religion and spirituality

[Adam Blatner]

Dear Rebecca and all, 
     Thinking about this discussion, it occurs to me, still somewhat cloudily, that sociometry might have something to contribute to the evolution of religion as the social organization of the spiritual impulse. 
     The problem, as I'm thinking about it now, is that I can discern two impulses within most religious groups. One group tends to be inclusive of everyone, wanting to reduce the boundary of us-versus-them. Love is a primary value, and the locus is this world.
      Another group tends to have given up on this world as being a possible paradise, and aims instead for personal salvation. Indeed, if I kill our church's enemies in the service of supporting our church, I'll be rewarded in the afterlife paradise. We will be saved, they will be damned.
     Often a single church has a mixture of the two sentiments. Is it a spectrum? I don't know. 

     (An interesting book has recently been published about how the Christian Church shifted in its central message from the former to the latter around the 11th century, not coincidentally when the Crusades were begun. The authors seek to reform the church, returning it to a more inclusive and love-oriented vision. Reference: Brock, Rita N. & Parker, Rebecca A. (2008). Saving paradise: how Christianity traded love of this world for crucifixion and empire. Boston: Beacon Press. )

    The question on another level is how can young people feel less alienated? Can church communities promote full authenticity? How much can a church include the natural conflicts and ambivalence, free-thinking and doubt, negative as well as positive emotions that are inevitable in adolescence? Do teens have to be and feel phony? Can encounter groups and role theory allow for people to admit less positively-valued feelings, attitudes, and the like? 

         Does this involve the training of church youth group leaders? What should be included in that training? 

    And other questions along this vein.

      Ken Wilber in a recent book titled Integral Spirituality noted that it is useless to rail against traditional religion. The spiritual intelligence is one aspect of humanity and can and in the long rund should be evolved, through and beyond tradtionalism. Some few may break free, but most of those will then re-affiliate with some other group, so the psychological-group needs will also become involved, along with the natural difficulties of group dynamics due to the fact that human higher consciousness has barely begun to emerge in our species. 

     This approach also fits with what Ann Hale mentioned. A religion for today can now integrate the idea of creativity, revision, review, and a non-fixity of doctrine. As I mention in the paper on postmodernism posted on my website, what if we make creativity itself a core value? 

   warmly, Adam
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