The Role of Spirituality

Spirituality is a nebulous term and means different things to different people. Nonetheless, people use the term. According to a Pew Research report in December 2023, 70% of Americans consider themselves spiritual. And almost a quarter of those surveyed describe themselves as Spiritual but Not Religious. Given the commonness of the term and the lack of clarity on what it means, I argue that proffering a definition, no matter how inadequate, is worthwhile. Here, then, is my definition.

My definition of spirituality is ensconced in its roles. And I believe spirituality has two roles:

1. To gain awareness of attachments and biases

2. Provide tools to work though those attachments and biases until they no longer impede the ability and willingness to love

My definition is generic and can apply to people of any religion or none at all. My own background is in Roman Catholicism, so I think of it in that context. But the definition can apply to a Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Zoroastrianist, and others.

To gain awareness of attachments and biases

Attachments are things we hang onto physically, emotionally, or mentally. Not all attachments are bad. Love is a healthy attachment between two consenting people. But sometimes we hang onto things that are not helpful or healthy. Arguments and nasty comments are examples of unhealthy attachment between people. But we can also have attachments to things: status, cars, jewelry, vacations, etc.

A bias is a personal opinion. Like attachments, a bias is not bad in itself. But it becomes unhealthy when there is a failure to re-examine the opinion and change when presented with new information.

Awareness is a practice that brings light our attachments and biases, usually in small doses. Numerous saints and mystics have encouraged awareness. Here are three from the early Egyptian hermits:

Ward, B. (Ed.). (1984). The sayings of the desert fathers: The alphabetical collection. Cistercian Publ.

Provide tools to work though those attachments and biases until they no longer impede the ability and willingness to love

Spiritual tools come in four types:

1. Liturgies

2. Discursive Meditations

3. Silent Prayer

4. Devotions

Liturgies

Formal, communal rituals. For Catholics, the mass is the most common liturgy. Unknown to many Catholics is the liturgy of the hours - a combination of songs, psalms, and prayers prayed multiple times during the day.

Discursive Meditations

Individual acts performed quietly and using the imagination. An example in Christian spirituality is to imagine a scene from one of the gospels. For example, the famous scene of the woman caught in adultery (not in the original gospel, as it turns out). Using one's imagination, a person can begin discursive meditation with a series of questions:

• Does the woman look scared?

• Do the men look angry?

• Are there women in the crowd? Do they look scared?

• How would I feel if I saw someone flung down in front of me?

• How would I feel if I saw everyone picking up a stone? Would I pick up a stone?

And on. What do I see? What do I smell? What do I hear? What do I taste (e.g. the loaves and the fishes stories)? What do I feel physically? What do I feel emotionally? What am I thinking? What am I doing? Etc.

Discursive meditations are active.

Silent Prayer

Silent prayer regained popularity in Catholic circles in the 70s and 80s, primarily due to monastics such as Thomas Merton (d. 1967), John Main (d. 1982), William Menninger (d.), Basil Pennington (d.), and Thomas Keating (d.).

There are various methods but the idea is to not do discursive meditation. The goal is to sit quietly and use a technique to either stay focus or redirect one's focus after engaging in one of the many thoughts that accompany this activity. Many practitioners simply call Silent Prayer "sitting."

Devotions

Devotions are a mixture of ritual and discursive meditation. These characteristics can be observed in one of the most popular Catholic devotions, the rosary.

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/12/07/who-are-spiritual-but-not-religious-americans/