The figure opposite shows that out of 15 million Australian adults, 5 million consider a spiritual life as important and another 5 million as very important or the most important part of life. People of all ages and a variety of backgrounds value spirituality. However, there are more women than men among them and people with higher levels of formal education are more likely to value spirituality. But only 3 million of those who value spirituality attend a church monthly or more often.
Nevertheless, the Australian Community Survey found that 40 per cent of those who value spirituality may be considered Christians in that they believe the Bible is inspired and that Jesus was divine. They pray frequently. But for one reason or another, the majority feel that attending church is not necessary.

Others prefer to think of God as a life-force. They find God in nature or within their own lives. They are united in their sense that there is something very important beyond the material world, beyond what science examines and what it can explain. Many have had special religious experiences which have taken them into mystical or supernatural realms. But they vary considerably in other beliefs and practices. One in five practice Eastern meditation, but less than half of them practice it frequently. One in ten turn to crystals and other new age practices, but again, for many their use is only occasional. One of the major tasks for research is a closer examination of the variety of forms of spirituality in contemporary Australian culture. Both the Christian Research Association and NCLS Research will be doing further work in this area over the coming year.

John Fisher:
Dimensions of Spirituality

Among the people who have been working on the nature of Australian spirituality is John Fisher who has recently completed a doctoral thesis in this area. In a recent paper presented at the School of Nursing, University of Ballarat, Fisher pointed out that the interest in the spiritual dimension has a lot to do with the desire for a whole and integrated life. People are seeking a sense of unity and purpose for life. Yet, spirituality itself is not uni-dimensional, but has many facets.

Fisher distinguishes between spirituality and religion. Simplistically speaking, Fisher says, religion focuses on ideology and rules of faith and belief systems. Spirituality, on the other hand, focuses on experience and relationships. Spirituality is usually seen as having to do with the individual, while religion is oriented around institutions and organisations. Some believe that traditional religion can inform and nurture spirituality. Others feel that religion can inhibit the development of a person’s spirituality because of the focus on rules and regulations, creeds and dogma.

Fisher points out that recent research has drawn attention to the importance of spirituality in human health and well-being. The World Health Organisation defines health as ‘a complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease’ (Fisher, p.5) Other researchers have pointed explicitly to the importance of the spiritual dimension in human health (see for example, the work of R. M. Ebst, 1984).

Fisher identifies four domains of spirituality:
1.Personal - relationships with the self, expressed, for example, identity, integrity, self-esteem, peace, and joy.

2.Communal - relationships with others, expressed, for example, in love, forgiveness, justice, hope, trust and service.

3.Environmental - relation with the environment, expressed in the sense of awe and wonder and in valuing nature.

4.Global - relation with Transcendent Other, expressed in adoration and worship, being in tune with the essence of the universe or with God.

Thus, Fisher defines spiritual health as:

‘a fundamental dimension of people’s overall health and well-being, permeating and integrating all the other dimensions of health (i.e. the physical, mental, emotional, social and vocational), as it is
- a dynamic state of being, shown by the extent to which people live in harmony with:          
• themselves (i.e. stated meaning, purpose and value in life);
• others (as expressed in the quality and depth of relationships, relating to morality, culture and religion);
• some-thing/some-One beyond the human level (i.e. ultimate concern, cosmic force, transcendent reality, or God - through faith);
• and the environment (care and nurture for the physical and biological, to a sense of awe and wonder, for some, the notion of unity with the environment). (p.7)

Fisher argues that spiritual health is enhanced by developing positive relationships in each domain. However, health has to do with the combined effect of spiritual well-being in each domain. The result is more than the sum of the parts because of the importance of the inter-relationship between the various domains. Fisher has recently built questionnaires which seek to measure spiritual health among school students and children as well as Australian adults with attention to each of these domains.

David Elkins,
Beyond Religion

Another person who has working on the nature of spirituality is David Elkins, a former minister of religion, now professor of psychology at Pepperdine University, California. In 1998, he published Beyond Religion, in which he describes eight paths through which he believes people can nurture their spirituality.

David Elkins, like Fisher, has looked at spirituality as something which is multi-dimensional (Elkins, 1998). He distinguishes it from religiosity, although he says that traditional religions may nurture spirituality. He defines spirituality in this way:

Spirituality, which comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning “breath of life”, is a way of being and experiencing that comes about through awareness of a transcendent dimension and that is characterised by certain identifiable values in regard to self, others, nature, life and whatever one considers to be the Ultimate (Elkins, 1998, p.33).

In the various dimensions of spirituality, he includes the following:

1. Transcendent dimension - a spiritual person has ‘an experientially based belief’ that there is a transcendent dimension to life.

2. Meaning and purpose in life. Elkins says that the ground and content of meaning can vary considerably from one person to another, but the common factor is that each person has filled the existential vacuum with an authentic sense that life has meaning and purpose.

3. Mission in life. The spiritual person has a sense of vocation, responsibility, even destiny to fulfil.

4. Sacredness in life. Life is infused with sacredness and the spiritual person experiences a sense of awe, reverence and wonder in nonreligious settings.

5. Spiritual versus material values. The spiritual person does not seek ultimate satisfaction from money and possessions.

6. Altruism. The spiritual person believes we are responsible for each other, and is touched by the pain and suffering of others.

7. Idealism. The spiritual person is a visionary committed to the betterment of the world.

8. Awareness of the tragic. The spiritual person is solemnly conscious of the tragic realities of human existence.

9. Fruits of spirituality. True spirituality has a discernible effect on one’s relation to self, others, nature, life, and whatever one considers to be the Ultimate (Elkins, 1998, p.34-35).

How can this spirituality be nurtured? Elkins suggests eight paths apart from those provided by traditional religion. He does not imply that these are necessarily the only paths, but they are paths which he sees as being effective within contemporary Western life.

1.The feminine. ‘Spiritual growth’, Elkins says, ‘depends on our learning to honour the feminine’. The feminine is the side of people, either male or female, which is ‘relational, intuitive, mystical, imaginative, artistic, creative, emotional, flowing and right-brained’ (Elkins, 1998, pp.103-4). He distinguishes this from the masculine side which is logical, rational, analytical, organised, structured and left-brained. He argues that in Western culture there has been an emphasis on the masculine side to the detriment of the feminine, and that impaired spiritual development. Many churches, he says, have also emphasised the masculine side and provided little nourishment for the feminine through legalistic forms of religion and morality rather than through compassion and openness, and through the dominance of patriarchal symbols. He suggests that both men and women in contemporary society need to recover their passion and creativity, and there are many signs that this is occurring.

2.The arts. Elkins’ second path takes the importance of creativity further. He contends that people must not be simply consumers of art, but learn how to access their own creativity. He sees it important not only in terms of what great artists do, but in the activities of every-day life. He refers to Matthew Fox’s personal arts of friendship, of making the home beautiful, of conversation and laughter, preparing food and singing songs, of listening and healing. He points to the positive use of creativity activity in psychiatric therapies but argues that art is ‘the language of the soul’ communicating through image, symbol, metaphor and simile.

3.The body. Because of the traditional division between ‘flesh’ and ‘spirit’, Christianity has separated spirituality from the body, Elkins says. However, he sees passionate love-making and romantic ecstasy as paths which can lead to experiences which transcend everyday reality, and which can lead to the sacred. On the other hand, much sexuality in Western culture has become mechanistic and depersonalised. If the spiritual element is eliminated, sexuality can become empty and shallow. Rather, there must be a deep sharing of body and soul.

4.Counselling and psychotherapy. Elkins argues that medical models have dominated much psychology and psychotherapy. In those models, there has been no place to consider the soul, which does not lend itself to study through empirical methods. However, he says, psychotherapy should be about ‘soul-making’ through therapeutic relationships in which there is empathy, caring, warmth, respect, honesty and acceptance. It should also be a process in which clients learn to nurture their own souls.

5.Mythology: the path of story, ritual and symbol. From the earliest times of human history, says Elkins, myths have contained spiritual and existential wisdom. Their stories, rituals and symbols have been channels of sacred energies which nurture the soul. They lead us beyond the every-day world into deeper levels of inner life and human being. While science has undermined the literal truth of myths, it does not touch the deeper wisdom about life that myths contain. To see life only through the eyes of science is barren.

6.Nature. Much of life in contemporary Western culture has become estranged from nature and is no longer subject to its sounds and smells, its rhythms and its power. Nature has been objectified and seen as something merely for human use. Elkins says that communion with nature, in which people open themselves to the depth, beauty, darkness and power of nature, nurtures the soul.

7.Relationships: the path of friendship, family and community. Elkins sees ‘soul to soul’ friendships as an important path to the sacred. One of the best ways to nourish such a relationship is to discuss the relationship itself, how each experiences the relationship and sees the other person, both positively and negatively. It involves, says Elkins, the ability to see and affirm the other person’s ‘authentic being and growing edge’. Family is one arena in which such relationships can be built, but is not the only one. Elkins believes that this aspect of human being has been threatened by the lack of community and the individualism of contemporary Western culture.

8.Dark Nights of the Soul. Spirituality, says Elkins, is connected with the painful as well as the joyous aspects of human existence, and ‘the soul grows wiser and stronger through adversity’. While ‘dark nights’ are always difficult and can be devastating, they force us to face deep issues and to seek help from beyond ourselves. In that way, they can provide an opportunity for spiritual growth.

Elkins’ reflections arise largely from within his own cultural situation. He sees some of the forces in contemporary Western culture which inhibit spiritual growth, as well as pointing to some of the ways in which people have felt that growth has occurred. The paths to spirituality he identifies each have their own positive and negative aspects. For example, while intimate relationships may be paths to the sacred, they may also be used for control of one person by another, and can be destructive rather than constructive.

Ministry might be conceived as nurturing spirituality. For those seeking to do so, connecting with the various forms of spirituality among those who attend church and those who do not, the works of Elkins and Fisher provide good foundations for reflection.

Philip Hughes

References:

Eberst, R.M., 1984, ‘Defining Health: A Multidimensional model’, The Journal of School Health, Vol. 54, no. 3, pp.99-104.

Elkins, David N., 1998, Beyond Religion: 8 Alternative Paths to the Sacred, Quest Books, Wheaton, Illinois.

Fisher, John, 1999, ‘Making sense of spiritual health and well-being: being human, becoming whole’, a colloquium paper presented at the School of Nursing, University of Ballarat, 16 September 1999.

The Australian Community Survey conducted by researchers from Edith Cowan University and NCLS Research was made possible by a Collaborative Grant from the Australian Research Council and the support of Anglicare (NSW) and the Board of Mission of the Uniting Church (NSW). The research has been jointly supervised by Prof. Alan Black and Dr Peter Kaldor. The research team included John Bellamy, Keith Castle and Philip Hughes.