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Editor’s Note: We are very pleased to publish this article in honor of Fr. Lawrence Dunklee, who died of esophageal cancer on January 7 at Heart , Eau Claire, Wis. He had worked there since 2005, most recently as director of mission integration, following a nine-year stint as vicar for in the Diocese of La Crosse. A frequent contributor to Health , Fr. Dunklee prepared this article from a talk he delivered to a local Kiwanis Club in 2007. We are printing it with the kind permission of his sister, Donna M. Schultz of Waukesha, Wis. , and the Search for Common Ground

BY FR. LAWRENCE G. DUNKLEE, M.Div., M.A.

ack in the 1960’s, John Steinbeck wrote a beautiful book entitled Travels with Charley: In Search of America. It was a travelogue which recounted tales of a 1960 road trip he Btook around the with his French standard poodle, Charley. In the book, Steinbeck draws the distinction between a trip and a journey. A trip has a destination: we begin at Point A and end at Point B. However, Steinbeck stated a journey often takes us places that we hadn’t planned on going. Often times, we don’t take a journey, the journey takes us. We can look at this distinction as metaphor for So spirituality, then, is to be viewed as the char- our lives, and realize that the lives that we lead acteristics and qualities of our relationship with take us from one moment to another, from one the transcendent. Therefore, there is a universal experience to another, from one personal encoun- to spirituality. Everyone, regardless of ter to another. their religious background, may be said to have a For us as , there is almost a need, spirituality. Some may call that transcendent real- however, to somehow connect those moments, to ity with whom one seeks contact, “,” or as is say, “Where is this journey taking , and to what the case with many who are in 12-step programs end? What is the meaning and the purpose which such as AA, will speak simply of a “,” underlies it?” or they will sometimes say, “God, as we under- In many respects, that is what spirituality, stand Him.” properly understood, is all about. Too often, spiri- Even if one claims to be an atheist, rejecting tuality is viewed by people as synonymous any in God or religion, that person some- with religion. But the of the is that spir- how feels the need to search for and discover the ituality is much broader than religion. meaning and of his or her life. As the great Human spirituality can be defined in any num- philosopher Socrates once said, “An unexamined ber of ways. One of the best definitions I’ve heard life is one not worth living.” is one offered by Dean Ornish, a cardiologist from By contrast, religion is a very specific of San Francisco. He captures it very well when he beliefs about this transcendent that many says, “When I use the word spirituality, I don’t would call God. It is a set of beliefs which is usu- necessarily mean religion; I mean whatever it is ally expressed in some of a . It’s inter- that helps you feel connected to something that is esting, someone once asked me, “How can you larger than yourself.” define religion?” And I said, “I don’t know if I

62 MAY - JUNE 2011 www.chausa.org HEALTH PROGRESS can define it or not, but the IRS can define it.” In tors around the country, they took a look at how order to qualify for a -exempt status, there are physician’s religious or moral beliefs might affect very specific requirements before a group can be patient care. When asked about their religious called a religion or a church. One is that there has practice, 46 percent of the doctors surveyed said to be a creed which is shared by some kind of a they attend religious services twice a month, com- , big or small, a community of persons pared with 40 percent of the general public. When who pledge adherence to that creed, who pro- asked about how likely they are to carry religious fess a belief to it. Usually there is also a particu- lar language or vocabulary used to describe these It is very common for people spiritual experiences or beliefs. Certain texts or writings, then, are also adhered to. These may be to differentiate themselves the , or Sacred Scripture or the Koran. There as being spiritual, but not also will be various carried out to some- how give symbolic expression to those beliefs, the religious. , if one is Catholic, the Seder, if one is Jewish, going to Mecca for the hajj, if one is Muslim, are beliefs into their daily , 58 percent said they all various religious rituals. would do so, versus 73 percent of the general pub- It’s interesting, by the way, that human beings lic. are very ritualistic people by . If you don’t So we begin to see that there is a wide range of think we are, then try having a birthday without , as well as a differentiating of the party, cake and singing. As a nation, we don’t how that experience impacts on our professional, get much more ritualistic than the Super Bowl. In as well as our personal lives. fact some people are willing to spend much more Another trend within the U.S. particularly, and at that than they are the ones I oversee in the in general, is that not only on Sunday. do a greater number of people eschew organized While everyone has a spirituality, and thus religion, they often will borrow spiritual teach- this can be seen as a universal experience, not ings from various to create their own everyone has a religion, or at least practices it. It individual set of spiritual practices. For example, is interesting within the Catholic community to they’ll take some things that they pick up from the listen as people describe themselves at various Hindu, such as doing , but at the same time points in time as practicing Catholic, Orthodox they’ll pray the . Catholic, liberal Catholic, fallen-away Catholic, Therefore, it is interesting to note that on the or, my favorite, a recovering Catholic. I haven’t one hand, spirituality is a universal experience, figured out that one yet. Sometimes I feel that we i.e., everyone has it, but it is also a private one. Religion is more specific to the individ- Even if one claims to be an atheist, ual person; some people have it, some people don’t. Religion is almost always rejecting any belief in God or religion, is carried out in a community, there- fore, one can say that there is no such that person somehow feels the thing, really, as a “private religion.” need to search for and discover the My own particular point of view is that a private, religion-less spirituality, meaning and value of his or her life. while possible, is almost always harder to live out than is some form of a reli- are a chautauqua revival tent, as we try to fulfill gious spirituality. I had a friend of mine who said, John Keats’ description of the as, “I can pray to God out in the woods.” And I said, “Y’all come.” “That’s wonderful, I understand that; when was It is very common, though, for people to dif- the last time you did that?” And he said, “Well, I ferentiate themselves as being spiritual, but not haven’t had time to do that.” religious. Or they will differ about how much their We can have that spirituality, but when it is not religious beliefs impact upon their daily lives. As related to a religious community to which we feel one example, in a recent survey conducted by a connection and a commitment, it is more diffi- the of Chicago of about 1,200 doc- to consistently exercise or carry it out.

HEALTH PROGRESS www.chausa.org MAY - JUNE 2011 63 I think it is important to remember that never in On a final note, there is always the temptation to believe that when we the of mankind has there been a war or a start to speak about spirituality, we are entering into the nebulous, wonderful crusade fought over spirituality. world of divine, warm fuzzies. Noth- ing could be further from the . How, then, do these varying born, or raised, or have embraced at The spiritual Henri Nouwen approaches which attempt to discover some point in our life is, for us, and in once said, “The spiritual life does not meaning and purpose in life relate to our view, the true way to go. remove us from the world, but leads us one another? My own point of view At the same time, it is important deeper into it.” is that when a Christian, a Muslim, a for us to be able to respond and reach On a personal note, when I was pre- Buddhist and an atheist speak out from out to those of other traditions and paring these remarks, I could not help their own personal convictions, there approaches and beliefs with a hand of but think of a friend of mine. He and will inevitably be in all of them a spiri- friendship and a heart of mutual desire I shared many conversations tual underpinning which will resonate for seeking out the . together, despite the fact that he claimed — or at least can resonate — with the We can and we must work together. throughout his life that he was an atheist. other. We can and we must listen to one I said one time that because of that great Ultimately every human individual another. And we can and we must find noble he possessed, he wasn’t is unique, and the way in which that that common ground, which, when really an atheist, and he responded, “I individual chooses to relate to the tran- trod upon as brothers and sisters, can swear to God that I am.” scendent is unique. Spirituality is ulti- become, in the finest and fullest way, As he lay dying, we sat and talked mately personal, but it is also universal holy ground. about the films that we loved. One of in its appeal and in its experience. Ecumenical, interreligious dialogue our favorite films was called “The Keys Now that we have more clearly of the Kingdom.” The film, in part, was differentiated between the of We can and we must about the relationship between a spirituality and religion, the question and his friend who was a doctor, just as remains how do we all get along with work together. We can my friend was. And like my friend, the one another when we have differing doctor in the movie claimed to be an , approaches and language when and we must listen to atheist, although he was, indeed, a very we speak about this experience of the one another. And we can good man. transcendent, which many of us would He said to me, “Larry do you remem- call God? and we must find that ber what the doctor in the film said to I think it is important to remember the priest as he lay dying?” I said, “Yes that never in the history of mankind has common ground. I do,” and I smiled. The doctor told the there been a war or a crusade fought priest, just as he was breathing his last, over spirituality. Rather, it is the reli- and dialogue with those who may not “I really want to thank you because you gious expression of those spiritual val- share a belief in God, while challeng- never tried to bully me into heaven.” ues that has been so deeply felt, some- ing to say the least, must be our goal Echoing those same words, my own times even passionately felt, which has if we are to fulfill the most fundamen- friend died. And just as we shared so led to such stark and even, at times, vio- tal goals and the most noble of ideals many good moments of life on this lent confrontation. of our various religious and spiritual earth, I wouldn’t be surprised, and I In a and a world where it is traditions. will be so delighted, to say hello to him easy to become more divided on these We do so with joy and with a belief in again in the life which is to come. issues than united, there is a vital need the innate of every human per- We strive first to enter more deeply for what the late Cardinal Joseph Ber- son who walks this earth. These are the into our own world, and then into our nardin referred to as a common ground values which join us as human beings own life, to discover the meaning and for understanding. This requires the and help to create the human . purpose which there. But we are qualities of civility, mutual respect As one observer noted, “Spirituality called, just as my friend and I were, to and at least a certain level of , is to religion as is to .” Just as enter into one another’s world with lest we give in to the childish and - our are the means towards which, , with understanding, and ish tendencies that we all fight against, in halting fashion, we seek the goals of with a great desire for unity — the unity those tendencies of thinking that our justice, so also are religious practices of people of all ages, of all backgrounds, way is the only way. Even when we and of the ways in and of all beliefs. We ask in this spirit, believe that the approach or religious which we flawed human beings seek to and we pray that all may be one. in which we may have been meet the needs of the human spirit.

64 MAY - JUNE 2011 www.chausa.org HEALTH PROGRESS JOURNAL OF THE CATHOLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES www.chausa.org

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Reprinted from Health Progress, May-June 2011 Copyright © 2011 by The Catholic Health Association of the United States