The Spiritual Revolution Why Religion is Giving Way to Spirituality

by Heelas, Paul; Woodhead, Linda; Seel, Benjamin; Szerszynski, Bronislaw; Tusting, Karin

• ISBN13: 9781405119597
• ISBN10: 1405119594
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-01-14
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This lively and highly accessible book presents a fascinating picture of belief in the western world. Drawing on an in-depth locality study of religion and spirituality in the English town of Kendal, Cumbria, this book addresses the most pressing question in the study of religion today: are new forms of spirituality overtaking traditional forms of religion, particularly Christianity? By combining pioneering findings from Kendal with existing evidence from the USA and Europe, this book shows that there is a good deal to support the claim that a spiritual revolution is well underway in the UK and arguably even further advanced in the USA. In explaining this development, the volume offers a new theoretical approach to the study of contemporary religion which can help make sense of both secularization and sacralization, and which leads to some startling predictions about the future of religion and spirituality in the west.

Author Biography

Paul Heelas is Professor in Religion and Modernity and Linda Woodhead is Senior Lecturer in Christian Studies, both in the Department of Religious Studies at Lancaster University, UK. They have written extensively on religion and spirituality in the modern world.

Table of Contents

List of Plates	viii
Preface	x
Introduction	1	(11)
1 Distinguishing Religion and Spirituality: Findings from Kendal	12	(21)
2 Testing the Spiritual Revolution Claim in Kendal	33	(16)
3 Evidence for a Spiritual Revolution: Britain and USA	49	(28)
4 Bringing the Sacred to Life: Explaining Sacralization and Secularization	77	(52)
5 Looking to the Future	129	(22)
Appendices	151	(8)
Notes	159	(17)
References	176	(14)
Index	190