Postmodern spirituality and the culture of individualism

Abstract

In recent years, the thesis about a fundamental shift in Western religiosity has become increasingly prominent in the scientific study of religion. Many new phenomena of today’s religious scene are seen as the manifestation of a resacralization/re-enchantment of the world, or even of spirituality/a spiritual revolution. The new religious world view that is taking shape presupposes an essential oneness of microcosm and macrocosm and a presence of the divine in man and in the world. The radical distinction between the temporal and supernatural worlds disappears, which seems to herald the advent of a new type of spirituality based on the idea of immanence. This new ‘all-inclusive spirituality’ has many forms of expression and is concerned with ‘the sacredness of life, nature and the universe’ and ‘all pathways that lead to meaning and purpose’. This ‘subjective turn’ means ‘a turn away from life lived in terms of external or “objective” roles, duties and obligations, and a turn towards life lived by reference to one’s own subjective experiences (relational as much as individualistic)’. All the above-mentioned explanatory frameworks to a certain extent employ the concept of individualization.This presentation examines the the concept of individualization as an approach for the understanding of today’s religious scene.