Spiritual but not Religious
A
Short History of “Unchurched America”
“Churched” America:
Evangelical Christian Beliefs
n
Jesus is God’s only
son; his death and resurrection make salvation possible.
n
Accept Jesus as your
personal Lord and Savior or you have no chance for salvation.
n
Human beings are
sinners in need of Jesus.
n
Unbelievers, meaning
all non-Christians, are unrepentant sinners headed for Hell.
“Unchurched” America
n
Spiritual, but not
religious; distrust of organized religion; “seeker style”
n
Personal spiritual
experience is more important than accepting religious dogma on faith.
n
The human soul and
God are one. Humans are not sinners;
God is ever-present.
n
Interest in “metaphysical
realities” beyond ordinary human consciousness.
American Religious “Sensibilities”
n
2 Strands:
n
Churched America:
n
ontological
dualism – Creator &
Creation are apart
n
God guards, guides,
& governs human activity
n
God is the moral
judge of sinful humanity
n
Unchurched America
n
unitive – God is one with creation
n
Spiritual presence
and power is everywhere
n
Accessing divine
power is the what “religion” is all about
Unchurched America
…from colonial times
n
Two major forms:
1. Astrology - charted the course of the
heavens; related the lives of human beings to the stars; revealed cosmic clues
aimed at determining good and bad days.
2. Witchcraft - 2 types: formal
witchcraft, popular witchcraft, the proto-type of wicca and
neo-paganism, today
Witchcraft: Two Types
1. Formal Witchcraft: serious practice of
the nature religions (paganism) that once dominated Europe before Christianity.
n
Pennsylvania German
community
n
Johannes Kelpius (1573-1708) founds “brotherhood”
in Germantown, PA
n
The Woman in the Wilderness: blended pagan,
Christian, and Jewish elements
n
searched for sacred power through nature
WITCHCRAFT
Two Types
2. Popular witchcraft - magic used to remedy everyday problems
n
“Cunning folk” drew on special rituals to contact
the powers of nature and benefit the community:
n heal
the sick
n locate
treasure with a divining rod
n bring fair winds for sailing, etc.
Churched America in the 2nd Awakening
n
The distant Calvinist
God is “unchained
n
Charles Finney (and
other revivalists) preach universalism
n
Human nature is
capable of immediate and total redemption from a fallen, sinful state
n
Creates a social and
psychological environment conducive to freedom and experimentation
n
Matches the frontier
spirit & enthusiasm of the time; spiritual & geographical expansion!
Unchurched America: From Edwards to Emerson to…
n
Swedenborgianism
n
Mesmerism
n
Transcendentalism
n
Spiritualism
n
These post-2nd Awakening “visions” set
the stage for today’s unchurched America
Emanuel Swedenborg
(1688-1771)
n
Swedish scientist, turned mystic
n
At age 57, after a successful scientific career, he
writes 30 volumes on the spiritual nature of the Bible and Christian
doctrine.
n
Visitations by celestial beings instruct him on the
“spiritual sense” of scripture
Swedenborg:
Correspondence & Influx
n
Correspondence:
n
Universe consists of
seven interpenetrating dimensions (spiritual down to material)
n
doctrine of
correspondence = the laws that
govern our physical order are reflections of spiritual laws that govern every
other level of the universe
n
Spirit & Matter
are inseparable dimensions of a single universal system
Swedenborg
n
The principle of Influx:
n
all causal power
constantly emanates from God
n
there is a continuous
influx of divine spirit into each successively “lower” dimension of existence
n
humans can know “God”
and achieve harmony and perfection by attuning the soul to this divine
influx of spiritual energy
Mesmerism
n
Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815): an Austrian
physician scientist who discovers animal magnetism
n
Animal magnetism = an invisible spiritual
substance linking the universe and making possible the transmission of causal
influences from one object or person to another
Mesmerism
n
Animal magnetism is the principle linking the human and spiritual
realms
n
Mesmer would
hypnotize his subjects then manipulate this spiritual energy to heal through
the harmonious aligning of the physical with the spiritual
n
Provides a precise
“scientific” account of of Swedenborg’s principle of influx, the lawful
interaction between the spirit and matter
Transcendentalism
n
Ralph Waldo Emerson:
Harvard-trained, rebellious Unitarian minister; principle architect of the
Transcendentalism
n
inspired by
Swedenborg’s doctrines of correspondence & influx
n
Every human being has
the capacity to “plug into” the inflow of spiritual energy
Transcendentalism
n
The Oversoul =
the instreaming presence of divinity that flows through all things
n
Humans need to transcend
the limited concepts of organized religion and experience the power
of spiritual energy
n
Self-reliance = the “Can Do” spirit of the 2nd Awakening
expanded to the cosmic frontier
Transcendentalism
For Emerson, true spirituality has
nothing to do with organized religion which only blocks transcendental energy:
n
No to:
n
church attendance
n
biblical dogmas
n
belief in the
divinity of Jesus
n
blind faith
Spiritualism
n
Andrew Jackson Davis:
founder of Spiritualism
n
Davis became a trance
medium and contacted departed souls in the spirit realm through séances
n
Provides a popular,
concrete expression of the immortality of the soul
n
Erases the “sting of
death”
n
“Channeling” is the
modern expression of Spiritualism; contact with “higher beings”
Unchurched, Today
n
“the power of positive thinking”
n
Mind over matter
n
New Age spirituality
n
“Organized religion is the crypt for the spiritually
dead”
n
Universalism & perfectionism
n
Inclusiveness & spiritual equality
Churched v. Unchurched
n
Although these two
groups are critical of one another, they both share the “revivalist energy” of
the 2nd Awakening.
n
2 strands: churched
revivalism; unchurched revivalism
n
In American society
today, unchurched ideas are present in “churched” theology and general
“worldview” = experience over dogma
Where the 2 Strands Meet
n
While the 2 strands are widely divergent in
worldview, they meet in the neutral territory of Religion B:
n both
embrace spiritual idealism and social pragmatism
n both
seek spiritual perfection
n both
seek social perfection
n both
support religious freedom, though for different reasons