Theology Without Walls

Abstract

With an emphasis on the potential transformative possibilities of a spiritual or religious nature, the context for an interspiritual approach to Theology Without Walls (TWW) is one in which ultimacy is explored from multiple perspectives within a collaborative mode of inquiry. Utilizing stories from the “Snowmass Conference,” a long-term intimate dialogue originally convened by Fr. Thomas Keating among advanced contemplatives from diverse religious backgrounds over 30-plus years, this chapter explores some of the consequences of such an approach. What does it mean for TWW to explore religiosity through the lens of religion as a “transformative journey”? What is the importance of contemplative traditions for TWW? What insights arise through dialogical methodologies of intimacy among advanced practitioners that are difficult or even impossible to discover through the reading of texts, or the lens of theological frameworks abstracted from the religious quest as transformative journey? What does such an approach have to offer nontraditional spiritualities, such as multiple religious belongers, interspiritual practitioners, and the ever-growing “spiritual but not religious (SBNRs)”? Finally, what would it mean to see interspirituality as a religious path in and of itself, and what is its relationship to traditional religious orientations? An interspiritual approach to TWW finds resonance in the spiritual strivings of multiple religious belongers, SBNRs, and other nontraditional spiritualities, yet is also embodied by those embedded in particular religious traditions who remain open to insights, awakenings, and revelations from outside their tradition.