Something there: the biology in human spirit 0 November, 1999 David Hays maintains that survey figures show

that interest in spirituality, often expressed as the awareness of something there!, is rising right a"ross the developed world# He demonstrates this from hundreds of interviews of ordinary! people whi"h ba"$ up the view that spirituality is hard%wired into our biologi"al ma$e%up, that it is evolving, and that from it, a remar$able new phenomenon is emerging# &1'pp, Darton, (ongman ) *odd (td#, +00'# *o pur"hase this boo$ online, go to www#darton% longman%todd#"o#u$ Content Preface Part 1: Context 1# *he ,ountains of the ,ind +# !-nfu..ying the /u..y!: 0or$ing *owards a 1iology of the Spirit Part 2: Conversation &# *he 2ndividuality of the Spirit 3# Shared 4spe"ts of the Spiritual 5uest 6# *heorising about the Spirit '# 7rimordial Spirituality Part 3: Conflict 8# 7sy"hologists Start 4rguing about Spirituality 9# ,odern S"ientists 0iden the 4rgument 0hy Spirituality 9# 2s Diffi"ult for 0esterners Part 4: Facing the Crisis 10# *he 7roblems of the 2nstitution 11# *reating the Si"$ness of the Spirit 4n -ns"ientifi" 7osts"ript Notes Bibliography Index Review Despite the de"line of institutional religion, David Hay maintains that a remar$able new phenomenon is emerging# Survey figures show that interest in spirituality, often expressed as the awareness of something there!, is rising right a"ross the developed world# :esear"hing the

biologi"al, psy"hologi"al and so"ial s"ien"es whi"h strongly suggest that spiritual awareness is a genuine and deep%seated aspe"t of what it is to be human, David interviews hundreds of ordinary! people, who "laim no formal religious affiliation, who ba"$ up the view that spirituality is hard%wired into our biologi"al ma$e%up and is evolving, through natural sele"tion, be"ause it has survival value# 2t is what enables people to relate ethi"ally to other human beings and to their environment# Chapter one The mountains of the mind Man that is born of woman has but a short time to live, and is full of misery. 1''+ 7rayer 1oo$

O the mind, mind has mountains cliffs of fall !rightful, sheer, no"man"fathomed. ;erard ,anley Hop$ins <l= >S*:4;?N <giving up=: Nothing to be done. Samuel 1e"$ett, #aiting for $odot %&' The spirit of an era @ertain people "ome to represent the spirit of their time# ,aybe the 1eatles or >lvis did that for the pop world of the 19'0s and 1980s# ?n a "old evening in (ondon in the 1960s the 2rish playwright Samuel 1e"$ett had already gone a step further# He put in a nutshell the emotional "ulmination of four "enturies of >uropean "ulture# *he setting of this tour de force was the 4rts *heatre @lub in ;reat Newport Street on & 4ugust 1966# 4fter troubles with the (ord @hamberlain over "ensorship, 1e"$ett!s new play was about to open privately with 7eter Hall dire"ting# *he weather had been drab all day, so it was not a bad time to get out of the "old and into the warmth of a theatre# 4nyone present on that basis and hoping for a "omfortable evening was to be disappointed# 4s the "urtain rose, this is what "onfronted them# ?n a bare stage stand two shabbily dressed men# 1owler%hatted "lowns, they might be mista$en for (aurel and Hardy#<&= *hey are Aladimir and >stragon, the "entral "hara"ters in #aiting for $odot# 4lthough there is a path running through their 0asteland they do not venture along it, but stay rooted to the spot# 2t seems they are immobilised by hope, the hope that someone "alled ;odot will arrive andB whatC ;ive a meaning or an explanation of their situationC *ell them what to doC ;et them out of their hopelessnessC 0ho $nowsC 4t any rate here%and%now they are in a state of absolute dependen"y on a mysterious figure who mayor may not exist# <3= *hose members of the audien"e who have the stamina to remain in their seats until the final "urtain find out that nothing "hanges and ;odot still hasn!t "ome# *hey are left with the strong suspi"ion that he will never "ome# ?n that opening night, and for many su""eeding nights, most of the audien"e were unimpressed# ,any wal$ed out, while others stayed to Deer E they "ouldn!t ma$e head or tail of it# 2 remember being pu..led myself the first time 2 saw the play# Fet 1e"$ett repeatedly asserted that the theme of 0aiting for ;odot is simple and straightforward# His "laim to transparen"y is somewhat

disingenuous, for his words "onfront us with human depths where few would "are to remain for long# *he psy"hologi"al world o""upied by the "entral "hara"ters is one that has regressed ba"$ to a "hildli$e dire"tness of feeling, as hinted at by the use of their pet names, Didi and ;ogo# *heir straightforwardness has a primordial Guality, as if signalling the announ"ement of an embodied, biologi"ally rooted $nowingness existing before all theology, all philosophy, all s"ientifi" investigation, or any $ind of extended thought whatsoever# *he "ommon response of those first audien"es was denial, in the psy"hiatri" sense of that word# 7eople either avoided 1e"$ett!s version of the truth by refusing to understand at the "ons"ious level, or they ran away# 2n spite of the temptation to shut out 1e"$ett!s message as unre"ognisable, his language is indeed perfe"tly familiar# 2nevitably, but paradoxi"ally, the na$ed passions of the "hara"ters in #aiting for $odot are "lothed in the forms of >uropean "ulture, parti"ularly its @hristian beliefs <6= E inevitably, be"ause 1e"$ett was a >uropeanH paradoxi"ally, be"ause how "an language ever do more than hint at the primordialC 1e"$ett was unusually well a"Guainted with @hristian "ulture# His mother, who was a devout member of the @hur"h of 2reland, brought him up in a suburb of Dublin# <'= *heir relationship was troubled and intense, and for the rest of his life he "ontinued to immerse himself in the "lassi"al literature of @hristianity, parti"ularly the wor$s of Dante# 4n interviewer on"e as$ed him if a @hristian interpretation of $odot was Dustified, to whi"h he replied, Fes, @hristianity is a myth with whi"h 2 am perfe"tly familiar# So naturally 2 use it#! <8= 1e"$ett!s allusions to @hristianity are not always reverent, but they are always serious and self%referential# His preo""upations are identi"al to those of the devout @hristian believer meaning, hope and despair, suffering and the shortness of life# <9= During one $no"$%about ex"hange >stragon ma$es a referen"e to Iesus @hrist# Aladimir ex"laims @hristJ 0hat has @hrist to do with itC Fou!re not going to "ompare yourself to @hristJ! >stragon replies: 4ll my life 2!ve "ompared myself to him#! ,any "riti"s have dwelt upon this pervasive use of @hristian imagery in 1e"$ett!s writing, some of them "laiming that his message is religious# 2t has even been suggested that he was awarded the 19'9 Nobel 7ri.e for (iterature on the mista$en assumption that his writing was a defen"e of religion# 1ut 1e"$ett was absolutely without any form of religious belief# *he "on"luding words of his novel (he )nnameable, express his views su""in"tly: 0here 2 am, 2 don!t $now, 2!ll never $now, in the silen"e you don!t $now, you must go on, 2 "an!t go on, 2!ll go on#! <9= ?ne way of interpreting $odot is to see it as a snare to "at"h out unwary people and summarily demolish their illusion that they do $now where they are# <10= 4lthough 1e"$ett!s sto"$ of ideas "ame from the >uropean tradition, he insisted that there is no solid reason to suppose that this or any inherited point of view "orresponds with reality# His personal axioms in"luded the belief that we are forever alone, that language ultimately fails to "ommuni"ate, that broad generalisations <metanarratives= about the nature of reality are unwarrantedH that they are even a $ind of violen"e done to the uniGue world of the individual# Hen"e all that a writer or artist who feels driven to express themselves "an do is to spea$ as "on"retely and simply as possible about their own experien"e of life#

*H> ,4:;2N4(2S2N; ?/ :>(2;2?N 4lthough 1e"$ett expressed his pain in a novel way, what he said is not new# (oss of "oherent meaning lies at the "ore of an austere tradition tra"eable ba"$ to at least the sixteenth "entury in >urope# /rom time to time the distress of it is "aught in the writings of those who deal in na$ed feeling E that is, the poets# *here is a parallel emotion running through from Iohn Donne!s early seventeenth "entury lament, 4nd freely men "onfess that this world!s spent, 0hen in the planets and the firmament *hey see$ so many new: they see that this 2s "rumbled out again t!his atomies# *is all in pie"es, all "oheren"e goneH 4ll Dust supply, and all relation: <11= to ,atthew 4rnold!s verse written in 19'8: 4h, love, let us be true *o one anotherJ for the world, whi"h seems *o lie before us li$e a land of dreams, So various, so beautiful, so new, Hath really neither Doy, nor love, nor light, Nor "ertitude, nor pea"e, nor help for painH 4nd we are here as on a dar$ling plain Swept with "onfused alarms of struggle and flight, 0here ignorant armies "lash by night# <1+= 0# 1# Feats "ontinues with similar vehemen"e in 19+1, *he fal"on "annot hear the fal"onerH *hings fall apartH the "entre "annot holdH ,ere anar"hy is loosed upon the worldB <1&= 2n all three poems the loss of "oheren"e is expressed as a spiritual or religious loss and it is a "ommonpla"e that this is asso"iated with ideas that "ame to fruition during the >uropean >nlightenment <13= Iust how "ertain aspe"ts of the >nlightenment made religious belief diffi"ult for >uropeans is an issue 2 will explore in detail later <see "hapter 9=# 4t this point it is suffi"ient to be reminded that the lega"y of religious s"epti"ism is inherited to some degree by everyone in the "ontinent of >urope, not to spea$ of those other parts of the world that have been strongly influen"ed by >uropean ideas# 2n every 0esterner who is at all so"ially aware there resides either the "onvi"tion, or the $nowledge of other people!s "onvi"tion, that religion is a dubious affair# >ven those who have withdrawn into a religious ghetto to prote"t their beliefs are "ons"ious of the "riti"s who have triggered their wish for radi"al disengagement from the dominant "ulture#

1e"$ett is a supremely powerful spo$esman on behalf of that underlying s"epti"ism# 2n the 1960s, at what now seems li$e a pivotal moment, with the s$ill of a psy"hoanalyst he brought to "ons"iousness the sense of in"oheren"e that had been growing for "enturies, but in the main was ignored or repressed in people!s everyday lives# He even got it headlined in the popular media# 2t is as if, with the honesty and naivety of a small boy, he blurted out an unpalatable intuitionH there is no ultimate meaning# (arge numbers of our "ontemporaries, when they have the strength to explore that suppressed world, share the opinion that the meanings that traditionally "lothed our existen"e are simply not there# *he loss of religious meaning is publi"ly displayed in the statisti"s of de"line in the "hur"hes# 1ritain is fortunate in having a relatively good set of figures summarising the "hanging involvement of people in religious institutions over the past 160 years# *hough interpretation of the data is diffi"ult and "ontroversial, the waning of these institutions is unmista$able# 2t has been examined in detail by students of se"ularisation theory <whi"h predi"ts that as so"iety be"omes more rationally ordered, the influen"e of religion will de"line= #<16= *he pi"ture that emerges is one of in"reasing numbers of people drifting away from what they see as no longer "redible, hen"e irrelevant to their lives# During the se"ond half of the twentieth "entury the "ollapse appears to have a""elerated# <1'= *he story is well $nown so 2 shall "onfine myself to offering only a few reminders of the argument# Steve 1ru"e, the leading 1ritish proponent of se"ularisation theory, refle"ting on several different analyses of the 1961 @ensus of :eligious 0orship, "on"ludes that probably between 30 per "ent and '0 per "ent of the adult population of 1ritain were regular "hur"h attenders in that year# <28= 1y 1999, a""ording to figures gathered by 7eter 1rierley, <19= the proportion had dropped to 8#6 per "ent# 1etween 1900 and +000 the aggregated figures for "hur"h membership fell from an optimum of +8 per "ent of the national population to 10 per "ent# <19= *he story is mu"h the same for religious professionals# 2n 1900 there were over 36,000 "lergy in the -nited Kingdom# 1y the year +000, at a time when the national population had almost doubled, the number of "lergy had fallen to Dust over &',000# 7rofessor 1ru"e points out that to maintain eGuivalen"e with 1900, there should be something li$e 90,000 "lergy today# <+0= >ven more startling, 1rierley "al"ulates that attendan"e of "hildren at Sunday S"hool dropped from a maximum of half the population in 19+0 to a minis"ule 3 per "ent in +000# <+1= 2n >ngland in 1900, a""ording to 1rierley, '8 per "ent of all weddings too$ pla"e in an 4ngli"an "hur"h, whilst by +000 the figure had fallen to +0 per "ent# <++= /inally and most devastatingly, during the last de"ade of the twentieth "entury people were deta"hing themselves from the mainstream "hur"hes at a spe"ta"ular rate# *he statisti"s re"orded in *eligious (rends +,,,-&... <+&= show that regular "hur"h attendan"e in 1ritain fell from 3#83 million in 1999 to &#81 million in 1999, a drop of more than +0 per "ent in ten years# >xtrapolating those figures forward, one would have to "on"lude that there will be virtually no @hristian institutional presen"e in 1ritain by the year +060# 2n other words, if we ta$e religious adheren"e as our measure of a belief in ultimate meaning, then there is overwhelming eviden"e that 1e"$ett!s message has hit home# :>(2;2?-S 4ND S72:2*-4( >L7>:2>N@> 4lthough this boo$ is about spirituality, 2 will inevitably have a great deal to say about religion# *he two subDe"ts are very "losely related, to the extent that for many people they are synonymous# 0hat then, in the light of the statisti"s Dust Guoted, are we to ma$e of the dramati"

"hanges in report of religious or spiritual experien"e in 1ritain during the latter part of the twentieth "enturyC 2n 1998, along with ;ordon Heald <who at the time was dire"tor of ;allup 7oll in 1ritain=, 2 published the results of a survey of reports of su"h experien"e in the -K# <+3= *he figures showed that 39 per "ent of the national sample felt they were personally aware of this $ind of experien"e in their lives# 2n the year +000, in asso"iation with the 11@!s /oul of Britain review of the spiritual state of the nation, 2 had the opportunity to have another loo$ at the Guestion# 4gain 2 used the s$ills of ;ordon Heald, who by this time was running his own polling organisation, the ?pinion :esear"h 1usiness <?:1=# 2 wondered what had happened over the years sin"e 1998, approximately the same period of time during whi"h "hur"h attendan"e had dropped by +0 per "ent# 2 was "urious to see whether there was a parallel fall in positive response to Guestions about religious and spiritual experien"e# 4s far as possible 2 de"ided to repeat the 1998 enGuiries in the new survey, though omitting two of the original Guestions# <+6= 2 was astonished when 2 re"eived the results, to the extent of telephoning the ?:1 offi"e to ma$e sure there had not been a mista$e# ?ver those 1& years there had been an almost '0 per "ent in"rease in the positive response rate# *he figures suggest that around three%Guarters of the national population are now li$ely to admit to having had one of these experien"es# *he great maDority of these people are of "ourse not regular "hur"hgoers# 4nd ever sin"e the millennium, if the mushrooming of referen"es on spirituality on the 2nternet is anything to go by <a""ording to ;oogle at the time of writing, it had risen to over &',000,000= there is no sign of the interest dying down# <@urrently,as of Iuly +00', the figure is 103,000,000#= 1ut what do people mean when they say they have had a spiritual or religious experien"eC 2 am able to give a substantial answer be"ause of the wor$ of the ?xford .oologist, 4lister Hardy, of whom 2 shall have more to say in later "hapters# 2n 19'9 Hardy founded the :eligious >xperien"e :esear"h -nit <:>:-= <+'= with the purpose of ma$ing a s"ientifi" study of the nature, fun"tion and freGuen"y of reports of religious experien"e in the human spe"ies# He saw his initial tas$ as rather li$e that of the Ai"torian naturalists, gathering examples of different spe"imens and "lassifying them, in preparation for the "reation of a theory of religious experien"e# 2n response to advertisements he pla"ed in the media, Hardy a""umulated an ar"hive of several thousand personal des"riptions sent in to the -nit by members of the general publi"# *hese narratives were replies to variants of the following Guestion: Have you ever been aware of or influen"ed by a presen"e or a power, whether you "all it ;od or not, that is different from your everyday selfC Hardy was soon to find that the "lassifi"ation of the responses was more diffi"ult than he expe"ted, primarily be"ause there is a fundamental differen"e between sorting physi"al organisms li$e animals and plants, and applying the same method to written a""ounts of experien"e# 2n the latter "ase a multitude of personal, psy"hologi"al, so"ial and politi"al influen"es affe"t the way people put their experien"e into words, ma$ing "lassifi"ation a more pu..ling and un"ertain underta$ing# 2n spite of the "ompli"ations, several attempts have been made to organise the material in Hardy!s ar"hive# <+8= *he simplest, and therefore the "rudest method, is the one ;ordon Heald and 2 used to prepare the Guestionnaire for our 1998 survey# 0e wanted to as$ about different

sub"ategories of experien"e# *o be useable in a larges"ale national poll the Guestions have to be "lear%"ut, straightforward and as far as possible, unambiguous# 0e de"ided that it was not pra"ti"able to offer a list of more than a few alternatives, so we "arefully reviewed the ar"hive held in the :>:- offi"e and identified the eight "ommonest types of experien"e re"orded# *hese were inserted in our poll# /or the sa$e of "larity 2 will present the same "lassifi"ation here, along with a warning that this simplifi"ation is of "ourse an over"simplifi"ation# 2n my illustrations 2 have intentionally "hosen vivid des"riptions be"ause they are helpful to "onvey the strong feeling that typi"ally lies behind them# 1ut there is a snag about using extra"ts li$e this be"ause most people!s a""ounts are simple and down%to%earth# Hardy wanted to stress this ordinariness, in "ontrast to the two previous best%$nown studies of religious experien"e prior to his wor$, whi"h both emphasised extraordinary states of "ons"iousness# 0illiam Iames, first professor of 7sy"hology at Harvard -niversity, is the a"$nowledged founding father of the modern psy"hologi"al study of religious experien"e# He a"hieved this position through his ;ifford (e"tures, delivered in >dinburgh -niversity in 1901%+ and published as *he 0arieties of *eligious 1xperience# <+9= *he le"tures intentionally laid stress on extreme examples of experien"e be"ause of Iames! belief that psy"hologi"al phenomena are most easily re"ognisable in their a"ute form# Similarly, in 1918, the ;erman philosopher and theologian :udolf ?tto wrote a highly influential boo$ on the experien"e of trans"enden"e, 2as 3eilige# <+9= 2t is a dramati" wor$ in whi"h he fo"uses upon the awe%inspiring forms that su"h experien"e "an ta$e, drawing many of his examples from the 1ible# *able 1: /reGuen"y of :eport of :eligious or Spiritual >xperien"e in 1ritain for the Fears 1998 and +000 198 2!!! +9M 66M +8M &9M +6M &8M 1'M +9M 19M +6M 1+M +6M "48#$% &#

4 patterning of events 4wareness of the presen"e of ;od 4wareness of prayer being answered 4wareness of a sa"red presen"e in nature 4wareness of the presen"e of the dead 4wareness of an evil presen"e Cumulative Total

N *his in"ludes totals for respondents to two additional Guestions as$ed in 1998 about a presen"e not "alled ;od! <++M= and awareness that all things are ?ne! <6M=, i#e# the total of 8'M for the year +000 is Guite li$ely to be relatively spea$ing an underestimate# 1earing my proviso in mind, here are the "lassified extra"ts from Hardy!s ar"hive# 404:>N>SS ?/ 4 74**>:N2N; ?/ >A>N*SO SFN@H:?N2@2*F *he "ommonest $ind of experien"e reported in 1ritain is the re"ognition of a trans"endent providen"e: a patterning of events in a person!s life that "onvin"es them that in some strange way those events were meant to happen# 2n the millennium year survey 2 mentioned above, 66 per "ent of the national sample re"ognised this in their own lives# *his is a 90 per "ent rise "ompared

to the response when the Guestion was as$ed in 1998 <see *able 1=# Sometimes these events have the startling "hara"teristi"s of what the psy"hologist @# ;# Iung "alled syn"hroni"ity!, that is, a meaningful "oin"iden"e! or a "luster of events that do not appear to have any "ausal "onne"tion with ea"h other, yet have a meaningful relationship# <&0= ,y first example will illustrate what 2 mean# 4 young woman is giving an a""ount of her religious sear"h: B while wal$ing home one dar$ night 2 refle"ted how my sear"h was going and, rather sadly, felt that, li$e *homas, 2 must have proof and without that 2 would have to say that 2 did not believe in ;od# Deep in thought, 2 loo$ed up at the night s$y, whi"h was filled with hundreds of stars# 0ildly, 2 threw the silent "all upwards, 7rove itJ! Hardly had the words been formed than a bright star sped a"ross the s$y# 1efore it died away, another star had begun to traverse the dar$ness# 4nd there, Dust for a moment, an enormous "ross bla.ed in the heavens li$e a personal signature# 2 was filled with awe and a "ertain terror at the power that 2 saw unleashedB Here we see at on"e the importan"e of the "ultural "ontext in whi"h an experien"e <any $ind of experien"e= o""urs for the "onstru"tion of meaning, sin"e this woman is aware of the symboli" signifi"an"e of the "ross in @hristianity# Nevertheless, whilst a s"epti" would dismiss the "oin"iden"e as meaningless, she is "onvin"ed that her experien"e is not merely "oin"idental, sin"e she adds, ,y husband died last year at the age of &9 years with "an"er# 0hile 2 nursed him a friend said to me, 2 don!t $now how you "an believe in ;od#! *he Guestion surprised me, for on"e you $now there is a ;od the Guestion of belief "eases to exist# *he next example has a rather less obviously "ulturally "onstru"ted "ontent, but the symboli" importan"e of "oin"iden"e is experien"ed as even more melodramati"# *he in"ident o""urred at a time when the informant!s life was in pie"es and she had de"ided to $ill herself: B at that moment 2 let out a loud "hallenge into that dar$ and lonesome night, into that desolation of land and soul and 2 shouted: B 2/ *H>:> 2S S-@H 4 *H2N; 4S 4 ;?D *H>N SH?0 F?-:S>(/ *? ,> E N?0B and at that very instant there was a loud "ra"$, li$e a rifle shot P"oming from the bedroomQ B 2 stumbled through the open door to my bedroom# 2 fell into the bed sha$ing and then something for"ed my eyes upward to the wall above my bedside table and where 2 had a very small photograph of my father hanging# ## *he pi"ture had gone E 2 Dust loo$ed at the empty spa"eB but in loo$ing "loser 2 saw the photograph, fa"e down on the little table and the narrow silver frame was split apart, the glass bro$en and from behind the "ardboard on the ba"$ there had slipped out# ## the last letter Pmy fatherQ had written me B 0hen 2 pi"$ed up that letter and read over and over the words of this beloved "aring father of mine, 2 $new that was H2S help to me, and ;od answered me dire"tly in the hour of this soul being in anguish# *hese two examples are des"ribed in spe"ta"ular terms and experien"ed as su"h# ,u"h more "ommonly, people spea$ of "oming to re"ognise an unfolding pattern in their lives that has not been di"tated by their personal "hoi"e, as for example in the sele"tion of a "areer# 4lmost

without ex"eption this "onfiguration is interpreted as something given!, though not ne"essarily with an overtly religious "onnotation# *he next example, however, is from a "ommitted religious believer, and here we "an see a move towards St 2gnatius (oyola!s di"tum of seeing ;od in all things!: *he experien"es of the last six months haveB "onfirmed my deep "onvi"tion that ;od is dire"tly and indire"tly guiding my life# ## as well as being absolutely "onvin"ed of Divine guidan"e in the larger issues of my life, 2 feel the guidan"e strongly even in some of the smaller events# ## the pattern of my life seems to me to be a mosai", in whi"h everything, in"luding seeming disasters, eventually turns to good# # # 404:>N>SS ?/ *H> 7:>S>N@> ?/ ;?D ,any people feel they have been aware of the presen"e of ;od# 0e $now from our resear"h that this "an often be when they are very happy# 4t the other end of the s"ale, people tal$ of being aware of ;od when they are deeply distressed# 2n the latter "ase typi"ally nothing "hanges in their physi"al "ir"umstan"es, but the experien"e of ;od!s presen"e pla"es them in a larger "ontext of meaning whi"h helps them to bear their suffering# 2n the year +000 poll, &9 per "ent of the sample said they had personal awareness of su"h a divine presen"e E a 31 per "ent rise on 1& years previously# Here is an example of someone experien"ing feelings of Doy in the presen"e of ;od, yet anxious about her sanity: 2 was loo$ing after the /riends ,eeting House high on a spur of the forest, and sleeping on a "amp bed in the sitting%room of the dwelling next door# ?ne night 2 awo$e slowly at about one o!"lo"$ to a feeling of absolute safety and happinessH everything in the world around me seemed to be singing 4ll is very well!# 4fter an almost unbelieving <si"= few minutes 2 got up and went to the window and saw the valley filled with the love of ;od, flowing and spreading from the roadside and the few houses of the village# 2t was as though a great sour"e of light and love and goodness was there along the valley, absolutely true and un"hangeable# 2 went outside and loo$ed down over the hedge, and the light and assuran"e were most truly thereH 2 loo$ed and loo$ed, and, to be honest, 2 was not than$ful, as 2 should have been, but trying to absorb the awareness of safety and Doy so deeply that 2 would never forget it# *he writer goes on to say that the following day, in someone else!s house, she pi"$ed up a maga.ine that lay open at an arti"le on Dust su"h religious experien"es as P2Q had had the previous night!# Syn"hroni"ity again# She interpreted it as a reassuran"e that she was Guite sane!# 4s we shall see, anxiety about insanity is a "ommon a""ompaniment of these experien"es# Some of the most interesting examples in Hardy!s ar"hive are memories from "hildhood# <&1= *he freedom for experien"e of this type in "hildren is often attributed to naivety and a misunderstanding of "ausality# 2n a later "hapter 2 will Guestion this dismissal and offer an alternative a""ount based on re"ent empiri"al resear"h# Here is an example of someone re"olle"ting a spontaneous experien"e of being in ;od!s presen"e when she was a young girl: ,y father used to ta$e all the family for a wal$ on Sunday evenings# ?n one su"h wal$, we wandered a"ross a narrow path through a field of high, ripe "orn# 2 lagged behind, and found myself alone# Suddenly, heaven bla.ed upon me# 2 was enveloped in golden light, 2 was

"ons"ious of a presen"e, so $ind, so loving, so bright, so "onsoling, so "ommanding, existing apart from me but so "lose# 2 heard no sound# 1ut words fell into my mind Guite "learly E >verything is all right# >verybody will be all right#! *he writer "onne"ts her "omment with the best%$nown saying of the fourteenth%"entury >nglish mysti", Iulian of Norwi"h, 4ll shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well#! Surprise is very "hara"teristi", as in the next Guotation, whi"h is of interest be"ause the writer in"ludes a refle"tion on the use of metaphor to mediate his experien"e: *he experien"e itself is very diffi"ult to des"ribe# 2t too$ me "ompletely by surprise# 2 was about to start shaving at the time, of all things# 2 felt that my soul was literally physi"ally shifted for Guite a number of se"onds, perhaps 16 to +0 E from the dar$ into the light# 2 saw my life, suddenly, as forming a pattern and felt that 2 had, suddenly, be"ome a"Guainted with myself again after a long absen"e E that 2 was, whether 2 li$ed it or not, treading a $ind of spiritual path, and this fa"t demanded me to Guit a"ademi"s and enter so"ial wor$B 2 must stress here that prior to this experien"e 2 used never to use the words su"h as sour or salvation! or any su"h religiously "oloured! words# 1ut in order to ma$e even the slightest sense of what happened to me 2 find it imperative to use them# (oo$ing ba"$ it does seem as if 2 saw a $ind of light, but 2 thin$ that this might have been a metaphor 2 "oined immediately after the experien"e# *he next illustration is an example of the many a""ounts of the presen"e of ;od that are asso"iated with times of severe distress: 2 had an experien"e seven years ago that "hanged my whole life# 2 had lost my husband six months before and my "ourage at the same time# 2 felt life would be useless if fear were allowed to govern me# ?ne evening with no preparation, as sudden and dynami" as the :evelation to Saul of *arsus, 2 $new 2 was in the presen"e of ;od, and that he would never leave me nor forsa$e me and that he loved me with a love beyond imagination E no matter what 2 did# 404:>N>SS ?/ 4 7:>S>N@> N?* N4,>D :ather more than a fifth of our 1998 sample referred to this $ind of experien"e# 0e were not able to in"lude a Guestion on it in our millennium poll# <&+= *hat is unfortunate, be"ause it is an in"reasingly 2mportant "ategory in an age of religious de"line# (u"$ily there are numerous examples in Hardy!s ar"hive# 7eople are often lost for words, and when they do find words they are not sure that they @onvey the experien"e# >vidently the term ;od! is not always appropriate for the writers, partly be"ause they feel uneasy with religious language# *he inarti"ula"y asso"iated with any experien"e of a trans"endent presen"e, and the un"ertainty when words are found, is beautifully brought out in the next a""ount# 2t is also of a "hildhood memory, from a man in his fifties: 4s a "hild <not younger than ', not older than 9= 2 had an experien"e whi"h nowadays 2 "onsider as $indred, if not identi"al with those experien"es related by 0ordsworth in *he 7relude, 1$ 2, lines &89%300# <&&= *he "ir"umstan"es were: dus$, summertime, and lone of a "rowd of grown% ups and "hildren assembled round the shore of an artifi"ial la$e, waiting for full dar$ness before

a firewor$ display was to begin# 4 bree.e stirred the leaves of a group of poplars to my rightH stirred, they gave a fluttering sound# *here, then, 2 $new or felt or experien"ed whatC 2n"ommuni"able now, but then mu"h more so# *he sensations were of awe and wonder, and a sense of astounding beautyB that "hild of ' or 8 or 9 $new nothing of 0ordsworth or about mysti"ism or about religion# ,y former "olleague >dward :obinson <&3= had the opportunity to tal$ further with this man about what his experien"e meant to him# He told :obinson, 2t!s very diffi"ult to say that it revealed E whatC *he existen"e of infinityC *he fa"t of divinityC 2 wouldn!t have had the language at my "ommand to formulate su"h things, so that if 2 spea$ about it now it is with the language and ideas of a mature person# 1ut from my present age, loo$ing ba"$ some half a "entury, 2 would say now that 2 did then experien"e E whatC a truth, a fa"t, the existen"e of the divine# 0hat happened was telling me something# 1ut what was it tellingC *he fa"t of divinity, that it was goodC Not so mu"h in the moral sense, but that it was beautiful, yes, sa"red# <&6= Did this man mean ;od!C 2 don!t $now, and it is not "lear that the person himself feels able to give an uneGuivo"al answer to that Guestion either# 4 similar un"ertainty appears in the next extra"t, be"ause the informant has "ons"iously withdrawn from the religious institution in whi"h he was nurtured: Sin"e about the age of ' 2 have had an awareness of a higher power# 4t all times 2 am aware of this power, whi"h is as real to me as any in the physi"al world# 2n this sense 2 live in two spheres of influen"e# 0hen 2 am tranGuil, as in bed late at night, 2 pla"e my problems before this higher power and 2 am shown the way to solve themB ?riginally a @atholi", sin"e 1+ 2 have belonged to no organised religion whatsoever# 2 belong to no group# Sometimes there is no eGuivo"ation, as in the next brief extra"t, whi"h sounds self%"ontradi"tory, perhaps further underlining the diffi"ulty with the use of religious terminology in a se"ular age: 2 B $now that sin"e 2 "on"luded some years ago that my mind "ould not a""ept a personal ;odB 2 seem to have be"ome more aware of this all pervading power whi"h to me is strength, "omfort, Doy, goodness# # # 404:>N>SS ?/ 7:4F>: 1>2N; 4NS0>:>D 2n great unhappiness or fear, many people, in"luding those who are un"ertain about ;od!s existen"e, turn to prayer for help# 4 total of &8 per "ent of those Guestioned in the millennium survey felt they had re"eived su"h help E a 30 per "ent in"rease on 1998# ,y first example is a des"ription of a modern vision# 2t is of great interest be"ause of the "ommon per"eption that su"h experien"e is symptomati" of mental disturban"e, though this was not the opinion of the informant# His understanding of the shaping role of "ulture in his experien"e is "lear, for he remar$s 2 realise that the form of the vision and the words 2 heard were the result of my edu"ation and "ultural ba"$ground!, but this does not lead him to dismiss it# 4t the time of the in"ident he had been a psy"hiatri" patient for three years during whi"h he underwent numerous

ele"tri" sho"$ treatments for s"hi.ophrenia# He interprets his experien"e not as a symptom of his illness, but rather as the trigger for his re"overy from psy"hosis# He writes: 4t one time 2 rea"hed utter despair and wept and prayed ;od for mer"y instin"tively and without faith in reply# *hat night 2 stood with other patients in the grounds waiting to be let into our ward# 2t was a very "old night with many stars# Suddenly someone stood beside me in a dusty brown robe and a voi"e said, ,ad or sane, you are one of my sheep#! 2 never spo$e to anyone of this, but ever sin"e, +0 years, it has been the pivot of my life# ,y next example is an illustration of prayer as something involuntary, emerging from severe distress and followed by religious awareness# *he informant was wat"hing through the night with his dying father: 2 was stret"hed out hardly a foot away from my father as his life slipped from his body, and "ame to the sho"$ing "on"lusion that 2 was of very little help to him# He lay there not ma$ing mu"h sound, Dust enough to ma$e me aware that he was in distress# >very so often he pulled at the "overs, trying to get out of bed# 2 was miserably "ons"ious of ea"h movement as he struggled towards the edge of the mattress and was in danger of "rashing onto the floor# 4gain and again 2 got up, wal$ed round to the other side of the bed and tried to settle him ba"$ as gently as 2 "ould# 2 thought to myself, this is the worst night of my life# 2 found 2 was praying# Not words# Iust a despairing rea"hing towards ;od to help me through the night# *hen, slowly, an extraordinary "hange began to ta$e pla"e# 2 be"ame more and more strongly aware of ;od!s presen"e filling the room, indes"ribably powerful and <does this ma$e any sense to youC= drawing my father and me, all things, together in a vast, ri"h harmony# *hen it seemed as if something li$e a hard "rust was dissolving or falling away inside me# 2 $new what was happening# *he wounded relationship was being tenderly un"overed and healed# 2 was filled with Doy# *he rest of what 2 experien"ed is beyond wordsB 2n the following example, a prayer for enlightenment is answered, and on"e again the "ultural "ontext is stri$ing# 2 do not $now if the writer was aware of the lines in ;eorge Herbert!s hymn, 4 servant with this "lause ma$es drudgery divine# 0ho sweeps a room as for thy laws ma$es that and the a"tion fine# 2 prayed with unashamed sin"erity that if ;od existed, "ould He show me some sort of light in the Dungle# ?ne day, 2 was sweeping the stairs, down in the house in whi"h 2 was wor$ing, when suddenly 2 was over"ome, overwhelmed, saturatedB with a sense of most sublime and living love# 2t not only affe"ted me, but seemed to bring everything around me to life# *he brush in my hand, my dustpan, the stairs, seemed to "ome alive with love# 2 seemed no longer me, with my petty troubles and trials, but part of this infinite power of love, so utterly and overwhelmingly wonderful that one $new at on"e what the saints had grasped# 2t "ould only have been a minute or two, yet for that brief parti"le of time it seemed eternity# ## 4 S4@:>D 7:>S>N@> 2N N4*-:> 4nother "ommonly reported experien"e is an awareness of a sa"red esen"e in nature, a$in to 0ordsworth!s des"ription of a presen"e at rolls through all things! in his lines written above

*intern 4bbey# 4 total of +9 per "ent of the millennium sample felt that they had had is $ind of experien"e E an 91 per "ent rise sin"e 1998# 2n the next example, what begins as an awareness of a presen"e in nature and the hearing of ;od!s words to ,oses out of the burning bush, ends as the experien"e of mysti"al union with ;od: 2 was staying in 2reland in a "ottage by the sea, with a bea"h, sand dunes and mountains# 0al$ing through the dunes to "all the family home from their fishing in the river, 2 "ame to the hollow 2 had wal$ed through many times# *his time 2 was halted by a voi"e saying "learly *a$e off your shoes, the ground on whi"h you stand is holy ground#! 2 had no shoes on, but 2 was "ompelled on to my $nees and then into a "rou"h so that 2 was as "lose as 2 "ould be to the ground# *hen a tremendous silen"e "ame around meH 2 almost felt it tou"hed me, 2 was en"losed in it# Fet 2 "ould hear the inse"ts, bees, beetles, ants, et"# in the small flowers in the short grass, and 2 was one with them, "reatures and flowers# 2 "ould hear the sheep and the brea$ers beyond on the bea"h, and 2 was one with them and the sea# :ivers, and for some reason the Ai"toria /alls <whi"h 2 have never seen=, "ame into my mind, and 2 was one with all waterfalls, all trees, all living things everywhere# 4 farmer!s wife in the valley had Dust had a baby and 2 was one with them, and the old 0oman on the mountain who was dying and her relatives who were with her before they left for 4meri"a, and 2 was one with them# Not only one with!, somehow 2 was them# *hen 2 thought, ;od is here, with me and in me, the @reator!, and for that moment 2 was one with and in ;od# *he next ex"erpt seemingly belongs to the same universe of dis"ourse, but at the time it was without the overt religious "ontent of the previous example: 2 did not attribute any great signifi"an"e to these experien"es: they were an expression of my e"stati" love for what 0ordsworth "alls natural obDe"ts!, not utterly different from the e"stasy of sexual love# 2 did not thin$ of them in terms of union with ;od, for instan"e, until mu"h later# 2 used to be pu..led by the way this experien"e would "ome unheralded, and in the most unli$ely pla"es E not, for instan"e, in rose plot, fringed pool, fern!d grot E but in a bus or by a dustbinH but 2 did not thin$ a lot about it or try to give a meaning to it until 2 read 0ordsworth, and, later still, various boo$s on mysti"ism# 404:>N>SS ?/ *H> 7:>S>N@> ?/ *H> D>4D 4 surprisingly large number of people, +6 per "ent of the national sample in the year +000, felt they had been in tou"h with someone who has died E this is a &9 per "ent rise sin"e 1998# *his $ind of experien"e is "ommonly reported in asso"iation with immediate grief following the death of a loved "ompanion or relative, as in the following in"ident: 4fter the sudden death of my husband about nine years ago, 2 had several experien"es, whi"h proved to me that there is life after death# 2 am not a spiritualist nor a "hur"hgoer, but 2 try to follow Iesus, and 2 am a great believer in meditation as a way to ;od# 4fter his passing, 2 both saw and spo$e to my husband and held his hand# *his hand was strong and not at all ghostli$e, nor was his appearan"e# 2 was alone at the time, so no medium there to a"t as a lin$# 7robably this is not a detail to prove ;od!s existen"e, but to me, it indeed did#

Sometimes the dead person offers "omfort be"ause of some other grief or anxiety, as in the next example: ?ne day 2 got a phone message to say that my elder son, who was at Pa private s"hoolQ had been ta$en to hospital that morning with polio# 4s 2 lay a"ross the $it"hen table in "omplete anguish and despair, 2 distin"tly felt my grandmother!s hand laid on my shoulder and 2 had a feeling of "omplete serenity# ,y grandmother had died when 2 was 11# She was a very religious woman and 2 adored her# 2 Dust "ould not worry after this happening, and my son managed to throw off the germ before the paralysis set in# 404:>N>SS ?/ 4N >A2( 7:>S>N@> 4 Guarter of all the people interviewed in +000 felt they had been aware of an evil presen"e E a rise of over 100 per "ent sin"e 1998# *hese experien"es are Gualitatively Guite different from all the other "ategories we have loo$ed at, in that they are asso"iated with a sense of great dread and unhappiness, as des"ribed here by a man in his mid E twenties: 4 year and a half ago 2 was asleep in the night and wo$e very suddenly and felt Guite alert# 2 felt surrounded and threatened by the most terrifying and powerful presen"e of evil# 2t seemed almost physi"al and in a "urious way it "ra"$led!, though not audibly# ## 2 felt it was a manifestation dire"ted very personally at me by a power of dar$ness# 5uite often, even when people say they are not religious, they turn to traditional religious symbols in an attempt to allay their fear# During a lengthy "ar Dourney through >urope, a woman and her "ompanions had arranged to stay the night in a large town: 0e had all been travelling many hours and were hot, sti"$y and tired# ?n entering the room 2 felt a most terrible "hill, a fear 2 had never $nown# 2 am afraid 2 "annot put into words what exa"tly 2 felt, only to say that some terrible presen"e was in this room alsoB ?n the bedside table beside me was a 1ible: although 2 am of the Iewish faith and not religious, this, even so, made me feel at that time very "lose to ;odB 2 do not believe one has to be religious to spea$ with ;od# 1ut the 1ible made me feel strong, made me feel that whatever was in this room 2 "ould fight and that ;od would fight alongside me# Sometimes an en"ounter with a very physi"al manifestation of evil "an, so to spea$, trigger off a vo"ation to "ombat it# Here a ;7 re"alls an in"ident when she was a girl: Something "ame to me when 1 was thirteen years old# 2 saw a pi"ture of a pile of Iews! bodies waiting to be bulldo.ed into a mass grave in ;ermany during the Se"ond 0orld 0ar# ?f "ourse 1 was sho"$ed, but the whatever it is! too$ the opportunity to pound my brain from the inside for twelve hours# 2 "an remember thin$ing 2 don!t $now what you want# 0hat am 2 to doC! 4t the end of the twelve hours 2 thought E though 1 "an!t remember why E that maybe 2 should "hoose a "areer as a do"tor# 404:>N>SS *H4* 4(( *H2N;S 4:> ?N> *he notion of "oheren"e, unity, shading into the mysti"al 4ll is one! appears in a relatively small number of reports, and in our 1998 survey only 6 per "ent responded positively to this

Guestion# 2t was this "onsideration that led me to omit it from the millennium survey# *hese a""ounts are nevertheless extremely interesting, sin"e a number of professional students of mysti"ism have suggested that the experien"e of unity is the most fundamental form of mysti"al experien"e# <&'= ,y first example is very li$e one 2 Guoted from in the "ategory of a presen"e in nature! ex"ept that the person does not "laim to be aware of the presen"e of ;od: ?ne afternoon 2 was lying down resting after a long wal$ on the 7lainB *he grass was hot and 2 was on an eye level with inse"ts moving about# >verything was warm, busy and o""upied with living# 1 was relaxed but extraneous to the s"ene# *hen it happened: a sensation of bliss# No loss of "ons"iousness, but in"reased "ons"iousnessB 2 "ould feel the earth under me right down to the "entre of the earth, and 2 belonged to it and it belonged to me# 2 also felt that the inse"ts were my brothers and sisters, and all that was alive was related to me, be"ause we were all living matter that died to ma$e way for the next generationB 4nd 2 felt and experien"ed everything that existed, even sounds and "olours and tastes, all at on"e, and it was all blissfulB 2 had a "onvi"tion that a most important truth had been enun"iated: that we are all related E animal, vegetable and mineral E so no one is alone# 2 have never forgotten this experien"e# /inally, an aestheti"ally ri"h des"ription whi"h turns into a very pure experien"e of unity: 2 was wal$ing a"ross a field, turning my head to admire the 0estern s$y and loo$ing at a line of pine trees appearing as bla"$ velvet against a pin$ ba"$drop, turning to du"$ egg blueOgreen overhead, as the sun set# *hen it happened# 2t was as if a swit"h mar$ed ego! was suddenly swit"hed off# @ons"iousness expanded to in"lude, be, the previously observed# 2! was the sunset and there was no 2! experien"ing it!# 4t the same time E eternity was born!# *here was no past, no future, Dust an eternal nowB then 2 returned "ompletely to normal "ons"iousness finding myself wal$ing a"ross the field, in time, with a memory# 2NS*2*-*2?N 4ND >L7>:2>N@> 74:* @?,74NF *he remar$able rise in reports of spiritual or religious experien"e in 1ritain during the last de"ades of the twentieth "entury is extraordinary and ta$es some explaining# ,y own guess is that in reality there has been no great "hange in the freGuen"y with whi"h people en"ounter a spiritual dimension in their lives# 0hat is probably altering is people!s sense that they have so"ial permission for su"h experien"e# Somehow or other <perhaps through the influen"e of postmodernism, whi"h 2 shall dis"uss later=, there is a growing feeling that it is a""eptable to admit to spiritual awareness, though it is still something most people feel Guite deeply embarrassed about# *he freeing up may be asso"iated with a brea$down of the traditional assumption that the formal religious institution and spirituality, whilst perhaps not synonymous, are inseparable# No doubt most people still "onne"t the two, but there is eviden"e of an a""elerating sense of disDun"tion between institution and personal experien"e right a"ross the 0estern world# 2t is ris$y to ma$e general assertions on the basis of statisti"al findings in one "ountry# Nevertheless it seems that 1ritain is not uniGue in this respe"t# ,y "olleague David *a"ey at (a *robe -niversity in ,elbourne has dete"ted an almost identi"al pattern of de"reasing "hur"h attendan"e and rising report of spiritual experien"e in 4ustralia# He "omments stri$ingly that:

2n 4ustralia, @atholi" students who abandon formal worship within eighteen months of graduating from s"hool amount to a staggering 98 per "ent of the student body# *hese are not figures that any institution would be proud of, and "onseGuently they are not broad"ast# <&8= 4t the same time his report on his own small%s"ale studies with his students ma$es the point about spirituality: 2n ,ar"h 1999, 2 surveyed 60 of my students who had enrolled in one of my literature and psy"hology "ourses# 4n impressive 38 students indi"ated that personal spirituality was a maDor "on"ern in their lives, while only two students said that religion was important# 2n +00+, 1 surveyed 1+6 students in my undergraduate subDe"t, and !116 expressed personal "on"ern for spirituality!, while only about ten said they were pleased to be designated as following one of the religions# <&9= *here are hints of a somewhat similar phenomenon in the >uropean "ountries examined at intervals by the >uropean Study of Aalues <>SA=# Some years ago the >nglish so"iologist of religion, ;ra"e Davie, developed the "on"ept of believing without belonging!, <&9= and this seems to have relevan"e to the data gathered by the >SA# *he /ren"h so"iologist Fves (ambert, "ommenting on these surveys, notes that for the nine "ountries "onsidered as a whole, the rate of self%definition as a religious person! among young people with no formal religion went up from 13 per "ent in 1991 to ++ per "ent in 1999H belief in ;od from +0 per "ent to +9 per "ent and belief in life after death from 19 per "ent to +9 per "ent# He adds, *he development of this autonomous, diffused religiosity, deta"hed from @hristianity, whi"h appeared in the survey of 1990, is the most uniGue phenomenon# *his off%piste! religiosity is illustrated mainly through variables that are less typi"ally @hristian: ta$ing a moment of prayer, meditation, "ontemplation or something li$e that!H belief in a life after death! <whi"h "an in"lude diverse "on"eptions su"h as belief in rein"arnation=H belief in ;od as some sort of spirit or life for"e!H and being led to explore different religious traditions! rather than sti"$ to a parti"ular faith#! <30=# >ven in the -nited States, whi"h is often "ited as a 0estern "ountry that is bu"$ing the trend towards se"ularisation, there is eviden"e a""umulating that a split has appeared between religion and spirituality# 2n a pioneering pie"e of resear"h published in 1998, 1rian Rinnbauer and his "olleagues <31= showed that even though the @hristian "hur"hes in the -S are numeri"ally relatively five or six times as strong as in the -K, there is a parallel in"reasing tenden"y to ma$e a distin"tion between spirituality! and religion!# 2 believe that this shift in the relationship between religion and spirituality has been impli"itly there for a very long time in 0estern "ons"iousness, li$e a ghostly presen"e nudging people out of alienation, the feeling of being far from home in a "old universe# 2 thin$ 2 see the shift in Karl ,arx# 4s a young man in the 1930s ,arx interpreted the institutional spirituality of his time as itself alienating, a false resolution of the inDusti"es "reated by "lass so"iety# 1ut he also spo$e of spirit! in highly positive terms# *o "riti"ise a situation as spiritless!, as he does when he refers to religion as the spirit of a spiritless situation! is an atta"$ on religion, but surely not on

whatever he means by spirit!# *here lies the problem# So far 2 have dodged the Guestion of definition be"ause, as is already evident, the answer is not straightforward# 'otes @hapter 1: *he ,ountains of the ,ind 1# ;erard ,anley Hop$ins, from the poem No 0orst!, reprinted in (he !aber Boo4 of *eligious 0erse, ed# Helen ;ardner <(ondon: /aber and /aber, 198+=# +# 1e"$ett published the original in /ren"h as 1n attendant $odot <7aris: (es >ditions de ,inuit, 196+O>nglish translation, (ondon: /aber and /aber, 196'=# 2n spite of the hostility of many members of the audien"es the play in fa"t prospered# Not mu"h more than a month after it opened at the 4rts *heatre @lub, on 1+ September 1966, it was moved to a larger theatre, the @riterion# &# Hugh Kenner draws out the parallels with the $no"$about "omedy of (aurel and Hardy in 5 *eader6s $uide to /amuel Bec4ett <(ondon: *hames and Hudson, 198&=# 3# 2n 19&3 1e"$ett began a lengthy psy"hoanalysis with 0ilfrid 1ion, later to be"ome the founding father of the *avisto"$ method for the study of group dynami"s <see 0ilfred 1ion, 1xperiences in $roups, (ondon: *avisto"$ 7ress, 19'1=# ?ne of the three maDor basi" assumptions 1ion was to identify in the un"ons"ious life of groups is dependen"y, the assumption that if the group waits long enough someone will "ome and save it# 2t is tempting to imagine that a similar assumption, at the individual level, emerged from 1e"$ett!s un"ons"ious with impressive for"e during his analysis# 6# *he intensity with whi"h @hristian ideas pervade all of 1e"$ett!s wor$ is brought out parti"ularly well in ,ary 1ryden!s /amuel Bec4ett and the Idea of $od <(ondon: ,a"millan, 1999=# '# *he most extensive and detailed biography of 1e"$ett is Iames Knowlson!s 2amned to !ame7 (he 8ife of /amuel Bec4ett <(ondon: 1loomsbury, 199'=H marginally shorter and more readable is 4nthony @ronin!s /amuel Bec4ett7 the 8ast Modernist <(ondon: Harper@ollins, 199'=# 8# *his remar$ was made to @olin Du"$worth and reported in his edited boo$ Samuel 1e"$ett: 1n attendant $odot <(ondon: Harrap, 19''=# 9# /or an aware and insightful dis"ussion of this "on"ordan"e by a @hristian writer, see :i"hard Harries! essay 4stride of a grave E Samuel 1e"$ett and @hristian hope! in his boo$ of "olle"ted essays, 9uestioning Belief <(ondon: S7@K, 1996=# 9# Samuel 1e"$ett, (he )nnameable <>nglish translation, (ondon: Iohn @alder, 1969=# 10# See *homas @ousineau, #aiting for $odot: /orm in ,ovement <1oston, *wayne 7ublishers, 1990=, p# +8# 11# Iohn Donne, from *he first anniversarie: an anatomy of the world! in (he 1pithalamions, 5nniversaries and 1pisodes, ed# 0# ,ilgate <?xford: @larendon 7ress, 1989=# 1+# ,atthew 4rnold, from Dover 1ea"h!, reprinted in (he Penguin Boo4 of 1nglish 0erse, ed# Iohn Hayward <(ondon: 7enguin 1oo$s, 196'=, pp# &33%6# 1&# 0# 1# Feats, from *he Se"ond @oming!, reprinted in *he 7enguin 1oo$ of >nglish Aerse, p# 308# 13# *he late :oy 7orter!s splendid boo$, 1nlightenment7 Britain and the :reation of the Modern #orld, published by 4llen (ane <(ondon: 7enguin 7ress, +000=, is a highly readable and s"holarly introdu"tion to this "omplex and "ontroversial "on"ept# 16# *he father figure of se"ularisation theory in 1ritain was the late 1ryan 0ilson, formerly Head of the So"iology Department in ?xford -niversity <see his influential text, :eligion in

/ecular /ociety, (ondon: @# 4# 0atts, 19''=# *wo important "ontemporary su""essors with distin"tive perspe"tives of their own are @allum 1rown, 7rofessor of History in the -niversity of Dundee <see (he 2eath of :hristian Britain7 )nderstanding /ecularisation +;.."&..., (ondon and New For$: :outledge, +001= and Steve 1ru"e, 7rofessor of So"iology at 4berdeen -niversity <see, for example, $od is 2ead7 /eculari<ation in the #est, ?xford: 1la"$well, +00+=# 1'# @allum 1rown identifies the turning point as the 19'0s# 1efore that date, whilst "hur"h attendan"e might not be high, widely held popular assumptions were still re"ognisably @hristian# 2t was during the 19'0s, for example, that it first be"ame impossible to "arry on the tradition of singing the hymn 4bide with me! at the >nglish /4 @up /inal# See 1rown, (he 2eath of :hristian Britain. 18# 1ru"e, $od is 2ead, p# '&# 19# 2n 7eter 1rierley, (he (ide is *unning Out <(ondon: @hristian :esear"h 4sso"iation, +000=# 19# 7eter 1rierley, *eligious (rends No.+7 +,,,-&... <(ondon: @hristian :esear"h 4sso"iation, 1999=# +0# 1ru"e, $od is 2ead, p# '9# +1# 1rierley, *eligious (rends# ++# Ibid. +&# Ibid. +3# See David Hay and ;ordon Heald, :eligion is good for you!, New /ociety, 18 4pril 1998# +6# *hey were omitted be"ause we had no money to pay for them# 2t is an unfortunate e"onomi" reality of resear"h in the boundary area between religion and s"ien"e that su"h enGuiries are usually too s"ientifi" for the religious funding bodies and too religious for the agen"ies supporting s"ien"e# @onseGuently <with some notable ex"eptions= we have often had to ma$e do with not mu"h more than small "hange# +'# Now "alled the :eligious >xperien"e :esear"h @entre and based in the -niversity of 0ales, (ampeter# *he "urrent dire"tors are Dr 0endy Dossett, 7rofessor 7aul 1adham and 7rofessor Lin.hong Fao# *he @entre!s website is at Shttp:OOwww#alisterhardytrust#org#u$T +8# Hardy!s own preferred "lassifi"ation is presented in his boo$ (he /piritual Nature of Man <?xford: @larendon 7ress, 1989=# ?ther attempts in"lude *im 1eardsworth!s 5 /ense of Presence <?xford: :eligious >xperien"e :esear"h -nit, 1988=H ,eg ,axwell and Aerena *s"hudin!s /eeing the Invisible <(ondon: 7enguinO4r$ana 7ress, 1990=H ;eoffrey 4hern!s /piritual-*eligious 1xperience in Modern /ociety <?xford: :eligious >xperien"e :esear"h @entre, 1990=# +9# 0illiam Iames, (he 0arieties of *eligious 1xperience <New For$: (ongman, ;reen and @o#, 190+=# *here have been many subseGuent editions, some with the signifi"ant subtitle 4 Study in Human Nature!, implying Iames! belief that the phenomenon has a naturalisti" "omponent# *he most authoritative edition was published in 1996 as one of the volumes in the Harvard -niversity 7ress series, (he #or4s of #illiam =ames# +9# :udolph ?tto, 2as 3eilige, translated into >nglish with the title (he Idea of the 3oly <?xford: ?xford -niversity 7ress, 19+&=# &0# Syn"hroni"ity has an eminent pla"e in the history of @hristianity, for example in the famous story of the "onversion of St 4ugustine near ,ilan in the year &9'# He was standing in a garden in a distressed state when he overheard the singsong voi"e of a "hild in a nearby house! shouting! *olle lege, tolle lege6 < ta$e it and read, ta$e it and read!=# 4ugustine too$ the "ry to be a dire"t "ommand from heaven and opening at random a boo$ "ontaining St 7aul!s >pistles, read

the words, Not in revelling and drun$enness, not in lust and wantonness, not in Guarrels and rivalries# :ather, arm yourselves with the (ord Iesus @hristH spend no more thought on nature and nature!s appetites#! PDes"ribed in 1oo$ A222 xii <+9= of 4ugustineUs @onfessionsQ# 2n the same paragraph, 4ugustine himself refers to a pre"edent for his experien"eH the "onversion of St 4nthony in a "hur"h in 4lexandria when he heard the words from St ,atthew!s ;ospel, ;o, sell all you have, give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heavenH and "ome, follow me! <,att# 19:+1=# &1# >dward :obinson made a moving study of the religious experien"e of "hildhood, drawing upon su"h a""ounts in the :>:A ar"hive# See his boo$, (he Original 0ision <New For$: Seabury 7ress, 199&=# &+# See note +3# &&# *he point where 0ordsworth begins to spea$ more overtly of his experien"e of trans"enden"e is from line 316 onwards, from (he Prelude 1oo$ 2: @hildhood and s"hool%time <?xford: ?xford -niversity 7ress, 1988=: 2 left my 1ar$, 4nd, through the meadows homeward went, with grave 4nd serious thoughtsH and after 2 had seen *hat spe"ta"le, for many days, my brain 0or$!d with a dim and undetermin!d sense ?f un$nown modes of beingH in my thoughts *here was a dar$ness, "all it solitude, ?r blan$ desertion, no familiar shapes ?f hourly obDe"ts, images of trees, ?f sea or s$y, no "olours of green fieldsH 1ut huge and mighty /orms that do not live (i$e living men mov!d slowly through the mind 1y day and were the trouble of my dreams# &3# Dire"tor of the :eligious >xperien"e :esear"h -nit from 198' to 1996# &6# 5uoted in (he Original 0ision, p# &6# &'# See for example 0# *# Sta"e!s important boo$ Mysticism and Philosophy <(ondon: ,a"millan, 19'0=# &8# 2n David *a"ey, (he /pirituality *evolution7 the 1mergence of :ontemporary /pirituality <Sydney: Harper@ollins, +00&=, p# 13# &9# 2bid# &9# See ;rave Davie, *eligion in Britain since +,>?7 Believing without Belonging, with an introdu"tion by David ,artin <?xford: 1la"$well, 1993=# 30# 7ersonal "ommuni"ation from Fves (ambert# See his "omplete paper, 4 turning point in religious evolution in >urope!, =ournal of :ontemporary *eligion, 19:1 <+003=, pp# +9%36# 31# See 1# I# Rinnbauer et al#, :eligion and spirituality: unfu..ying the fu..y!, =ournal for the /cientific /tudy of *eligion 8':3 <1998=, pp# 639%'3#

(hare this:

/a"eboo$ *witter ;oogle