“Religion is a person sitting in church thinking about kayaking. Spirituality is a person in a kayak thinking about God.”
This observation, used by some religious writers, is often attributed to Roger Caras, an American writer who is also a wildlife photographer. It creates a contrast between a structure with tradition (religion) and a more personal connection with something much greater (spirituality). In this issue of ARCVoice we have various reflections on the reason why regular church attendance is now declining more rapidly. Could it be because the rituals and language used week in and week out are becoming less relevant for more people? Do they have a numbing effect that leads us quite often to drift into a distraction towards whatever our ‘kayak’ is?
Although the above quote will appeal to nature lovers like Caras, there are probably points in our lives where an experience or significant event causes us to ponder what is beyond us in a different way because the explanation from our religion doesn’t quite gel with us. This could be a situation where we pause to think on an event like the sickness or death of a loved one. For example, my ‘kayak’ is a sailing craft. When the wind is strong and the waves are steep, the forces around me make it impossible for me to experience them without thinking about the influence or spirit that drives them or is within them. God has to be in all this somewhere. This takes me away from all the anthropomorphic images of God that have long dominated my thinking and senses through word, song, and icons. How can the two perspectives be reconciled when it is an integrated and meaningful spirituality that I am seeking? Which of the two is more relevant to me?
A mystic such as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin may help to shed some light. For Teilhard, God is present in matter and not just merely to matter. God and matter form a relational whole. This offers new meaning for me. We may believe and yet struggle with the concept of incarnation, for example, because we have been conditioned into thinking of God being ‘elsewhere’. However, in the above perspective, God is the name of unlimited life underpinning all reality. If we are comfortable with the notion that God is present in each one of us and that presence manifests itself to a far, far greater degree in Jesus, then incarnation takes has a new dimension. Jesus becomes the fullness of God’s presence and our understanding of our relationship with God deepens because God is in us too. Think about what significance this could have if we apply it to an understanding of Eucharist.
I share these thoughts with you realising that many of us struggle with particular aspects of our faith, coupled with a strong desire to find our spiritual self. Anyone would have difficulty continuing to participate in a regular activity, like weekly Mass, if they cannot find relevance in much of what is said and done in relation to it. If, along with many Catholics, our participation has waned, perhaps we can use our ‘kayak’ to pause and then move forward, hopefully, towards more satisfactory meaning.
John Buggy
- What image do you have of God and does it differ from the way God is depicted at Mass?
- Does your way of imagining God help you to pray or feel closer to God? In what way?
Please share your ideas below.