From Religion to Spirituality—Megatrend in Contemporary Society or Methodological Artefact? A Contribution to the Secularization Debate from Psychology of Religion

Abstract

After a short discussion of important issues concerning the secularization debate and the three meta-narratives involved in this debate (decline, transformation, rise), the following question is addressed: in modern societies, has 'religion' given way to 'spirituality' on the individual level? After a critique of different conceptualizations of spirituality for empirical research and a sample discussion of survey data (results of the European Values Study for the Netherlands between 1980 and 2000), the answer is negative. The suggestion is that spirituality appears as a megatrend in the mass media marketing commodities and in the publications of social scientists trying to attract a broader audience. But the so-called spiritual trend at the level of individual 'religious' orientations is the result of a questionable terminological construction or a questionable interpretation of survey data or arises from a combination of the two.

New Spirituality and Social Engagement

“…'Spirituality' is an increasingly popular term that has conquered the market during the last decades (Schneiders, 2003;Carrette and King, 2004;Zinnbauer and Pargament, 2005;Popp-Baier, 2010). 'Spiritual' books, lectures, workshops and courses, objects, and even 'spiritual' holidays, are on offer and promise the buyers knowledge and abilities that will make them wiser, happier and healthier.…”

“…Efforts to distinguish between spirituality and religion may lead to unnecessary polarizing and restrictive perspectives (Hill et al, 2000;Zinnbauer et al, 1997;Zinnbauer and Pargament, 2005;Popp-Baier, 2010). Efforts to capture the essence of spirituality in another term, such as 'the sacred' may lead to circular lines of reasoning since such terms again tend to be problematic constructs with theological implications (Popp-Baier, 2010). Moreover, in our view, Zinnbauer and Pargament (2005) in their enthusiasm about 'the sacred', expand the scope of this term to include, for instance, health, marriage, work, and music, if and as long as such aspects of life are considered as 'holy, worthy of veneration or reverence'.…”

“…Moreover, a broad definition of spirituality will result in overlap with other constructs such as wellbeing, connectedness, and quality of life, which can lead to false and tautological correlations between, for instance, spirituality and mental health (Moreira-Almeida and Koenig, 2006;Salander, 2012). Overlap in definitions among spirituality and psychological constructs or existential questions is also seen as undesirable, because such definitions are too inclusive and therefore violate the self-perceptions of all those people who perceive themselves as not at all religious or spiritual (Popp-Baier, 2010;Salander, 2012). On the other hand, the disadvantage of narrow definitions is that they foster programs of empirical research with limited value since they do not meet the reality in which individuals find themselves (Hill et al, 2000;Stifoss-Hanssen, 1999;La Cour, Hordam Ausker, and Hvidt, 2012).…”

“…A number of researchers argue that context must be accounted for when studying the spirituality of individuals and groups (Zinnbauer and Pargament, 2005;Churchill, 2009;Popp-Baier, 2010;La Cour, Hordam Ausker, and Hvidt, 2012). Popp-Baier (2010) thinks that researchers should analyze how people position themselves in different discourses, and which vocabularies they use in different contexts to articulate and interpret their activities, experiences, and worldviews.…”

Spiritualität - Sozialwissenschaftliche Perspektiven

“…(449) Auch Salander (2012) und Popp-Baier (2010) wenden sich gegen die Verwendung des Begris Spiritualität, weil dieser zu unspezisch verwendet wird und daher nur von geringem analytischem Wert ist (siehe auch Koenig 2008).…”