Spirituality and systems of belief

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to start from the concept of religion as communication and show its heuristic utility for discussing the notion of spirituality. Religion as communication relies on the language and concepts of the social systems theory applied to religion (Pace 2008). The theoretical assumptions can be briefly outlined as follows: (a) Religion is a system of means of communication that strives to reduce the complexity of possible meanings that individuals attribute to the world of life; (b) Religion in this sense is an organized system of communication that interacts with changeable social environments in different historical settings and different social, cultural, multi-religious landscapes; (c) Spirituality is a generic formula by which the observer could label a variety of attitudes and behaviors by individuals in search of meanings who don't refer necessarily to a set of meanings within a system of religious belief. If the notion of spirituality thus is to be used validly in the sociology of religion, at least three conditions must be satisfied: (a) It should not be a residual category; (b) It should be a relatively free-standing concept; (c) It should derive from the basic relationship between a system of belief and its environment, which is, by definition, more varied, complex and broader than the system itself.