Embracing the S Word.

I had an email last night from somebody who said she was ‘becoming more spiritual’, and something interesting occurred to me.

It’s only relatively recently, maybe in the last thirty or forty years, that the word ‘spiritual’ has entered the lexicon of common speech. It turns up everywhere now; you even see it on YouTube (where it’s generally better understood than the ubiquitous ‘soul’ incidentally.)

We all know that the word itself is ancient in its various forms, but in the early part of my life it was hardly used at all here in the west because there was no need for it. People back then declared themselves to be either atheist or Christian. Being spiritual amounted almost exclusively to believing in God, heaven, and Christ the Redeemer. What else was there?

It’s true that there were Pagans and followers of other arcane traditions, but they were very few in number and usually kept themselves hidden for fear of mockery and alienation. It’s only since the growth of globalisation and the increasingly multi-cultural nature of western society that people have been moved to express their spiritual inclinations while simultaneously distancing themselves from organised religion. And for my part, I see that as a rare step in the right direction.