Social Practices and Cultural Contexts

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Spirituality is a part of religious practice, encompassing embodiment, materiality, emotion, aesthetics, morality, and narrative. Nancy Ammerman highlights the internal dynamics of these dimensions.

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Institution: Boston University

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Spirituality is a part of religious practice, encompassing embodiment, materiality, emotion, aesthetics, morality, and narrative. Nancy Ammerman highlights the internal dynamics of these dimensions.

Image courtesy of interviewee. January 15, 2024

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The speaker discusses the limitations of traditional sociological studies of religion, which often rely on surveys that quantify beliefs and affiliations. They argue that this approach fails to capture the true essence of spirituality and its presence in people's lives. By conducting fieldwork and engaging with individuals, one can identify deeper themes related to spirituality, which varies significantly across different cultures and contexts.

Spirituality is described as a multifaceted concept that can exist both within organized religion and outside it, often intertwined with people's daily practices and moral frameworks. The speaker emphasizes that spirituality is not merely an abstract idea but is grounded in tangible activities and experiences, highlighting the importance of the physical and communal aspects of spiritual practices.

Furthermore, the speaker challenges the notion that spirituality and religiosity are mutually exclusive, noting that many people view themselves as both spiritual and religious. They suggest that participation in spiritual or religious gatherings is crucial for moral and civic development, arguing that those who lack such experiences may struggle to navigate the world effectively. Ultimately, the speaker calls for a broader understanding of spirituality and a recognition of its significance in everyday life, advocating for more engagement with people's personal spiritual narratives.

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In my field in sociology, a lot

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of the way people have understood religion has been

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primarily through surveys

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and through, counting up how many people believe this

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or that, how many people belong to this or that.

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And it just seemed to me

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that we were really truncating our understanding

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of the presence of religion

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and society by doing it that way.

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And that if we got out into the field

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and followed some people around

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and asked them to tell some stories about their lives,

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that we might discover that there's more going on than,

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than just what they check off on a survey.

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First of all, I think it's important to understand

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that spirituality means a lot

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of different things in different contexts,

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in different places in the world.

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So, it, there's no one thing

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that constitutes spirituality, as such.

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So we really have to ask what do the people we're talking to

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understand, to be spirituality?

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What I then have done in working with that material,

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with those stories is to, look

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for the kind of common themes.

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And the common themes tend to be around in experiencing

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or believing there to be something beyond the everyday,

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something beyond what we can see and, and touch,

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and that there's some presence

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or reality in the larger world that, is important,

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and that can be, a part of people's lives.

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Morality is, the way we orient,

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the decisions we make about how we, how we move

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through the world, what we believe to be right and wrong.

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Spirituality, is a much more neutral sort of,

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phenomenon, if you will.

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Uh, it can be oriented toward things that are harmful.

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It can be oriented toward things that are helpful

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and encouraging and comforting and empowering.

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Uh, but, it is, it's a much more, yes,

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amorphous and somewhat neutral kind of, understanding

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of what's out there, in the world.

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One of the things that's interesting about spirituality is

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that while we talk about it as something that's kind

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of amorphous and out there, it always has connections

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to things that are actually in, that we can observe

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that are in this world.

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Uh, so when people are engaged in spiritual practices,

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they almost always are doing things with their bodies.

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They're, in physical places.

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They have candles or they have altars

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or they wear jewelry, all sorts of things

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that either remind them of that spiritual presence

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or invoke that spiritual presence.

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Uh, so the materiality

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and the embodiment is very much a part of what it means

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to have a spiritual dimension in one's life.

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One of the things that's a problem

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in thinking about spirituality is to think about it

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as something that is this amorphous, otherworldly thing.

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And when we start to think about, really trying

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to understand it

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and understanding it as something

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that happens in this world, then we begin

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to see these multiple dimensions of what's going on

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with spirituality.

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And spirituality is simply one aspect

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of the practices that people are engaged in.

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The, the materiality, the embodiment, the aesthetics,

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the moral dimensions.

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Those are things that are very much present in the midst

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of the things that people are doing that they see

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as their spiritual lives.

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The core argument I'm trying to make is that, this

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spirituality is something that can exist both in

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religious contexts that we recognize

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as organized religious places,

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but also exists in many other, places in, in the world

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and in people's lives.

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And that it exists in very different ways,

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in different kinds of contexts around the world, that

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what we think of in the US

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or in Europe as spirituality is often divorced from

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religious traditions and religious institutions.

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People have thought about this as something that's an either

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or, you're either spiritual

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or you're religious, but not both.

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But the reality is

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that most religious people think they're spiritual.

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And many of the people who are spiritual say

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that they're spiritual, but not religious.

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Not so much because they're really different from religious

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people, but because they don't like the way

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religion has been organized

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and the kinds of things that religion has stood

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for in their experience.

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Certainly theologians would argue,

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and many anthropologists would argue

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that human beings simply have a kind of spiritual

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dimension in their lives that, that we,

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that's part of the human condition.

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Now, you know, lots of people would also argue that no,

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I can be just an ordinary secular person and,

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and I don't recognize anything, extraordinary in the,

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in the world, but that's actually a pretty small,

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proportion of the population that will make that assertion

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that there's just really nothing else.

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But what we see, I actually worry more about people

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who don't seek out some kind of spiritual

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or religious gathering

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or assembly to be a part of, than I worry about people

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who don't have some sort of active spiritual experience

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or spiritual life.

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Those, those gatherings turn out

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to be extraordinarily important

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For how we are formed as moral people

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and how we're formed as citizens.

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And, without those, we have pretty good evidence.

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Uh, people really struggle, to find a kind

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of moral centered, find a kind of way of engaging the world

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and their societies in productive ways.

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It is important to actually ask people what they're doing

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and ask people where they intersect with something

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beyond themselves in their lives.

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Uh, we've, we've really gotten into a situation

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where we have, such a limited understanding

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of what spirituality is, what religion is,

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and the people that are

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around us every day probably could enlighten us a lot.

Rethinking Spirituality and Religion in Sociology

00:00:00 - In my field in sociology, a lot of the way people have understood religion has been primarily through surveys and through, counting up how many people believe this or that, how many people belong to this or that. And it just seemed to me that we were really truncating our understanding of the presence of religion and society by doing it that way. And that if we got out into the field and followed some people around and asked them to tell some stories about their lives, that we might discover that there's more going on than,
00:00:36 - First of all, I think it's important to understand that spirituality means a lot of different things in different contexts, in different places in the world. So, it, there's no one thing that constitutes spirituality, as such. So we really have to ask what do the people we're talking to understand, to be spirituality? What I then have done in working with that material,
00:01:06 - for the kind of common themes. And the common themes tend to be around in experiencing or believing there to be something beyond the everyday, something beyond what we can see and, and touch, and that there's some presence or reality in the larger world that, is important, and that can be, a part of people's lives. Morality is, the way we orient,
00:01:40 - through the world, what we believe to be right and wrong. Spirituality, is a much more neutral sort of, phenomenon, if you will. it can be oriented toward things that are harmful. It can be oriented toward things that are helpful and encouraging and comforting and empowering. but, it is, it's a much more, yes, amorphous and somewhat neutral kind of, understanding
00:02:12 - One of the things that's interesting about spirituality is that while we talk about it as something that's kind of amorphous and out there, it always has connections to things that are actually in, that we can observe that are in this world. so when people are engaged in spiritual practices, they almost always are doing things with their bodies. They're, in physical places. They have candles or they have altars
00:02:44 - that either remind them of that spiritual presence or invoke that spiritual presence. so the materiality and the embodiment is very much a part of what it means to have a spiritual dimension in one's life. One of the things that's a problem in thinking about spirituality is to think about it as something that is this amorphous, otherworldly thing.

Exploring the Dimensions of Spirituality in Society

00:03:16 - to understand it and understanding it as something that happens in this world, then we begin to see these multiple dimensions of what's going on with spirituality. And spirituality is simply one aspect of the practices that people are engaged in. The, the materiality, the embodiment, the aesthetics, the moral dimensions.
00:03:48 - of the things that people are doing that they see as their spiritual lives. The core argument I'm trying to make is that, this spirituality is something that can exist both in religious contexts that we recognize as organized religious places, but also exists in many other, places in, in the world and in people's lives.
00:04:16 - in different kinds of contexts around the world, that what we think of in the US or in Europe as spirituality is often divorced from religious traditions and religious institutions. People have thought about this as something that's an either or, you're either spiritual or you're religious, but not both. But the reality is that most religious people think they're spiritual.
00:04:46 - that they're spiritual, but not religious. Not so much because they're really different from religious people, but because they don't like the way religion has been organized and the kinds of things that religion has stood for in their experience. Certainly theologians would argue, and many anthropologists would argue that human beings simply have a kind of spiritual dimension in their lives that, that we, that's part of the human condition. Now, you know, lots of people would also argue that no,
00:05:20 - and I don't recognize anything, extraordinary in the, in the world, but that's actually a pretty small, proportion of the population that will make that assertion that there's just really nothing else. But what we see, I actually worry more about people who don't seek out some kind of spiritual or religious gathering or assembly to be a part of, than I worry about people who don't have some sort of active spiritual experience
00:05:51 - Those, those gatherings turn out to be extraordinarily important For how we are formed as moral people and how we're formed as citizens. And, without those, we have pretty good evidence. people really struggle, to find a kind of moral centered, find a kind of way of engaging the world and their societies in productive ways. It is important to actually ask people what they're doing

Expanding Our Understanding of Spirituality

00:06:44 - beyond themselves in their lives. we've, we've really gotten into a situation where we have, such a limited understanding of what spirituality is, what religion is, and the people that are around us every day probably could enlighten us a lot.

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