{"id":14502,"date":"2024-05-31T19:18:01","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T09:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rationalemagazine.com\/?p=14502"},"modified":"2024-05-31T19:18:01","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T09:18:01","slug":"australias-changing-spiritual-landscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rationalemagazine.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/31\/australias-changing-spiritual-landscape\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia’s changing spiritual landscape"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spirituality is increasingly popular with young Australians:\u00a0recent research shows<\/a> 38 per cent of Gen Z Australians identify as spiritual. It also reports<\/a> 50 per cent of them believe in karma, 29 per cent in reincarnation and 20 per cent in astrology. When it comes to activities equated with spirituality, 28 per cent of Gen Z Australians practise meditation and 22 per cent practise yoga.<\/p>\n

In Australia, spirituality is\u00a0strongly, enduringly central<\/a> to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and culturally and religiously diverse communities. Yet, until recently, spirituality has received far less attention than religion.<\/p>\n

Spirituality may be good for the environment, too. The most recent trend<\/a>\u00a0in studies of religion \u2013 frequently associated with spirituality \u2013 is a reported close connection with nature. This was shared by\u00a076 per cent of Gen Z Australians<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Australia, we believe spirituality is expressed as a down-to-earth\u00a0\u201crelational naturalism\u201d<\/a>. It\u2019s particularly linked to Indigenous, Buddhist, Hindu and eco-spiritualities that acknowledge sacredness in and connection with the natural world, not just in heavenly heights.<\/p>\n

Spiritual or not, nature-based connection is certainly on the rise. Young Australians also\u00a0state<\/a>\u00a0that their affinity with nature informs their ethics \u2013\u00a0 in terms of what they eat and consume, and their environmental activism.<\/p>\n

So what is spirituality? How is it different from religion? And why is it so popular?<\/p>\n

Spirituality<\/a>\u00a0is a connection with something greater than the self \u2013 which could be God, consciousness or nature \u2013 that results in a sense of responsibility to care for oneself and others. It often includes the natural world.<\/p>\n

Spirituality has often been seen as the \u201cindividualised good-guy\u201d, as a counterpart to the \u201cinstitutional bad-guy\u201d of religion. But this\u00a0stereotypical binary<\/a>\u00a0is increasingly outdated.<\/p>\n

Spirituality, like religion, is mostly practised in groups, or in communities. Often, it\u2019s with a charismatic leader, and follows certain codes of practice, related to physical postures or activities, diet and lifestyle more generally.<\/p>\n

According to Warraimaay historian\u00a0Victoria Grieve-Williams<\/a>, spirituality is deeply relational and ethical, honouring interconnections with human and more-than-human beings.<\/p>\n

In his bestselling book\u00a0Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking can Save the World<\/a><\/em>, Aboriginal scholar\u00a0Tyson Yunkaporta<\/a>\u00a0also stresses complexity, relationality and connectedness as central principles of First People\u2019s wisdom.<\/p>\n

People can identify as spiritual but not religious, or as\u00a0religious and spiritual<\/a>. Both religion and spirituality can be social and inform how we live in the world.<\/p>\n

In the Gen Z Australians survey, 22 per cent self-identified as spiritual but not religious, with a further 16 per cent identifying as both religious and spiritual.<\/p>\n

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have rich and diverse spiritual traditions. \u201cThe Creator Spirit was with us long before the British invaded our lands, and our faith has been nurtured over thousands of years,\u201d writes Bidjara theologian and professor, Aunty\u00a0Anne Pattel-Gray<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Grieves-Williams notes that connection to and responsibility for land and waterways \u2013 learned and shared through story \u2013 are central to Aboriginal spirituality.<\/p>\n

Trawloolway theologian\u00a0Garry Deverell<\/a>\u00a0explains that First Nations spirituality \u201cbegins with the earth\u201d.<\/p>\n

Through colonisation and migration, Europeans brought Christian and Jewish religions, which also include spiritual dimensions, to Australia. And many immigrants,\u00a0particularly from the Asia-Pacific region<\/a>, first introduced their religious and spiritual traditions to Australia in the 19th century, before the introduction of the\u00a01901 Immigration Restriction Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many of their spiritual frameworks also stress interdependency with and compassion for all lifeforms.<\/p>\n

Spirituality has often been seen as the \u201cindividualised good-guy\u201d, as a counterpart to the \u201cinstitutional bad-guy\u201d of religion. But this\u00a0stereotypical binary\u00a0is increasingly outdated.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So-called Western interest in spirituality had earlier iterations in theosophy, an esoteric philosophy based on older religions and myths, and spiritualism, a way of life combining philosophy, science and religion. Both were popular at the turn of the 20th century.<\/p>\n

But spirituality boomed globally as part of the alternative 1960s counterculture. In Australia, it took off after the 1973 Aquarius Festival in Nimbin, Northern New South Wales.<\/p>\n

Since then,\u00a0interest in spirituality<\/a>\u00a0and the expanding\u00a0$4.4 trillion wellness industry<\/a>\u00a0has grown exponentially.<\/p>\n

This includes the mainstreaming of teachings through social media, and of practices such as meditation, yoga, retreats, conscious dance, plant medicine, astrology and tarot. Many of these derive from Indigenous, Buddhist or Hindu traditions.<\/p>\n

Some spiritual and wellness influencers\u00a0can problematically appropriate these traditions<\/a>. However, others respectfully acknowledge the origins and lineages of their spiritual practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue yoga is not just a workout,\u201d\u00a0says Indian-American yoga teacher and researcher<\/a>\u00a0Rina Deshpande, who urges people to learn the history of their practice. \u201cClassically, it is an ancient Indian philosophy espousing an eight-limbed approach to conscious living.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the turn of the 21st century,\u00a0some experts predicted<\/a>\u00a0spirituality would eclipse religion, given this thriving \u201cspiritual marketplace<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Spiritual movements and wellness influencers have gained prominence through\u00a0critiquing the ills of modern capitalist consumerism<\/a>, with a focus on personal and planetary wellbeing. Some high-profile examples include\u00a0Jay Shetty<\/a>, entrepreneur and host of the podcast On Purpose<\/em>, and Australian\u00a0Sarah Wilson<\/a>, author of I Quit Sugar<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Many of these influencers focus on self-care and the need to slow down and be mindful \u2013 and to foster a more respectful and sustainable relationship with ourselves and the natural world. At the same time, some turn their goods and services\u00a0into products to be marketed<\/a>, increasingly through social media, to lift their profiles.<\/p>\n

While spirituality was previously associated with hippies and \u201cpeace, love and mung beans\u201d, reports of\u00a0spiritual harms<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 emotional, sexual and financial abuse \u2013 are increasingly being revealed in both religious and spiritual communities.<\/p>\n

This includes many allegations of abuse by students of prominent gurus such as Tibetan Buddhist\u00a0Sogyal Rinpoche<\/a>, famous for his teachings on death and dying, and\u00a0Bikram Choudhury<\/a>, founder of Bikram yoga.<\/p>\n

The uptake of conspiracy theories in spiritual communities \u2013 and vaccine resistance within them \u2013\u00a0have also been deeply troubling in recent years. This \u201cconspirituality<\/a>\u201d is linked to\u00a0spiritual exceptionalism and bypassing<\/a>, where distrust of medical and state authority, combined with individual body sovereignty, led to denying the suffering the COVID pandemic caused society\u2019s most vulnerable.<\/p>\n

Conspirituality during COVID certainly made spirituality more public. It also seemed to draw more men into spiritual movements, with some Australian male conspiritual leaders\u00a0mobilising \u201cspiritual warriors\u201d to \u201ccosmic war\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, in\u00a0a pilot study on Spirituality and Wellness in Australia<\/a>\u00a0conducted at the height of the pandemic, only a minority of self-identified \u201cspiritual\u201d people among the 202 participants had conspiritual views.<\/p>\n

Just 2 per cent of participants thought the virus was caused by global elites, pharmaceutical companies, aliens or demonic forces \u2013\u00a0 and just 5 per cent said they would not be vaccinated. By contrast, 88 per cent supported lockdowns and 91 per cent supported mask wearing.<\/p>\n

This is significant, given that media coverage of conspirituality tends to overstate its prevalence within wellness communities.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s vital not to tar all spiritual people as \u201cwoo-Anon<\/a>\u201d, particularly as they represent an increasingly significant percentage of the Australian population.<\/p>\n

Australian spiritual influencers, notably\u00a0Sarah Wilson<\/a>, also\u00a0played a significant role in countering conspirituality<\/a>\u00a0at the peak of the pandemic, by drawing on spiritual narratives of relational and compassionate care.<\/p>\n

The uptake of conspiracy theories among spiritual communities remains concerning. But\u00a0research reveals<\/a>\u00a0relational spiritual narratives and practices can also play a significant role in both personal and planetary wellbeing. This includes countering vaccine resistance \u2013 in and beyond Australia.<\/p>\n

Spirituality can be experienced in personal ways, but it is also complex and communal. It is important to be aware of spirituality\u2019s potential benefits and risks.<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on <\/strong><\/em>The Conversation<\/a><\/strong>. It is co-authored by Rosie Clare Shorter, Research Fellow in Sociology of Religion, Deakin University<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Photo by Carl Newton <\/a><\/strong><\/em>on Unsplash.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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