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| Shall we align our chakras with healing crystals? The Quaker Way isn't just another New Age mishmash. |
One thing I have seen said, from time to time
about liberal Quakerism is that it has become a “self religion”.
Usually, this is said by way of criticism, often (but not always) by
fairly traditionalist Friends. In this post, I'll be taking a look at
what this term means, and the extent to which liberal Quakerism –
as I've experienced it – fits that definition, and some thoughts on
the extent to which it should.
The term itself is not used entirely consistently.
It is widely used in a derogatory way towards “new age”
spirituality, even identified with such things, and is also used by
the less vociferous critics of Scientology to describe that faith.
However, the underlying and original meaning appears to be religions
or spiritual paths that aim for the development of the self, with
specific reference to new age and other paths that developed in the
70s and 80s. A characteristic that is often derided in these faiths
in extreme individualism, the ability to cherry-pick from a range of
traditions in your attempt to perfect yourself – though reports
rather suggest this is rather less true of Scientology, which is
generally considered a self religion. Thus, I tend to feel that the
main defining quality of a self religion is the goal of
self-perfection – whether the faith says this leads to apotheosis,
results after death, or a better life here and now. However, the
implications of pick-and-choose are probably very important in the
allegation that liberal Quakerism has become a self religion, so that
must also be borne in mind.
So, here's the first question: does Quakerism
aim for the perfection of the self? If so, how, and to what end?
