Author: Phil Daughtry, 3.02.20
Recent research (Singleton, Rasmussen, Halaloff and Bouma, 2018) indicates that young Australians are somewhat less shy about spiritual conversation and exploration than former generations. This begs the question, however, with whom and how might these conversations progress? Making sense of what it means to be a spiritual person, the relationship between higher values, meaning and purpose and the concrete realties of modern life is no easy or simple task. What resources of religion, mythology, faith practice, ritual and theology are available to young people, in an accessible and relational format that allows for space, conversation, experimentation and informed choice? Where might a young person go, and whom might they talk to, should they wish to explore the meaning of life from a spiritual perspective and its relationship to the material, intellectual and emotional aspects of being human and doing life well?
What do our current educational structures and economic imperatives say to young people about the value and place of finding one’s soul and place of belonging and responsibility in the larger universe, ecology and human family? Questions such as these have occupied my thinking for many years and driven my research and practice around youth spirituality in the Australian context. I have just published my observations and conclusions in an academic article titled, Portraits of the Shy Hope. I point out in this article what we already know about an effective model for spiritual engagement with young people. Namely, the exploration of the sacred in experience, within a guided relational environment that supports rational and critical reflection. Faith and religion have a role and place in this model, not as proscriptive and confirmative, but rather as sources of meaning and wisdom that open the consciousness to the transcendent and anchor life in the values of the soul (Daughtry, 2020).
The opportunity that presents itself in the Australian context is to invigorate a new spiritual conversation. This will be one in which the legacies and worldviews of religion are respectfully engaged with a view to uncovering their hidden treasures. Where every day young Australians are equipped with the kinds of discernment that enable them to articulate the traces of the sacred within their own narratives. Where guided experiential practice comes into dialogue with critical reason and conversation occurs between our small stories of the sacred and the larger stories of our cultural heritages. Where a spirituality of real life in the world as it actually is, and can become, is characteristic of our faith. Something more than a Sunday school lesson, nothing less than a reformation of the place and quality that we give to spiritual education in our time.
References:
Daughtry, P. (2020). Portraits of the “Shy Hope” Engaging Youth Spiritualities in the Australian Context. The International Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Society, 10(1), 13-27. doi:https://doi.org/10.18848/2154-8633/CGP/v10i01/13-27
Singleton, A., Mary Lou Rasmussen, Anna Halaloff, and Gary D. Bouma. 2018. The AGZ Study:Press Kit. ANU, Deakin, and Monash Universities. http://sociology.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/docs/2018/12/AGZ_Press_Kit.pdf.
centreforyouthworkstudies.com.au 