Defining religion and spirituality

In their article entitled Spirituality and the re-branding of religion (2012) Jeremy Carrette and Richard King explore how religion and spirituality can not have one single definition as they are forever changing and function differently for each individual and society.The article opens ones eyes to the way spirituality can no longer be defined by one set term; it is used for personal fulfillment of individuals as well as for corporations (to promote corporate efficiency). Carrette and King bring to the fore another key point- that spirituality has become a cultural addiction and remedy for everyday perils. It is fascinating that spirituality has been adopted in so many ways, but there is a problem with  the lack of clarity surrounding the word spirituality and religion, as people try to define something that is ultimately undefinable. 


The definition of religion has been something mankind has obsessed about since the Enlightenment (Carrette & King). This is an interesting point, as it positions our own modern day questions about 'what is religion?' with those asked centuries ago. The article makes the reader consider that such a question can never have a conclusive answer, as different cultures and societies view religion in a different way. This is not only apparent through the different practices, beliefs, and traditions of religions, but in a political, economical, and corporate sphere too. There can be no definitive definition to religion and spirituality (Carrette and King). It is interesting, then, that religion has become so deconstructed and given names and values for its different uses. Humans want the definitive, and if this cannot be achieved they will find ways of filling in the gaps--this could be how spirituality has played such a big role in new-age and individualistic religion recently. 


One point that comes up in the article is that the religious and spiritual should not stand separately from social, political, and economic concerns (Carette and King). This is important as society often feels that religion trumps all, and can overwrite, for example, economic concerns. However, as religion and spirituality are intertwined with branches such as economics a neglect of the latter's importance could also be detrimental to the former. Carrette and King delve into the emergence of neo-liberalism and capitalist spirituality. They bring up the dilemma of people labeling such sectors as not 'true' or 'real' spirituality (Carette and King). This is problematical as if something is not 'true' spirituality, then it means something else is. If this is the case, then spirituality and religion would be able to be definitively defined. Because spirituality has woven itself with peoples everyday lives, so much that it is an obsession, one can not justly say that something is un-spiritual as spirituality is different for every individual--no ones daily lives are exactly the same, so how could their spirituality be exactly the same?

Carette and King make it clear that spirituality and religion can not be defined merely by their terms in the dictionary. The construction of each depend of the different individuals and societies, and what spirituality is to them. This is not only applied to the every-day person finding spirituality in their lives, but also in economics, politics, and corporations. 


Image:


http://www.spirituality.in/definitions-of-spirituality/


Sources:


Carrette J and R King. 2012. Spirituality and the Re-branding of Religion. In Lynch G. and J. Mitchell with A. Strhan. Eds., Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader. 59-70. London and New York: Routledge.