Spiritual Homelessness
David A. Steere
Routledge eBooks October 24, 2018 DOI: 10.4324/9780203777657-2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that "spiritual homelessness"—departure from one's church home in search of meaning and wholeness—is a central mark of the present era and sparks a fervent search for alternative religious experience and wellness. Contends it is more than a product of mainline church decline, being fueled by multicultural discontent and best understood within a larger disestablishment of the White American, male-dominant culture of the 1950s. |
Abstract
A sense of spiritual homelessness is a central mark of our time. The spiritually homeless are those whose quest for meaning and wholeness has carried them away from their church home. Protestantism’s association with the rise of science, education, and democracy gradually came to represent the commitments to a new religious spirit. Spiritual homelessness appears to spark an equally fervent search for alternative religious experience along with its quest for wellness. Spiritual homelessness is more than a product of the decline in mainline church life. Its ranks swell daily under the growing impact of multicultural discontent. Spiritual homelessness, however, must be seen within the context of a much larger disestablishment of the White American, male-dominant culture of the 1950s. It is fueled by the multicultural crusade fermenting on American campuses, which demands a greater diversity in faculty and student bodies and “political correctness” that does away with statements offensive to women, Blacks, and other groups.