King-Ho Leung

In the eyes of many, “spirituality,” particularly in its non-religious form, is nothing but a secularized, individualized, or even commodified version of traditional religion. Against these pejorative and dismissive conceptions, this book seeks to take seriously the notion of “spiritual but not religious” as a philosophical concept which can illuminate different aspects of human experience or even uncover a primordial sense of “spirituality” that lies at the heart of human existence. Spiritual Life and Secular Thought puts forward a new philosophical definition of spirituality applicable to both religious and non-religious outlooks alike. It proposes that spirituality may be construed as the pursuit of the unity of life and thought. Drawing on phenomenological insights from Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, Gilles Deleuze, and Giorgio Agamben, Spiritual Life and Secular Thought argues that “non-religious spirituality” is not just an outworking of post-religious individualism or spiritual consumerism, but an expression of fundamental dimensions of human existence and the experience of living and thinking in the world. This proposed existential phenomenological notion of spirituality as the unity of life and thought not only paves the way for renewed assessments of the relation between philosophy, spirituality, and religion in secular society, but also sheds new light on how one might live and think spiritually in the contemporary world.

In the eyes of many, “spirituality,” particularly in its non-religious form, is nothing but a secularized, individualized, or even commodified version of traditional religion. Against these pejorative and dismissive conceptions, this book seeks to take seriously the notion of “spiritual but not religious” as a philosophical concept which can illuminate different aspects of human experience or even uncover a primordial sense of “spirituality” that lies at the heart of human existence. Spiritual Life and Secular Thought puts forward a new philosophical definition of spirituality applicable to both religious and non-religious outlooks alike. It proposes that spirituality may be construed as the pursuit of the unity of life and thought. Drawing on phenomenological insights from Martin Heidegger, Hannah Arendt, Gilles Deleuze, and Giorgio Agamben, Spiritual Life and Secular Thought argues that “non-religious spirituality” is not just an outworking of post-religious individualism or spiritual consumerism, but an expression of fundamental dimensions of human existence and the experience of living and thinking in the world. This proposed existential phenomenological notion of spirituality as the unity of life and thought not only paves the way for renewed assessments of the relation between philosophy, spirituality, and religion in secular society, but also sheds new light on how one might live and think spiritually in the contemporary world.

In a culture that prizes keeping one’s options open, making commitments offers something more valuable. The consumerism and instant gratification of “liquid modernity” feed a general reluctance to make commitments, a refusal to be pinned down for the long term. Consider the decline of three forms of commitment that involve giving up options: marriage, military service, and monastic life. Yet increasing numbers of people question whether unprecedented freedom might be leading to less flourishing, not more. They are dissatisfied with an atomized way of life that offers endless choices of goods, services, and experiences but undermines ties of solidarity and mutuality. They yearn for more heroic virtues, more sacrificial commitments, more comprehensive visions of the individual and common good. It turns out that the American Founders were right: the Creator did endow us with an unalienable right of liberty. But he has endowed us with something else as well, a gift that is equally unalienable: desire for unreserved commitment of all we have and are. Our liberty is given us so that we in turn can freely dedicate ourselves to something greater. Ultimately, to take a leap of commitment, even without knowing where one will land, is the way to a happiness worth everything. On this theme: - Lydia S. Dugdale asks what happened to the Hippocratic Oath in modern medicine. - Caitrin Keiper looks at competing vows in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. - Kelsey Osgood, an Orthodox Jew, asks why lifestyle discipline is admired in sports but not religion. - Wendell Berry says being on the side of love does not allow one to have enemies. - Phil Christman spoofs the New York Times Vows column. - Andreas Knapp tells why he chose poverty. - Norann Voll recounts the places a vow of obedience took her. - Carino Hodder says chastity is for everyone, not just nuns. - Dori Moody revisits her grandparents’ broken but faithful marriage. - Randall Gauger, a Bruderhof pastor, finds that lifelong vows make faithfulness possible. - King-Ho Leung looks at vows, oaths, promises, and covenants in the Bible. Also in the issue: - A young Black pastor reads Clarence Jordan today. - Activists discuss the pro-life movement after Roe and Dobbs. - Children learn from King Arthur, Robin Hood, and the occasional cowboy. - Original poetry by Ned Balbo - Reviews of Montgomery and Biklé’s What Your Food Ate, Mohsin Hamid’s The Last White Man, and Bonnie Kristian’s Untrustworthy - A profile of Sadhu Sundar Singh Plough Quarterly features stories, ideas, and culture for people eager to apply their faith to the challenges we face. Each issue includes in-depth articles, interviews, poetry, book reviews, and art.