Media and World Religions Midterm
Question 6
Discuss the interconnected nature of our lifeworld. What is the impact of this interconnectedness on our spirituality?
As the world grows more and more interconnected, mankind seems to simultaneously be losing its connection with the divine. In the earliest times of civilization, people seemed to focus their time and attention on religious matters. In fact, it is difficult to completely divorce the divine from daily life during much of the earth’s history. Entire religious groups intentionally separated themselves from “corrupting” influences and society, and established their own belief systems where they lived in isolation, cut off from the world. These people were often viewed as religious zealots. We think of them as monks, reformers, Puritans, the Amish, and others. Often, these monks would sacrifice all their earthly possessions in order to grow closer to the divine. Their entire focus was their personal spirituality.
Conversely, in these so-called “modern times,” mankind has become so busy and distracted, that we have distanced ourselves from the divine. This process has been so gradual that most people seem to have not noticed, like a frog you place in a pot in which you gradually increase the heat. An ever-more interconnected world inevitably leads to the stifling of originality. An ever-more interconnected world is an ever-more homogenized world, as weaker practices and cultures are forced to adapt to the whole. In a setting such as this, the spiritual has become marginalized, and in some places ceases to exist altogether.
It has been said that the human mind is like a stage where only one actor can be performing at a time. This means that in our frantic attempts to simplify our lives with invention and innovation, our lives have become so cluttered with “necessity” that other, former, and arguably more important actors cannot break through the din for their chance to perform. Deity has taken a backseat to politics, the economy, entertainment, professions, and leisure. Religion and spirituality was once seen as as much of a necessity as anything temporal. These times have passed for all but the select few groups we mentioned earlier. Indeed, it requires great effort to maintain the spiritual aspects of our lives, and our society in a world where doing so has become looked down upon, and is no longer touted as honorable by at least a vocal minority who would seek to stamp out spiritual practices altogether.
It is evident that increased interconnectedness suppresses the spiritual.
What I Learned Today
7 years ago
