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The Body between Religion and SpiritualityUniversity of Padova, Department of Sociology, Via Cesarotti 10, 35123 Padova, Italy, giuseppe.giordan{at}unipd.it The distinction between religion and spirituality, as it is increasingly understood in the contemporary sociology of religion, has led to a reconsideration of the relation between the individual and his/her own body. In the Christian ambit, and especially in the Catholic sphere, the traditional religious attitude has always been that of emphasizing the dichotomy between soul and body, setting a hierarchy that puts the soul in a position superior to the body's, according to an ascetic approach that, particularly in the Middle Ages, foresaw the "mortification of the body". In the contemporary spiritualist perspective, body and soul are seen as profoundly united, and the previous dichotomy seems to leave room for a more serene and less conflictual connection with one's body: spirituality relates to the sacred by leaving room for (and deriving from) emotions, feelings, the physical and the sexual, and takes a holistic view of human nature. Such a shift from the religious dimension to the spiritual dimension in the relationship with one's body can be observed not only in popular culture but also within Catholicism itself.
Key Words: asceticism • body • feminism • healing • health and salvation • religion and spirituality • wellbeing
Social Compass, Vol. 56, No. 2,
226-236 (2009) |
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