Engaged spirituality refers to the beliefs and practices of

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

or spiritual people who actively engage in the world in order to transform it in ways consistent with their beliefs. The term was inspired by

engaged Buddhism Engaged Buddhism, also known as socially engaged Buddhism, refers to a Buddhist social movement that emerged in Asia in the 20th century, composed of Buddhists who are seeking ways to apply the Buddhist ethics, insights acquired from meditation ...

, a concept and set of values developed by the Vietnamese Buddhist monk

Thich Nhat Hanh Thích is a name that Vietnamese monks and nuns take as their Buddhist surname to show affinity with the Buddha. Notable Vietnamese monks with the name include: * Thích Huyền Quang (1919–2008), dissident and activist * Thích Quảng Độ ( ...

. Engaged spirituality encompasses all the major faith traditions as well as people who refer to themselves as "

spiritual but not religious "Spiritual but not religious" (SBNR), also known as "spiritual but not affiliated" (SBNA), is a popular phrase and initialism used to self-identify a life stance of spirituality that does not regard organized religion as the sole or most valuable ...

." There are many iterations in practice, but the overarching desire for social transformation unites them. For some in the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

tradition,

liberation theology Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". ...

guides their form of engaged spirituality.

Common characteristics

Practitioners of this mode of spirituality tend to hold

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy pa ...

values which galvanize their efforts for social change. Their actions are infused with the overarching context delineated by their faith tradition. The deep connection between personal and social transformation compel them to engage in social and political activism. Examples include

peace activism A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peac ...

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

and human rights activism for minority groups,

environmental activism The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists ad ...

, and service on behalf of the poor and homeless. It may be contrasted with "pop spirituality", which concerns itself primarily with personal psychological betterment, and lacks a deep commitment to social engagement. Engaged spirituality involves a synthesis of individual subjective experiences and outer collective activities. The individual and the collective mutually support, shape and transform each other. For example,

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifi ...

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

may serve as a way for an individual to gather strength and gain insight that will guide and enhance the efficacy of their social change efforts. Their experiences gathered in their outer activities which involve relating to and learning from others may influence the texture of their prayer or meditation experiences. Thus, there is a continual interwoven process of spiritual growth and reaffirmation to improving one's local or global community.Stanczak, Gregory C. 2006. Engaged Spirituality: Social Change and American Religion. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.

References

External links

"Engaging Spirituality"
Christian spiritual-deepening process for small groups. {{Religion and politics Spirituality Engaged Buddhism

Common characteristics

See also

References

External links