The promises and pitfalls of facilitated spiritual experiences for the study of religion

Abstract

Therapy,” Tai Chi, mindfulness, and drumming. The secular Cancer Support Community of Central Ohio, for example, offers Tai Chi, yoga, mindfulness and drumming. 10. Central Ohio, not exactly known as the Berkeley, CA of the Midwest, nevertheless has a tax-funded organization called The Worthington Community Center that offers courses like “Family Yoga,” “Hatha Yoga,” and “Tai Chi for Health and Meditation.” 11. In fact, the two terms share much in common. Although the entirety of Belief without Borders treats this subject, specific definitions of both spirituality and religion can be found at pps. 4-7. 12. Renowned author Catherine L. Albanese asked her students to define spirituality. Their definitions were all over the place, including “an awareness and recognition of the intangible connections between all things,” “a subjective ideology that both constructs and expresses moral conviction,” “an understanding of a higher essence of oneself through all the capacities of the body,” ”the source withing oneself that can guide one’s way of life,” and “a feeling of heightened inner awareness brought about by outer experiences” (Albanese, 2001, p. 1). SBNRs I’ve met make a distinction between spirituality as interior, heart-felt, and personal vs. religion as dogmatic, organized, external, and public. See Mercadante (2014), Belief without Borders, Chapter 4 “Common Themes,” 68-91. 13. Not to be too hyperbolic about it, but a person who becomes converted to white supremacy could meet many of these criteria.