Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2010 The Practice and Meaning of Communitarian Spirituality in the Focolare Movement Nori Henk Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Henk, Nori, "The Practice and Meaning of Communitarian Spirituality in the Focolare Movement" (2010). Dissertations. 264. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/264 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 2010 Nori Henk LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO THE PRACTICE AND MEANING OF COMMUNITARIAN SPIRITUALITY IN THE FOCOLARE MOVEMENT A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM IN SOCIOLOGY BY NORI HENK CHICAGO, IL DECEMBER 2010 Copyright by Nori Henk, 2010 All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have often daydreamed about writing this section of the dissertation because it would denote the end of a very long and arduous process, and I have to say that it is both exciting and wonderful to finally get to write it. I think that it is fairly obvious that my first note of gratitude should go to my committee, Dr. Fred Kniss, Dr. Marilyn Krogh and Dr. R. Stephen Warner. They remained patient, encouraging and understanding during the entire process. I want to thank Dr. Kniss, the chair of the committee, whose comments were helpful in guiding me through that very tricky balance between theorizing and concretizing, especially due to my tendencies to be purely descriptive or far too abstract. I knew that Dr. Krogh’s eyes would keep me from getting lost in the forest. Finally, Dr. Warner’s voice remained in my head the entire time—what’s new about the Focolare Movement? I was guided by this question while working to properly collect, categorize and interpret the data. Of course, the committee’s support made the difference in making it through to the end, and I have considerable gratitude to each one of them for helping me make it to the finish line. I want to thank Loyola University Chicago for the collegiate, financial, and administrative support I received. Although I spent a great deal of time working on the dissertation away from the campus, I relied on institutional support through the Arthur J. Schmidt Dissertation fellowship from 2007-2008, which gave me the opportunity to spend an entire year collecting and analyzing data. Within Loyola University Chicago, I iii want to thank the Department of Sociology. The Graduate Program Director, Anne Figert, and the Academic Programs Assistant, Rosa Negussie were instrumental in getting me through the deadline hoops and ensuring that I remained in good stead with the university. I am very proud to receive a doctorate from the Department of Sociology at Loyola University Chicago, as it is evident that they instill confidence and skills for doing good research. This is a prestigious degree from a prestigious university. Finally, I want to thank my family, my fellow graduate school friends, and my faith community who were enormously supportive, loving and patient from beginning to end. As every doctorate student can attest, there are times when the challenge confronts you as impossible or after months of working on the dissertation that you feel overwhelmingly isolated, and it is your friends and family that carry you through that. First, I want to thank my parents, siblings, niece, and nephews who kept me properly balanced when I needed to be and properly focused on what really matters in life. I want to personally thank the following dissertators for their encouragement along the way: John Stover, Sarah Schott, Meghan Burke, Lenore Johnson, Katie Pacyna, Marc Rittle, Kim Fox, Sara Plachta-Elliott, and Melissa Jinariu. I look forward to being friends with you post-dissertation, doing the kinds of activities that do not involve hanging out at coffee shops for hours on end. I want to thank my faith community both in downtown Los Angeles and at Azusa Pacific University. Thanks for not asking me how the dissertation was going, rather just letting me be as normal as possible. Finally, I want to thank my best friend and the love of my life, Nate Lowe. Meeting you certainly was the best thing I could have ever asked for. From ABD to PhD, I think life is about to become iv a lot more enjoyable, but given the friends and my family I have in my life, it was pretty wonderful to begin with. Thank you! v For my parents, Greg and Robyn Henk. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ABSTRACT x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 Purpose of Study and Research Questions 4 Literature Review: The Intersection between Religion and Social Movements 4 Explaining Movement Emergence and Longevity: The Cultural Context and NRMs 5 Religious Organization Typologies and RMO Theory 8 Religious Meaning, Movement Agency and Collective Identity 12 Methodology 17 Outline of Study 20 CHAPTER TWO: A DIFFERENT WORLD: THE CONCEPTS OF PURPOSE AND AGENCY 24 Part I: They Weren’t Super Heroes: Transforming Discontent into Attraction to the Focolare Movement 25 Framing Religious Discontent: The Search for Meaning, Change, and “Real Christianity” 26 Mobilization and Recruitment into the FM 29 Part II: Going Deeper into the Spirituality of Unity: The Pre-Stage to Commitment to the Focolare Movement 33 Testing the Spirituality: Putting the Spirituality of Unity into Practice 33 Connecting to Chiara’s Story 35 Going Deeper : An Organized Approach to Learning about the Spirituality 37 Part III: Going Ahead and Saying Your Yes: Making a Commitment to a Vocation in the Focolare Movement 40 Sacrifice and Discernment 41 Developing the Calling: The Logistical and Sacred Dimension 43 Solidifying the Calling: Saying Yes to the Movement 45 Discussion: Deprivation, Agency and a Religious Social Movement 50 Spiritual Discontent and a Religious Social Movement 50 The Role of Agency in a Religious Social Movement 51 CHAPTER THREE: A CHANGED WORLD: A VISION FOR A MORE PERFECT SOCIETY 55 Part I: Exploring the Institutional Arrangement of the FM within the Church Hierarchy 57 Part II: Exemplifying the Innovative Structure of the FM 60 The New Family: Responding to the Needs of the Family 60 vii The New Humanity: Overcoming Cultural Differences 62 Universal Brotherhood: Building Interreligious Dialogue 71 Part III: Innovation in the Catholic Church from the Ground Up 81 Structural Opportunity for a Lay-Based Social Movement: The Effect of Vatican II 82 Social Change Projects: The New Role of the Laity in the Church 84 CHAPTER FOUR: A WORLD FOR THE OTHER: ACTS OF LOVE 86 Part I: The Moral Project: Performing Acts of Love as a Unifying Dynamic between Self and Others 88 Acts of Love: Intentionally Relational 89 Acts of Love: Bringing About the Movement Goal of Unity 90 Acts of Love: Being like Christ Brings Them Closer to God 90 Acts of Love: Foundation for Building the FM Community 92 Part II: Structuring and Building Community through the Art of Loving 96 Organizational Mechanisms of Unity: Word of Life Meetings 97 Organizational Mechanism of Unity: Updating Meetings 100 Organizational Goals: Building Solidarity and Commitment 103 Part III: Cultural Influences of Catholicism and Mainstream Culture 105 Catholic Cultural Influence on the Community 105 Mainstream Cultural Influences on the Community 106 Part IV: The New Catholic Identity: The Worldly and Sacred Purpose for Building a United World 108 Part V: Discussion: The Communitarian Model and its Relationship to a Religious Social Movement 111 The Communitarian Model: Catholic Renewal Movements and Mainstream Cultural Influences 112 The Communitarian Model: Religious Movement Organization Theory 115 The Communitarian Model: Responding to the Spiritual Needs of Religious Individuals 117 Conclusion 120 CHAPTER FIVE: A SEAMLESS WORLD: THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF THE FOCOLARE SPIRITUALITY 122 Data Analysis: Everyday Experiences and the Focolare Spirituality 123 Sharing Experiences Reveals the Impact of the FM Spirituality 124 Sharing Experiences Brings Jesus in the Midst 130 Sharing Experiences Sustains Commitment 136 Discussion: Everyday Experiences as a Meaning-Making Process in the FM 140 A Symbolic Interactionist Approach to the Everyday 140 Religion and the Everyday 144 Social Movements and the Everyday 146 viii CHAPTER SIX: SUFFERING IN THE WORLD: A RELIGIOUS SOCIAL MOVEMENT APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM OF THEODICY 149 Part I: The FM Spirituality Response to Suffering: Jesus Forsaken 151 Unpacking Jesus Forsaken 151 Health, Death-Related and Family Conflict Experiences, and Jesus Forsaken 153 Part II: Suffering and the Sacred 156 Resolving Theodicy: Growing Closer to God and Increased Commitment to the FM 156 Health, Death-Related, and Family Related Experiences, and Theodicy 158 Part III: Positive Effects of the FM Spirituality: Coping with Suffering and Social Change 163 Transforming Suffering into Social Change 163 Relating to Chiara’s Story of How She Turned Her Suffering into Social Change 165 Exemplar: Health, the FM Spirituality, and Social Change 166 Part IV: A Sociological Understanding of Suffering and a Religious Social Movement 169 A Sociological Approach to Religion and Suffering