CHAPTER ELEVEN
Religion and Spirituality
Toward an Integrated Analysis
Wade Clark Roof
For religion in modern societies, the early-twenty-first century is a time of considerable
and often subtle transformation. One such subtlety is the growing attention to personal
spiritual well-being and the ferment surrounding whatever people take to be sacred.
Voices to this effect are heard within congregations of many differing faith traditions
and in many other, seemingly less likely places, such as in self-help groups and at
retreat centers; in motivational training sessions within corporations and businesses; in
hospitals and medical schools, where they attend to the power of prayer and meditation;
in popular books, films, and on radio and television talk shows engaging people to talk
about their lives; and on the ever-expanding number of pages on the Internet devoted
to spiritual growth. Because interest in spirituality is so widespread and arises across
many institutional sectors, both religious and nonreligious, and is sustained by the
rise of what we might appropriately call a market-oriented “spirituality industry,” the
topic is properly deserving of attention in a systematic study of religious and spiritual
change.
Some commentators view much of the talk about spirituality as shallow and flaky,
and of little good consequence for religious conviction, others attach more significance
to what they see, or believe to be happening, but very few serious observers take the
position that we should shut our eyes to these developments. Spirituality is now less
contained by traditional religious structures and Americans – whether we like it or not –
are increasingly aware of alternatives for nurturing their souls. Social scientists thus face
new challenges in understanding these popular-based spiritual currents and what they
might mean for religious communities and institutions. Without some consideration of
this broadened scope of experiential concerns, we cannot fully grasp how the American
religious landscape is evolving as we move into the new century.
The purpose of this chapter is twofold: one, to describe recent trends in spirituality
within the American context; and, two, to propose an analytic scheme helpful in un-
derstanding these trends and for relating them to the study of religion more generally.
The latter builds on the former and is our chief aim. Proposing an analytic approach is
made difficult because words such as “spirituality” and “spirit” have many meanings in
popular parlance today. “Religion” and “religious” as well have various connotations
in the contemporary context.
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