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Spiritual complexity in Australia: Wellbeing and risks

Version 2 2024-05-31, 00:28
Version 1 2023-05-15, 03:09
journal contribution
posted on 2024-05-31, 00:28 authored by Anna HalafoffAnna Halafoff, Andrew SingletonAndrew Singleton, R Fitzpatrick
The turn of the twenty-first century was characterised by ‘spiritual revolution’, with claims that interest in New Age spirituality was eclipsing religion and would continue to do so in the future. Since then, scholars of religion have been more focused on religious diversity and the rise of the non-religious. While interest in spirituality, uptake of spiritual practices, and identification as ‘spiritual but not religious’ have continued to grow, spirituality is typically not taken as seriously as religion, at least in political spheres or by academia. This article examines the history and contemporary dynamics of spiritual complexity in Australia, drawing on the findings of two Australian Research Council–funded studies ‘The Worldviews of Australia’s Generation Z’ and ‘Religious Diversity in Australia’ and on a recent project ‘(Con)spirituality, Science and COVID-19 in Australia’. It argues that it is certainly time for spirituality to be taken more seriously in this country and globally, given spirituality’s concern with personal and planetary wellbeing, and also the potential risks spirituality can pose due to its association with dis/misinformation, neoliberalism, and violence.

History

Journal

Social Compass

Volume

70

Pagination

243-262

Location

London, Eng.

ISSN

0037-7686

eISSN

1461-7404

Language

English

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Issue

2

Publisher

SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD