POSTMODERN SPIRITUALITY POSTMODERN SPIRITUALITY Based on Papers Read at the Symposium on Postmodern Spirituality Held at Åbo, Finland, on 11–13 June 2008 Edited by Tore Ahlbäck Editorial Assistant Björn Dahla Published by the Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History Åbo, Finland Distributed by Tibo-Trading Ltd. Pargas, Finland Editorial secretary Maria Vasenkari Linguistic editing Sarah Bannock & Heidi Granqvist ISSN 0582-3226 ISBN 978-952-12-2305-1 Printed in Finland by Vammalan kirjapaino Sastamala 2009 Editorial Note he present volume in the Donner Institute series Scripta Instituti TDonneriani Aboensis has the theme ‘Postmodern Spirituality’. A few words on what we mean by this might be called for, and to this purpose, we quote a few lines from our description of the subject in the Call for Papers sent out in preparation of the symposium: ‘Postmodern spirituality is here, in contrast to traditional spirituality, understood as a form of spirituality that appears as an alternative to conventional religion. It refers to the way people outside of the established religions and religious movements handle existential and spiritual issues. They do not choose “ready-made” solutions, but in true eclectic spirit themselves decide what they want to believe in and create their own combinations and sets of answers to existential questions. .­ Postmodern spirituality has an individualistic image. It is spiritual in the sense of being the opposite of materialistic, and it is intramundane in contrast to extramundane religiosity; it is essentially about what the world is like and how one should live in it. .’ Basically, it was this description of the theme that inspired the writ- ing of the articles included in the present volume based on papers read at the symposium on Postmodern Spirituality held in Åbo, Finland on 11–13 June 2008. Although we, the Organizing Committee, thought our descrip- tion was excellent, it turned out, as the readers themselves will realise, that most of the writers had their own, or a so-called stipulative definition of ‘Postmodern Spirituality’, which is either openly declared or implicit in their text. We were not, however, very surprised—we knew that this is a relatively new area of research and that it will take a long time yet for a consensus to be reached on central concepts and definitions. Nevertheless, the Organizing Committee is quite pleased with the results published in the present volume—and we hope that the readers will also be so. 5 Contents Antoon Geels Glocal Spirituality for a brave new world . 8 Sarah Goldingay Watching the Dead Speak. The role of the audience, imagination, and belief in late modern spiritualism . 25 Andreas Häger Bob Dylan and Religion . 44 Nils G. Holm Mysticism and Spirituality . 61 Ralph W. Hood Jr. Them That Believe. A postmodern exploration of the contemporary Christian serpent-handlers of Appalachia . 72 JP Jakonen Beyond Postmodern Spirituality. Ken Wilber and the Integral approach . 92 Maria Liljas Stålhandske Necessary and Impossible. On spiritual questions in relation to early induced abortion . 110 Marcus Moberg Popular Culture and the ‘Darker Side’ of Alternative Spirituality. The case of metal music . 130 Dominika Motak Postmodern Spirituality and the Culture of Individualism . 149 Janne Juhana Rantala Magic Hat Economics. Counter-cultural ideals and practices of the Nordig Ting Community . 162 6 Britta Rensing Individual Belief and Practice in Neopagan Spirituality . 182 Sofia Sjö Postmodern Messiahs. The changing saviours of contemporary popular culture . 196 Göran Viktor Ståhle A Matter of Balance in a Fast Paced Society. Performing Ayurvedic health counselling . 213 Teemu Taira The Problem of Capitalism in the Scholarship on Contemporary Spirituality . 230 Kirsi Tirri Spirituality in Education . 245 Barbara Wintersgill Andrew Wright’s Critical Realism, Clive Erricker’s Radical Postmodernism and Teenage Perceptions of Spirituality . 259 Biographical Notes . 277 7 ANTOON GEELS Glocal Spirituality For a brave new world ne of my colleagues spent a long time among the Maasai in Kenya, Olearning about their religion, language, and culture. When on an excur- sion he felt the need to respond to the call of nature. He excused himself and walked to some bushes nearby. Upon his return, two young Maasai men ex- changed meaningful looks, and suddenly one of them ran to the place where the Swedish scholar had relieved himself. When he came back he smiled and said to his friend: ‘Yes, it has the same smell as ours!’ The empirical research of the young Maasai could be regarded as a search for commonalities. As far as the body and bodily functions are concerned it is, of course, not difficult to find aspects of life that we share with others. When we are in the sauna, there is no difference between nobility and the common- er, between the privileged and unprivileged. If we move from somatic view- points to the psychological level, then there still are common denominators between people of different cultures. We all have cognitive capacities, and we all share different types of feelings. On the cultural level, however, there are differences. We can all laugh, but we do not laugh at the same kind of jokes. In top-level politics we sometimes notice that politicians leave their pres- tigious positions and associate as ordinary human beings. If I am well in- formed, this is what happened at Camp David, USA, when Israeli Menachem Begin met his counterpart, the Egyptian Anwar Sadat, under the supervi- sion of President Jimmy Carter. When negotiations were kind of sluggish, they showed each others pictures of their grandchildren. After that, there was agreement. Perhaps this is the kind of social activity that is needed in a brave new world. If top-level politicians, and their low-level counterparts, as well as other persons in leading positions, every now and then can step down from their ivory tower and privileged positions and look at pictures from their fam- ily albums, then that would give me hope. And if they forgot their pictures, they could cook dinner together, or do some gardening. Such action would remind them of their humanity. Perhaps they would wake up and discover that life is worth living—and preserving; that nature is worth respecting and 8 Glocal Spirituality caring for; and that our universe gives us a sense of wonder and surprise. Despite all technological progress, life is still a mystery. We do not even un- derstand our own mind. The mysteriousness of the human predicament ought to create a sense of humility. The fragility of the human predicament ought to create a feeling that we all belong to the very same humanity. Life in the world has always been unpredictable, but it has never been as unforeseen or incalculable as it is in our time. People are struck by natural disasters, such as tsunamis, earth- quakes, and cyclones. What has all this to do with spirituality? In my opinion, spirituality, as it will be presented in a little while, can serve as an antidote to an all too disre- spectful attitude towards our fellow human beings, towards life in general. If the world is ‘a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing’, then there will be egoism instead of altruism, selfishness instead of unselfish action in the service of mankind. If the Scottish king Macbeth, in the version of Shakespeare, is right, then bad turns to worse. World leaders and people in powerful positions will continue providing privileges to the loyal and suppressive action to the unprivileged and ‘disloyal’. Feudal society is alive and well, although in different forms. Spirituality can be an antidote to this selfish and destructive attitude. Spirituality might unite a greater part of the world in the battle for survival. Our world, Gaia, is threatened, as we all know. Apart from the usual disasters as seemingly never-ending wars and conflicts we now also have to confront global threats such as climate changes, global pollution, and food distribution problems. In such a world everything has to be done in order to promote the fundamental idea that we only have one planet and one humanity. Spirituality addresses such issues. Spirituality, in the words of Linda Wood head, comprises two poles, one personal and one cosmic. On the one hand, man feels the urge to develop his or her own potential; on the other hand, no man is an island, as the poet (John Donne) says, we are all part of the continent. This holistic view takes egalitarianism for granted. It also provides a new interpretation of the archaic idea of living on Mother Earth, who is in need of our careful attention. The purpose of this paper is to show that people who express the view that they are ‘spiritual, not religious’, people belonging to what can be called the new spirituality, despite their aversion to institutionalized religion never- theless exhibit elements in their belief-systems that are closely related to the great mystical traditions in world religion. These common denominators are, I think, a good ground for dialogue. When theologians from especially the 9 Antoon Geels theistic traditions more often than not search for differences, mystics and rep- resentatives for the new spirituality are more inclined to find commonalities. At a time when elements of traditional Christianity such as the belief in a transcendent God show signs of being in decline, there seems to be an in- creasing interest in the predominant mystical and panentheistic view of God, stating that God is both immanent and transcendent. The new spirituality It is perhaps unnecessary to mention that one has to make a choice in the extensive research that has been reported in the field of spirituality during the last decade.