Department of Religion
Religion Dept. Events Calendar
Friday, November 30, 2012
Professor Courtney Bender Lecture
Time: 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Location: Memorial Lounge Waterman 338
Description: Courtney Bender
Associate Professor of Religion
Columbia University
November 30, 12:00pm
Memorial Lounge, Waterman
Spirituality in the American Grain: From Shoveling Fog to Power Spots
"Spirituality" in America is ubiquitous. More and more Americans call themselves "spiritual, not religious." But spirituality is also often a foggy, nebulous and ill-defined "something." It is rarely clear what people mean when they use the term, to describe themselves or others. Indeed, this fogginess seems to be part of its defining characteristic. And so while many proponents of spirituality have described this quality as something positive, critics have, on the other hand, pointed to its fogginess as a hallmark of its limitations and problems.
This talk will not take sides on whether spirituality's foggy qualities are positive or negative. Rather, it asks how spirituality has come to seem so foggy (and yet so powerful, meaningful, or problematic) to so many. It does so by proposing some alternative ways to think about and to study spirituality, one that considers the history of spirituality and its living practice in secular institutions. Drawing on research across a range of settings, this talk will suggest ways to locate and consider social processes that shape spiritual practice and experience – and how they might in turn help us better understand larger changes underway in American religious life.
Sponsored by: The Departments of Religion, Sociology, Political Science, History, and Honors College
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Winter Break
Day Event
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Winter Break
Day Event
Friday, December 28, 2012
Winter Break
Day Event