive choruses).
·
Subjectivity is
not fully authorised – individuals are not encouraged to pursue their own
spiritual paths on the basis of their own experience.
·
Normativised
born-again life is rigorously enforced by a “discipling” that quickly shades
into “disciplining”.
·
Offer to make
individuals feel better |
Humanity is something that God and humans have in
common – emphasis on worshipping God by serving humanity. Chiefly churches of mainline liberal denominations
(Protestant and Catholic)
·
Authoritative
common good and higher authority is God-in-humanity and humanity-in-God
·
Emphasis of
ethics over dogma, love over the law, this world over the next, unity over
division.
·
Offer a degree
of freedom and tolerance with regard to other matters of belief and practice.
·
These are the
least subjectivised of the congregations (putting God and neighbour before
self)
·
The acceptable
self is one that expresses appropriate moral sentiments such as care, love,
compassion and gentleness – God first, neighbour second, self last.
·
Subjectivity is
conformed to common life and Christ’s life through repetition of liturgy,
hymns, responses and ritual actions.
·
Offer to make
individuals morally better persons. |
|
Congregations
of experiential difference |
Congregations
of experiential humanity |
|
Stress the gap between the divine and the human but
believe that God can enter directly into subjective experience as the Holy
Spirit. Mainly charismatic-evangelical churches.
·
General remarks
above apply, with some significant distinctions:
·
There is some
disdain for an externalised and rigid understanding of Christian discipleship
– the real point of conversion is when God as Holy Spirit enters directly
into a person’s experience. The Holy
Spirit becomes the inner core of subjective life, guiding and directing from
within.
·
Because of this
inspiration from within worship is emotive and expressive, and less
externally regulated. There is little
by way of set liturgy and hierarchies of leadership are more fluid and informal. Nevertheless there are still clear limits
on what can be said, done, felt and expressed.
·
Subjective life
is authorised only insofar as it conforms to external expectations and
guidelines (biblical teaching).
·
Individuals are
encouraged not in self-expression but Spirit-expression.
·
Only a
relatively narrow range of emotions and dispositions are able to be expressed
in collective worship – above all gratitude, joy, love and celebration. The purpose must always be the
glorification of God, not self. |
Humanitarian stress is accentuated by teaching that
the divine is more likely to be found in inner experience than in the
externals of religion (scripture and sacraments). Unitarian Chapel and Society of Friends (Quakers).
·
These
congregations go furthest in authorising subjective-life – rather than
preaching a higher truth they actively encouraged individuals to forge their
own unique life paths and spiritual paths in their own unique ways.
·
Sermons take
the forms of personal reflections on “what I have found to be helpful” –
often the preacher suggesting that the listeners might disagree.
·
In worship no
assumption that authorised teachers should instruct the rest, but that each
individual has the ability and responsibility to develop a meaningful
spiritual path, to follow what seems heart-centred
·
These
congregations go furthest in presenting God as the deepest spiritual
dimension of all life rather than an external authority set over against the
individual.
·
However, older
members tend to be more comfortable with structured and patterned ways of proceeding
while younger members placed more emphasis on subjective life.
·
There is a
strong stress on the overriding duty of humanitarian and planetary care |
Overall, the congregational
domain is a place where life-as roles take precedence. Participants are exhorted to conform to a
higher authority. They are hearers,
followers, disciples, servants, children, sheep. Salvation comes by hearing, heeding and
responding to the call of the shepherd, the Lord, the Father rather than
relying on an inner voice. The truth is
out there rather than within, the divine is transcendent rather than
immanent. Subjective-life is not
ignored, but it is expected to conform to acceptable norms.
The more subjectivised forms
of life-as religion and life-as spirituality are doing relatively well, serving
to slow down the decline of the congregational domain and thereby slowing the
momentum which favours the spiritual revolution claim.
B. Life in the Holistic Milieu
The Milieu
Activities are predominantly
oriented around the cultivation of subjective-life. There are two main forms of associational
activity: groups and one-to-one practices.
There are 100 practitioners in Kendal catering for all the members of
groups and one-to-one clients. Groups
are more popular with around two thirds of participants belonging to them. The most popular is yoga, followed by various
versions of massage, aromatherapy, homeopathy, reflexology, the Alexander
technique, tai chi, osteopathy, reiki, and flower essences therapy. Activities take place in a variety of
settings; people’s homes, the Town Hall and various other venues, some at
specialised centres. Others take place
at one-off events: fairs, festivals, workshops, etc.
Statistics
Most participants (82.4%)
agree that some form of spirit or life force pervades all that lives, with 73%
expressing belief in subtle energy in the body.
40% equate spirituality with love or being a caring and decent person. Spirituality, it appears, belongs to life
itself and subjective-life.
Spirit/energy/spirituality dwells within the person and is not a
transcendent, over-and-above-the-self, external source of significance. Only 7% agree that spirituality is about
obeying God’s will (60% of those within the congregational domain felt this was
the case).
Characteristics of Activities
· Pervasive use of holistic language – harmony, balance, flow, integration, interaction, being at one, being centred…. The great refrain is "only connect."
·
The activities
see themselves as providing the opportunity for participants to “grow”, to move
beyond barriers, blocks, patterns and habits associated with “dis-ease” by
making new connections.
·
The important
thing is to grow by linking up more holistically with other aspects of life –
in particular with the spiritual dimension.
·
Activities enable
participants to go deeper to bring spirituality to bear on the particularities
of their experiences. Holistic
activities facilitate the convergence of the spiritual path and the personal
path.
·
Flowing from
one’s “true nature”, the “inner directed solutions” provided by the spiritual
aspect of one’s being serve to cultivate one’s personal life accordingly.
·
Participants are
enabled to live their own truth, heal themselves, or are provided with the
opportunity to be-come themselves.
Relationships
Practitioners reject the idea
that their relationships with their group members or clients have anything to
do with pre-packaged, or what the research calls “life-as” ways of transmitting
the sacred. They continually emphasise
the importance of “serving” their participants.
The focus is on the unique participant rather than some higher authority
or common good. Practitioners are highly
participant centred, and participants are provided with the freedom to exercise
their own authority. Many of those in
the milieu understand themselves to be developing the “me” of their lives by
way of the “we” of the group and one-to-one encounters.
Experiences
What is on offer? Emotional balance, well-being, vitality,
sensitivity, self-confidence, awareness, relaxation, calmness. In virtually every case the publicity
material refers to the theme of enhancing the quality of subjective-life
experiences. Other goals are not to the
fore: eg, the quest for enlightenment, overcoming the ego, empowering oneself
so as to make money, or enhance the performance of life-as roles. Very few seem to use spirituality in an
instrumentalised way, as means to achieve prosperity or serve life-as duties, obligations
and responsibilities.
C. Conclusion: Two Worlds
The massive subjective turn
of modern culture is indeed more evident in the holistic milieu than in the
congregational domain. These two are
largely separate and distinct worlds.
This is not to deny that there is something of a spectrum (with
congregations of difference and humanity at one end and spiritualities of
subjective life at the other). Overall
there is very little overlap (most who are involved in both domains are in the
Postmodernists speak of
disintegrating boundaries and fusion of previously distinct beliefs, the
pick-and-mix attitude to religion and spirituality. Such a post-modern condition is scarcely in
evidence in Kendal.
Testing the Spiritual
revolution Claim in Kendal
The Congregational Domain
The numbers attending Sunday
worship on one Sunday (
The Holistic Milieu
The numbers participating in
associational, face-to-face activities in self-contained contexts (not in
business or schools) that are considered to be of sacred significance by those
who lead them, having to do with the cultivation of subjective-life
spirituality, were counted over the period of one week within a five-mile
radius of Kendal (because two holistic centres serving the Kendal population
were just outside the town. Figures were
adjusted for persons attending more than one activity in the week, and for
those who did not consider their participation to be of spiritual
significance. 840 associational
encounters were taking place in the activities provided by 95 spiritual
practitioners (41 group practitioners serving 63 different groups, 63
one-to-one practitioners serving individual clients and having an estimated
average of 4 clients per practitioner per week). After the adjustment (by means of
questionnaire research), during a typical week 600 people were involved in 126
separate activities – 1.6% of the population of Kendal and its environs. Two thirds of the 600 were participating in
groups and one third in one-to-one activities, with significant numbers
engaging in more than one activity.
Counting over time
·
The decline of the congregational domain:
Local
and national data suggest severe and relentless decline in overall church attendance
in Kendal since the 1960’s. If
population growth over the same period is taken into account, none of the
congregations have managed to keep pace and all but the New Life community
church (congregation of experiential difference – founded in 1981 – experienced
growth until the late 1990’s followed by decline) have declined by about half
since the 1960’s. The overall picture is
one of steady decline in the congregational domain. In terms of absolute numbers, most
congregations have been static or declining since the 1960’s. But relative to the town’s growth it appears
to have followed the national trend and declined by a half since that time.
·
The growth in the holistic milieu
By
contrast, from virtually no activity in the 1970’s to around 30 groups in 1987
(when the growth of group and one-to-one holistic activities began to take
off), to about 40 activities in 1990, there were 126 different activities on
offer in 2001. From virtually no-one
involved in 1970, 600 were involved in a typical week in 2001. While the population of Kendal has grown
48.5% between 1961 and 1999, the holistic domain grew by around 300% in the
1990’s when population growth was just 11.4%.
Comparing the Two Associational Domains
During a typical week in 2001
there were five times as many people involved in the congregational domain as
in the holistic milieu. However, the
holistic milieu is growing while the congregational domain is in decline. If the holistic milieu continues to grow at
the same rate, and if the congregational domain continues to decline at the
same rate, a spiritual revolution would take place some time during the third
decade of the third millennium. Although
the claims of a spiritual revolution are exaggerated, a major shift has
occurred in the sacred landscape.
Evidence for a Spiritual
Revolution
This chapter draws on the
research of others and considers not just
A Spiritual Revolution in
While the spiritual
revolution has not taken place in Kendal, can the same be said for
A Spiritual Revolution in Christianity?
·
Congregations of Difference
There
seems to be a growing recognition of the importance of (the quality of)
subjective-life, and a concern with its cultivation, but only insofar as it is
contained within a strict theological and moral framework. Even where the language of spirituality is
adopted, it is used to speak of a life in which the individual listens and
conforms to God-given rules and roles.
In the
·
Congregations of Experiential Difference
These
place greater stress on the importance of inner experience of the divine by way
of the Holy Spirit. With the growth of
the phenomena of mega-churches in the USA the needs, desires, experiences,
skills, hurts, traumas, dilemmas and uniqueness of the individual are taken far
more seriously than is common elsewhere in the congregational domain. Not only are there many small groups where
individualities can be expressed and healed but these churches organise their
lives, worship and teaching in such a way that the impression of dogma and
authority is minimised. In many ways the
spirituality of these new-paradigm mega-churches seems designed to fit around
the subjective life of the individual rather than vice versa. They embrace seekers with warmth, tolerance
and openness, but not so as to encourage them in their own subjectivities but
to convert them. The aim is that “life-as”
(a discipline of Christ) should posses and control subjective life. Since the 1980’s they seem to have been more
successful than any other type of congregation, at the expense of other
varieties of congregation. Most new
affiliates of the mega churches were raised in congregations of humanity.
·
Congregations of humanity
There
is no significant evidence of an officially sponsored turn towards
subjective-life spirituality in congregations of humanity. This is not to deny an apparent growth of
interest on the part of some members in more subjectivised forms of
spirituality – mysticism, celtic spirituality, meditation, etc. Equally some congregations and retreat
centres may cater for such a spirituality – but these activities remain
peripheral to the mainstream. There is a
broad consensus about the steep decline of these congregations over the last
three decades. Attendance at the Roman
Catholic Church in England declined by 42% between 1979 and 1998, the Church of
England by 47% , the Methodist Church by 44% and the United Reformed Church by
39% in the same period. There is as yet
no evidence of a bottoming out in the rate of decline of such congregations.
·
Congregations of Experiential Humanity
These
are more likely to embrace a spirituality oriented around subjective-life than
are other varieties of Christianity. As noted
previously however, many congregations are divided between older members who
tend to stress authoritative, humanistic values and younger members who tend to
give greater authority to personal experience in the spiritual life. In
·
Small Groups
It
is important to note the explosion of small groups in the
Conclusion
The
movement towards subjectivisation noted above does not go deep enough to add
weight to the spiritual revolution claim.
The only qualification is that much of the evidence is on the “supply
side” of religion and it may be that there are many individuals in congregations
who ignore the official emphasis on “life-as” and use the resources of the
congregation to cultivate their subjective spiritual lives in their own unique
ways.
A Spiritual Revolution in the Culture?
·
Purchasing culture – the number of stores in Kendal selling holistic spirituality resources increased from 30% to 45% between
Jan 2001 and April 2003. Goods relating
to “life-as” religion were stocked by just 7% of stores in 2003. This situation is replicated nationally. The only notable exception in purchasing
culture is the market for Christian retreats which is growing, with particular
demand for one-on-one spiritual direction (interestingly, now increasingly
termed “spiritual accompaniment” by a “spiritual guide” rather than spiritual
director). There has been a veritable
explosion of interest in books to do
with holistic spiritualities of life. In
1998 mind-body-spirit literature accounted for 0.9% share of the total market
for books in
·
Education Culture – Whereas formerly the influence of religion is schools was strong,
since the 1950’s it has been waning. Now
all schools are required to “attend to the spiritual development of their
pupils” while the OFSTED guidelines state that “spiritual is not synonymous
with religious”. While daily collective
worship of a broadly Christian character is still compulsory in State schools,
the law is ignored by a majority. Sunday
schools have almost disappeared with 73% saying they had attended in 1957 while
only 4% said they have attended in 2000.
·
Mainstream health culture – recent moves to introduce more by way of spirituality
and spiritual care: new nursing courses, hospital and ward mission statements,
GP’s referring increasingly patients to body-mind-spirituality practitioners,
etc. The role of the hospital chaplain
is also in transition away from the ordained Christian minister to a role that
has a duty of care for the spiritual health and wellbeing of all patients and
staff, regardless of religious affiliation.
·
Conclusion
Although
the spiritual revolution has not taken place with regard to weekly
associational activities it looks as though it has, or is occurring in
significant sectors of the general culture.
A Spiritual Revolution in Personal Belief?
Christian theistic belief has
been overtaken by belief having more to do with spirit/uality-cum-life. Only 26% of Britons now believe in a personal
God (2000 – Soul of Britain survey), 44% believe in some sort of spirit or life
force. 31% consider themselves to be a
spiritual person and 27% say they are a religious person. Beliefs more obviously akin to inner life
spirituality have become of considerable importance.
Conclusions
1.
Associational
subjective-life spirituality has not eclipsed associational life-as religion,
even though the congregational domain is declining.
2.
Nevertheless, a
revolution of sorts is taking place in key sectors of the culture and may have
already taken place in the realm of personal belief (though additional research
is required to establish the point)
3.
The following
pattern emerges from the research:
Bringing the Sacred to Life:
Explaining Sacralisation and Secularisation
The subjectivisation thesis:
The massive subjective turn of modern culture favours
and reinforces those (subjective-life) forms of spirituality which resource
unique subjectivities and treat them as a primary source of significance, and
undermine those (life-as) forms of religion which do not.
This thesis claims that if
people choose to become involved in associational forms of religion or
spirituality, their involvement is more likely to be with those which cultivate
subjective-life than those which prioritise life-as beliefs and values.
According to the Durkheimian principle, people are more likely to be involved
with forms of the sacred which are consistent with their ongoing values and
beliefs than those which are not.
The subjective turn is bound up with a wide range of cultural values, provisions and
activities:
·
The “disciplined”
family of traditional values is increasingly replaced by the expressive family
of emotional bonds.
·
The old
hierarchical command structures of business are giving way to flatter, more
fluid, worker-centred systems.
·
Education and
health care is more learner- or patient-centred.
·
The prevalence of
daytime chat shows, Big Brother, reality TV, biographies and autobiographies
(life-writing), books and articles on psychology and self-help, etc. which
enable people to reflect on private or subjective life
·
The presence of
an “ethic of subjectivity” which is evident in the value attached to
self-expression and fulfilment.
·
The value that
has come to be attached to “feeling” and “being comfortable” (“how do you feel
about that?” and “are you comfortable with that?”).
·
Significant
cultural value is ascribed to being treated as a uniquely valuable person.
·
The idea of
sacrificing oneself for the sake of a supra-self order of things has become
culturally marginal.
Given the Durkheimiam
principle, it would be expected that the realm of associational activities
focussed on the sacred should be affected accordingly. This expectation seems to have been
fulfilled.
Growth of the holistic milieu
The subjective turn has
increasingly taken shape in the “subjective wellbeing culture” and the growth
of subjective-life spiritualities owes a great deal to the fact that they
attract people who are already involved in the wellbeing culture. Holistic spiritualities provide a more
specialised or distinctive variant of what is already prevalent in the wider
culture. Thus they attract those
involved with the more widespread culture who are searching for activities in
tune with what they are already familiar with, whilst taking them further or
deeper.
The subjective wellbeing culture in general
This refers to all those
cultural provisions or activities which explicitly dwell on enhancing the
quality of subjective life.
·
Note the prevalence
of books on this area (see above) - what they all have in common is a concern
with experience.
·
Subjective
wellbeing focuses on the value of uniqueness
·
An ethic of
unique subjectivity pervades subjective wellbeing culture as a whole
·
It has to do with
the cultivation of good feelings, and is ultimately focussed on feeling good
about oneself.
·
It also values
relationships, albeit subjectively based rather than role-based – indeed
relationships are now equally formed with “objects” – my garden as a haven of
tranquillity, my car as a vehicle of desire, my bathroom as a personalised spa,
etc.
·
holistic themes
are frequently in evidence, and this “whole” often includes a spiritual
dimension
·
Spirituality also
enters the holistic dialogue of the mainstream professions, e.g. teaching and
nursing.
The subjective wellbeing culture in particular
The holistic milieu has its
home within the more general culture of subjective wellbeing, whilst also being
a relatively specialised or distinctive variant of the more widespread culture. Thus growth in the milieu may owe a
considerable amount to its appeal to those already
involved with the more general culture. But the
milieu does not simply replicate what is on offer in the wider culture…
·
most of the
activities are of an intensive face-to-face, relational nature
·
these relational
activities are of a more specialised kind
·
spirituality is
considerably more prominent in the milieu than in the more general culture of
subjective wellbeing.
The path from the general culture to the milieu
The thesis posited is that
the growth of the holistic milieu owes a great deal to the fact that it caters
for those who want to go further along the path towards subjective
wellbeing. Further, the fact that
holistic themes are found within the broader culture means that culture can
serve to “prime” people for the activities of the holistic milieu. In sum, the
appeal and growth of the holistic milieu owes a great deal to its success in
attracting people who want to pursue the quest for subjective wellbeing by way
of activities which are neither just more of the same as those generally on
offer, nor too different, deviant or strange.
There is little fear of “indoctrination” since people do not have to
face the hurdle of encountering doctrinal belief systems, don’t have to make
life commitments to specific teachings and don’t have to face the prospect of
being preached at or judged.
Those who participate in the milieu
The great majority who
identified their employment had been, or currently were involved in professions
having to do with wellbeing culture; teachers, nurses, social workers, artists,
ecologists, etc. Many have been involved
in person-centred or expressive careers because of the value they attach to
improving the quality of life.
Significant numbers had moved away from relatively well paid but
demanding careers to part-time work which provided more opportunity for the
development of subjective life. 57% have
a university or college degree (compared with a national average of 20% for
that generation). It seems that the
higher the level of educational achievement the greater the likelihood of a
shift of emphasis from seeking value by way of achievement to seeking value by
way of what subjective life has to offer.
The subjective wellbeing culture is predominantly populated by women
(80% of those active in the holistic milieu in the Kendal study were women, 78%
of groups are led/facilitated by women and 80% of one-to-one practitioners are
women).
The significance of gender
This is an interesting
phenomenon. There is no research
demonstrating gender differences with respect to moral individualism – so if
the gender ratio is 50:50 among subjectivised selves as gauged by moral
autonomy how explain the 80:20 ratio of women to men in the holistic
milieu? The answer must lie in the fact
that the subjective turn (to the autonomous self, away from being told what or
how to be towards having the freedom to be yourself) involves not one but two
modes of moral individualism or autonomous selfhood – a spectrum between two
poles
|
Individuated
subjectivism |
Relational
subjectivism |
|
|
·
Self operates as
a relatively self-contained entity
·
Subjective life
is catered for by going outside oneself to find external solutions
·
Focus on procuring
commodities (car) or success (promotion) which serve desire, happiness or
contentment
·
Self-reliant,
self-sufficient, atomised agency
·
Competition more
important than the connections of personal relationships
·
Links between
this mode of selfhood, possessive individualism and entrepreneurial
capitalism |
|
·
Emphasis on the
relational and going deeper
·
Concentrates
more directly on the intricacies of the inner life
·
Other people
have an important role to play in the autonomous pursuit of development –
cultivation of subjective life best takes place in the context of personal
encounters; talking with a friend, visiting a therapist, counsellor, guide,
etc
·
Associated more
with the tendency to go deeper |
More women than men tend to
emphasise relational subjective-life, and conversely more men than women tend
to emphasise the individuated or distinct variant. Since subjective wellbeing
culture and the holistic milieu are so relational their provisions and
activities attract subjectively oriented women who seek to develop their
subjective lives through associational encounters. It should be noted that more women than men
are already concerned with the personal subjective wellbeing of others in their
everyday lives (family roles/responsibilities and careers/jobs). By contrast, men, who are less accustomed to,
or value, the intimate, expressive, relational path to subjective wellbeing,
and who prefer to remain in control, prefer to develop their subjective-lives
by going out into the world to achieve and compete while retaining their own
boundaries and sense of being in control.
Research supports the view
that those drawn to the holistic milieu (predominantly women) are sufficiently
satisfied with their lives to believe that they are worth improving, but
sufficiently dissatisfied to believe such improvement is desirable. It takes both humility (my life isn’t as good
as it could be) and confidence (I have the potential to be better/I deserve a
better life) to enter.
The Significance of Age
73% of all those active in
the holistic milieu in Kendal were over 45 yrs, with 55% between 40 and
59. The majority of participants don’t
get involved until mid-life. Why?
A considerable number of those in the milieu (a third) have recently downsized
or downshifted – voluntarily made a long-term change in lifestyle, other than
planned retirement, which has resulted in them earning less money. The primary reason given by those in their
30’s and 40’s is to spend more time with their family. Those in their 50’s are predominantly seeking
a healthier lifestyle. Younger adults
(who often still have young or teenage children) are prioritising relationality
and the fulfilment of family life, while older adults (with children having
moved away and relational life at home having diminished as a source of
significance) are prioritising health.
Fewer younger adults feel they would benefit from exploring their
subjective lives in the holistic milieu (they are heavily committed to the
relationalities of home, work, friends, social life, etc.). Their health is generally very good and they
feel they would not have the time to add another sphere of activity to their
lives. However, as family diminishes in
size, relational life changes, mid-life beckons and more time is available, so
the motivation to look beyond home to find ways of improving the quality of
relational subjective-life grows stronger.
It could also be argued that it takes time to become disillusioned with
what the various forms of “life-as” have to offer.
The decline of congregational activities
While the holistic milieu
grows, the congregational milieu declines.
Religion is likely to hold more appeal for those who resist the
subjective turn. However, significant
numbers of the baby-boom generation reacted against the values of their
parents. As counter-cultural values
became mainstream in the decades that followed, so approval of “life-as” values
and the institutions that upheld them waned.
Hierarchically structured forms of voluntary association consequently
suffered a massive decline and political parties, trades unions, working men’s
clubs, traditional women’s organisations (Women’s Institute, Mother’s
Why do people leave the
congregational domain?
·
The values they
are committed to are perceived to be incompatible with those of the congregational
domain - this is a much more significant factor than any loss in belief.
·
They are tired of
being told how to behave by the churches.
·
Individuated
persons who like to make up their own minds react badly to being preached at.
·
Many do not like
the way church makes them “feel” (bored, dull, unexcited, dead, etc. – or worse
– judged, unworthy, small, wanting…) – contributing to subjective ill-being
rather than wellbeing.
·
Many complain
that church fails to connect with the rest of their lives.
·
Equally, large
numbers report that congregations fail to meet their spiritual needs – that the
churches and chapels have lost the real spiritual part of religion.
It is true that some
congregations are growing (mainly strict, conservative churches). This is to be expected, however, as such
churches provide a haven or “counter-culture” for the minority who wish to
resist the subjective turn of the wider culture.
Conclusion
With ever-increasing numbers
of people having come to value what subjective-life has to offer, the tendency
is for forms of associational activity that locate the sacred within to be
doing well. By contrast, with
ever-declining numbers of people having faith in life-as values, the trend is
for forms of associational activity, where the sacred operates from without, to
be in overall decline. It should be
noted, however, that the growth in the holistic milieu has not compensated for
the decline of the congregational domain.
The massive subjective turn of modern culture has resulted, it would appear,
in the secularisation of the associational territory as a whole.
Looking to the Future
Will the trajectories of
decline and growth revealed by the research be sustained in the future?
Greater prosperity has
provided the resources required for the cultivation of subjective wellbeing
culture and has allowed growing numbers of post-materialists to devote more
time and energy to concerns which go beyond material wellbeing. Short of a radical change (a long-lasting
collapse of the standard of living) it is unlikely that the quest for “quality
of life” will not remain firmly on the agenda for the foreseeable future. So what might the future hold for the
holistic milieu and the congregational domain?
Holistc Milieu Scenarios
·
The last gasp
of the sixties scenario – many of
the current practitioners and participants came of age in the 60’s. As this cohort moves into old age they may
not be replenished in the same numbers.
·
The declining
sacred capital scenario – the
milieu caters for people who were already in possession of sacred capital
(people who had been involved in, but become disillusioned with Christianity
and who retained faith that the sacred might have something to offer). Young people today are largely ignorant of
Christian culture and values resulting in a scarcity of scared capital. The holistic milieu will therefore run into
difficulties.
·
The cultural
transmission scenario – young
people are nonetheless growing up in a world where holistic spirituality has
become mainstream, thus they are culturally primed
to become actively engaged when the time is right for them. This scenario would expect greater numbers of
participants
·
Prediction: The milieu will continue to grow but possibly at a
slower pace. Weekly participation will
double in the next 40-50 years to take in a little more than 3% of the
population of the nation. (Some research
suggests this might be too cautious)
Congregational Domain Scenarios
·
The
continuing decline scenario –
receives strong support from existing trend data. Decline begets further decline, thus the rate
of decline is likely to increase.
·
The
bottoming-out scenario – some
forms of congregation [most likely congregations of experiential difference] will
exhibit sufficient vitality to hold their own or even grow which may lead to a
bottoming-out in overall attendance levels.
This will happen by (a) retaining and attracting people who are
attracted to the security of life-as religion [congregations of difference and
experiential difference], (b) attracting those with an orientation to
subjective-life [congregations of experiential humanity] or (c) retaining and
attracting those who value the authoritative approach of life-as religion but
who also seek some subjective enhancement [congregations of experiential
difference].
·
The revival
scenario – unlikely since
previous revivals (e.g. Methodism in 18th century) took place in populations
where Christian capital was still high.
·
Prediction: No strong evidence for more optimistic scenarios,
some evidence to support the more pessimistic of decline to near zero, but
greater weight of evidence supporting the bottoming-out scenario. Expect overall congregational decline over
the next 25-30 years as congregations of humanity shrink to around 1% and
experiential difference remain fairly steady, leading to a bottoming-out of the
domain at around 3% of the population by 2030
Conclusions
·
A major cultural
development – the massive subjective turn of modern culture – has served to
fuel the growth of subjective-life spirituality and to undermine life-as
religion.
·
The claim that a
spiritual revolution has taken place is exaggerated, nevertheless a major shift
has occurred in the sacred landscape since the 1950’s and is still continuing.
·
Looking to the
future, much suggests that the cultivation of subjective-life is going to
remain of central importance and attain increasing cultural significance.
·
The holistic
milieu is likely to continue to grow, albeit at a slower rate than in recent
years, to perhaps double its size in the next 40-50 years.
·
Although the
congregational domain will most likely decline to around a third of its size by
2030, the decline is likely to be stemmed by the relative vitality of
experiential religions of difference.
·
In 40 or so years
time the congregational domain and the holistic milieu will have thus become
much the same size – between 3-4% of the population will be active in each
during a typical week.