Theo - Spirituality and religion

Peter Feldmeier

Specializing in Christian spirituality and comparative theology, describes the obscurity of spirituality as follows: “modern interest in spirituality is big and growing. One needs only to enter a major bookstore to find a plethora of books devoted to the subject 

“Spirituality but not religious”

 Usually this means that the speaker is interested in religious experience but cannot find it in church 

Spirituality

Search for meaning and purpose

By Roger Haight definition - Logic, or character or consistent quality of a person’s or a group’s pattern of living insofar as it is measured before some kind of ultimate reality 

Sandra Schneiders 

Sandra schneider

• One of the foremost experts on the study of spirituality 

• Describes three ways of people view of the relationship between spirituality and religion ( Stranger, Rival, Partners )

Stranger

for those people, religion and spirituality are different enterprises with different approaches to the same end

Rival 

•  This perspective can be taken by those who have, at some point in their lives, felt hurt or betrayed by a religious institution in one way or another

• Seeking solace in what they have now called “spirituality”

Partners 

• Two dimensionals of a single enterprise 

• These two dimensions are often in tension with each other, but are compatible and essential for an authentic quest in the search of purpose and meaning in the world 

Melissa M Kelly 

•  Associate pastor of Pastoral care and counseling at the boston college school of theology and ministry

• Has to say about this “Meaning”

Meaning 

• From the german root  meinen which is to think, 

• Is the deep sense we make of things, the way we understand the world, how we articulate the overarching purpose or goals of our lives

• The significance we seek in living, the core values by which we order our lives

Roger Haight 

• From the drawing of the wisdom of ______ Spirituality can be understood as follows -  Spirituality refers to the logic, or characters, or consistent quality of a person’s or a group’s pattern of living insofar as it is measured before some kind of ultimate reality 

Why is the study of ultimacy and the spirituality that patterns the human’s entire being toward it so important to study. Especially for a student like you?

• If ultimacy is to be understood as foundation of all things where that foundation exist as the boundary of what humans can know

  • If the pedagogy is to be taken as a set of educational strategies by way of which students can be made to understand a given subject

First Reasons for the pedagogy ( Method of teaching ) of ultimacy need to be developed

An understanding of foundations allows us to be better grasp what is built on those foundations 

The second Reason for the pedagogy ( Method of teaching ) ultimately need to be developed

A widespread knowledge of foundation can only help us in overcoming divisive differences inasmuch as ultimacy can give us a broader, deeper and more integrative perspective by which to mediate them

Third Reasons for the pedagogy ( Method of teaching ) of ultimacy need to be developed

A familiarity with the boundary of what humans can know can lessen the fear and anxiety that can come from encountering such limits to human understanding 

fourth Reasons for the pedagogy ( Method of teaching ) of ultimacy need to be developed

Teaching ultimacy in primary, secondary and post secondary educational context can only serve to raise the level of human consciousness in such way the suffering based on shallow thinking might be limited, if not avoided altogether 

Haight sandra Schneiders explains that spirituality is

 the experience of conscious involvement in the project of life integration through self transcendence toward the ultimate value one perceives

In this sense spirituality can provide foundation ( life integration ) and direction ( self transcendence )

Spirituality as Experience 

Spirituality is not an abstract idea, a theory an ideology, or a movement of some kind it is personal lived reality which has both active and passive dimension

Spirituality as an experience of conscious involvement in a project

Means that experience has to be consciously taken on, and the collective narrative of the experience freely taken on result in the project of spirituality

Spirituality as life-Integration 

Means that is is holistic,”involving body and spirit and emotion and thoughts, activity and passivity, social and individual aspect of life

Self transcendence toward ultimate value

 Essentially positive in its direction

Dwelling Spirituality 

• 1950s 

• Called the builders 

• Shallow roots has no wings 

Seeking spirituality

• 1960s and 1970s 

• Has wings but no roots

Practicing spirituality

• Gen x 

• Called the latchkey kids

• 1980s 

• Have both roots and wings

Tinkering spirituality

• Genz or new generation 

• puts together a life from whatever skills, ideas, and resources thaty are readily at hand 

Religion

•  Refers to a set of beliefs, values and practices that together identify what ultimate reality is and help establish the relationship that obtain between this ultimate reality and the practitioners 

4 Cs

creed, code, cult and community structure

Creed

Cognitive aspect of religion, goes into the explanation of the ultimate meaning of life

Code

 Behavior and ethics includes all the rules and customs of actions that somehow follow from one aspect of another of the creed 

Cult

Ritual activities that relate the believer to one aspect or other of the transcendent.

Community Structure

Relationship among the believers

Transcendent

• Root of the word means “ that which goes beyond”  the everyday, the ordinary, the surface experience of reality

According to Catherine McCann

To transcend is to go beyond: to move beyond present limits. It comes from the latin words scendere meaning to climb and the latin  trans meaning across beyond

Human experience of transcendence is a natural phenomenon 

True statement

Ideology 

• Has a similar desire to move toward an ultimate in some manner, Especially in modern times there has developed an explanation of the ultimate meaning of life and how to live accordingly.

Idolatry

• Literally means worshiping an image 

• It is to focus on the finger pointing to the object, rather than on the object

Sacramental Principle ( Also known as sacrementality )

The notion that all reality, both animate and inanimate, is potentially or in fact the breaker of gods presence and the instrument of God's saving activity on humanity’s behalf

 Idol

produces Itself  in actually as that at which vision intentionally aims

Icon 

• attempts to render visible the invisible and teaches gaze to din in infinity something new 

Latchkey kids

- a child who is at home without adult supervision for some part of the day, especially after school until a parent returns from work

tinkering 

puts together a life from whatever skills, ideas, and resources thaty are readily at hand