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Religion and Spirituality: the Politics of Emphasis

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Religion and Spirituality: the Politics of Emphasis Religion and Spirituality: The Politics of Emphasis by Esther Toews A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The Universitlz of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Religion University of Manitoba Winnipeg Copyright O 2008 by Esther Toews THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA FACULTY OF GRADUATB STUDIES COPYRIGHT PERMISSION Religion and Spirituality: The Politics of Emphasis BY Esther Toews A ThesisÆracticum submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirement of the degree of Master of Arts Esther Toews O 2008 Permission has been granted to the University of Manitoba Libraries to lend a copy of this thesis/practicum, to Library and Archives Canada (LAC) to lend a copy of this thesis/practicum, and to LAC's agent (UMI/ProQuest) riil:ïiil#;,..:tl:oot.r and to publish an abstract of this This reproduction or copy of this thesis has been made available by authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research, and may only be reproduced and copietl as permitted by copyright laws or with express written authorization from the copyright owner. For Leah, Elena, and Anika - three aspiring feminists, and for Darryl - a radical Reformer in his own right. Table of Contents Page Preface ...... i Thesislntroduction... ......... I Chapter 1: The Framework ...... ..... 15 Introduction..... .......... 15 Secularization-The Separation of the Realms ........ 19 Spirituality and its Institution - Religion in the Westem World ...........26 Authority-KnowledgeisPower...... .........32 Revolution - Social Movement Theory . .... 37 Conclusion ......... 39 Chapter 2: Socio-political Background of the Pre-Reformation Period ..... 43 Introduction..... .......43 The Church - Stronghold of Medieval Europe ....... 45 Anticlericalism - The Stronghold under Siege . .... 50 Humanism - A New Way of Thinking ... ... .. 53 Mysticism - Free Spirits for All .. .. 59 Martin Luther-New Relations within Old Structures .... ........63 Conclusion - The Late Medieval Surroundings of the Radical Reformers ......65 Chapter 3: The Radical Reformers . .. .... 69 Introduction..... ...........69 Conrad Grebel - The Spirit Resides in the V/ord . .. .. ..... 72 Caspar Schwenckfeld - Spirit as the True Nature of All ......... 78 Thomas Müntzer - Prophet of a Purging Spirit .. .... 86 Conclusion - Exteriority and Interiority are Co-dependent . .. .... 93 Chapter 4: The Development of Spiritual Ecofeminism ....... 98 Introduction..... ......... 98 The Development of Feminism - The Shedding of Tradition . .. ..... 99 Postmodemism - All is Questionable .... ......... 107 Ecology and the Environmental Movement - Science or Religion? ... .... 1 i I TheNewAgeMovement-SpiritualFree-f(or)-All . ...... 115 Ecofeminism - The Path to Radical Egalitarianism (?) ... 119 Conclusion - Challenging the Modern Worldview in the 20th Century ........126 Chapter 5: The Spiritual Ecofeminists . ..... ... 128 Introduction ... .. ....... 128 Sallie McFague - Reverting to Christianity's True Message ... 130 Carol Christ - All Knowledge is Equal (Unless you are Wrong) ...... 138 Starhawk - Calling for Magical Politics ... 146 Conclusion - All Knowledge is Valuable .. I54 Chapter6: Knowing-TheHeartof theMatter ...... 158 Works Cited ........167 Preface Greg Anderson wrote: "Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it."l This may be true for many aspects of life, for a Master's thesis, however, not so much. I'm very glad to have arrived at the end of this process, yet the journey it took to get here still deserves some attention. In the beginning, there was a phone call to my closest friend in Germany during which the conversation somehow turned towards faith and religion. When I asked her about her religious affiliation she replied that she was not religious, but spiritual. This statement fascinated me, especially since my friend seemed to assume that its meaning was obvious. I felt that I had a vague understanding of what she was trying to convey with her statement but was also intrigued by its underlying assumption that religion and spirituality might constitute mutually exclusive concepts. At the time of this phone call I was still in the process of formulating my thesis proposal. I had just decided to compare the groups of the radical Reformers and the spiritual Ecofeminists. This idea relied on a sense that both groups were somehow engaging in very similar socio-political activities in spite of the 450 years that separated them. I also had a hunch that both groups could somehow further my investigation of the religion-spirituality-issue. My friend's statement had planted the seed of interest in the relationship between religion and spirituality which would play a major role in the development of my thesis. This thesis deals to a great extent with the distinction between cognitive ways of knowing and experiential ways of knowing. Through a careful and weary distillation process I ascertained these two types of epistemological methods as the foundational I http ://thinkexi st. com/quotation s/j ourney/, accessed I uly 22"d, 2008. 11 difference between religious institutionalization and spirituality. The differences in the social and political aspects associated with religion and spirituality in the popular understanding derive from this essential disparity. Associating religious institutionalization with an emphasis on cognitive ways of knowing and viewing spirituality as relying on experiential ways of knowing can explain why and how spirituality can be a useful political tool in challenging the authority of a religious institution. Since I began to grapple with the ideas of cognitive and experiential knowledge in reference to religion and spirituality I have found much wider applications for these concepts in daily life, e.g. in my thesis writing process. My thesis began with experiencing a sense, a hunch, a feeling, and an intuition regarding the importance of investigating the spirituality-religion-relationship. The actual process of writing was more or less an exercise in 'cognifying' hunch, sense, feeling and intuition into actual comprehension for myself by means of extensive research, or, in other words, by acquiring cognitive knowledge transmitted through the medium of academic texts. The purpose of writing the thesis was to convey my own experiences with the literature in a more communicable form that was more accessible to others than the actual experiences. My thesis can therefore be understood, to some extent, as presenting a medium or external source that relays cognitive knowledge about my owTt personal experience to whoever will care to read it. Now, at the end of this process, I feel that I understand my friend's statement of being spiritual but not religious, probably to a greater extent than she does herself. 111 I have tried to come up with an analogy for the thesis writing process. It appears to me that gathering the necessary information, tracing all relevant connections, and safeguarding all argumentation against attack as much as possible is not unlike trying to traverse an incredibly tangled and thomy bush while trying to come out clean and intact on the other side. I would like to acknowledge the indispensable support of my advisor, Prof. Kenneth Mackendrick, in my process of passing through the bush. He continuously urged me to disentangle its branches further and pointed out some of its major thorns. Our discussions were always fruitful and his excellent leadership style that kept my work in check while allowing for independence on my part is very much appreciated. I would also like to thank Prof. Johannes Wolfart for countless ways in which our many years of working together improved my research and writing skills and influenced my ideas and perceptions in many areas including history and its significance for any subject matter. His guidance and support was invaluable and shaped cerlain aspects of this thesis, in particular, the sections regarding the radical Reformers. Other people who helped me achieve this goal are Verna Pfrimmer, who edited several sections of this thesis and was always available to receive frustrated and discouraged phone calls, my husband Danyl Toews, for whom my academic activities often translated into single fatherhood, and my German friend Sonja Sauer, whose casual remark regarding her religious affiliation tumed out to be a major contribution to this project. Thesis Introduction Over the last twenty years some sociologists have studied a phenomenon they call a'spiritual revolution'.1 According to their findings, this revolution encompasses a large percentage of the general North American populationt f.orn various religious backgrounds who depict 'spirituality' as an entity separate from 'religion' and give emphasis to the former over the latter.3 Sociologists treat this phenomenon as a new, groundbreaking development that promotes people's subjectivity, that responds to the increased variety of options in the 'spiritual marketplace', and that signifies a general social mood of aversion to and distrust of formal organizations.a Very few religious studies scholars have dealt specifically with the spiritual revolution, although, according to Anna S. King, use of the term 'spirituality' rather than 'religion' has become increasingly common in the academic literature of the past 15 or so years.s A more detailed investigation of
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