Spirituality is becoming increasingly popular among young people in Australia, with a recent survey showing that 38% of Australian Gen Zers identify as spiritual people.
Additionally, 50% of them report believing in karma, 29% in reincarnation, and 20% in astrology. In terms of spiritual activities, 28% of Australian Gen Zers meditate and 22% practice yoga.
In Australia, spirituality is strong and enduringly central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and culturally and religiously diverse communities, yet until recently it has received less attention than religion.
Spirituality may also be good for the environment: a newest trend in religious studies that is often associated with spirituality is a reported close connection to nature, which is common among 76% of Gen Z in Australia.
In Australia, we believe spirituality can be expressed as a down-to-earth “relational naturalism”, which has particular links with Aboriginal, Buddhism, Hinduism and environmental spirituality, which recognise the sacredness and connection to the natural world, not just celestial heights.
Spiritual or not, connection to nature is certainly on the rise, with young Australians also saying their affinity with nature is influencing their ethics around what they eat, what they choose to eat and even their environmental conservation efforts.
So what is spirituality? How is it different from religion? And why is it so popular?
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What is spirituality?
Spirituality is a connection to something greater than yourself — God, consciousness, nature — and a sense of responsibility to care for yourself and others. Spirituality often includes the natural world.
Spirituality is often seen as the “individualized good” opposite of the “systematic bad” of religion, but this stereotypical dichotomy is increasingly outdated.
Spirituality, like religion, is primarily practiced in groups or communities, often with a charismatic leader, who follow a particular code of practice relating to physical postures and activities, diet, and overall lifestyle.
According to Waraimai historian Victoria Greaves-Williams, spirituality is deeply relational and ethical, honouring our connections with humans and non-humans.
James Henry
In his bestselling book Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking can Save the World, Indigenous scholar Tyson Juncaporta also emphasizes that complexity, relationship and connection are central principles of Indigenous wisdom.
A person can identify as spiritual but not religious, or as religious and spiritual. Both religion and spirituality are social and influence how we live in the world.
A survey of Gen Z in Australia found that 22% identify as spiritual but not religious, and a further 16% identify as both religious and spiritual.
How spiritual are Australians?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a rich and diverse spiritual tradition: “The Creator Spirit has been with us since long before the British invaded our land, and our faith has been nurtured for millennia,” write the Bijjara theologians. And Professor, Auntie Ann Patel Gray. [jc – this title is confusing – I think it needs to be just ‘Aunty’ – added ‘professor’ before]
Greaves-Williams points out that connection to and responsibility for the land and waterways, learned and shared through storytelling, is central to Aboriginal spirituality.
Trawlway theologian Garry Deverell explains that Indigenous spirituality “begins with the land.”
Through colonisation and migration, Europeans brought Christianity and Judaism, including their spiritual aspects, to Australia, and many immigrants, particularly from the Asia-Pacific region, first brought religious and spiritual traditions to Australia in the 19th century before the introduction of the Immigration Restriction Act of 1901.
Many of their spiritual frameworks also emphasize interdependence and compassion with all life forms.
Spirituality is big business
The interest in so-called Western spirituality has had earlier iterations in Theosophy, an esoteric philosophy based on older religions and myths, and Spiritualism, a way of life that combines philosophy, science, and religion. Both were popular in the early 20th century.
However, spirituality boomed worldwide as part of the alternative counterculture of the 1960s, and in Australia it became popular after the Aquarius Festival in Nimbin, northern New South Wales, in 1973.
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Since then, interest in spirituality and the expanding $4.4 trillion wellness industry has grown exponentially.
This includes mainstreaming teachings through social media, as well as practices such as meditation, yoga, retreats, conscious dance, plant therapy, astrology and tarot – many of which have their origins in indigenous, Buddhist and Hindu traditions.
Some spiritual and wellness influencers take issue with appropriating these traditions, but others respectfully acknowledge the origins and lineage of spiritual practices.
“Real yoga is more than just exercise,” says Indian-American yoga teacher and researcher Lina Deshpande, who urges people to learn about its history. “Classically, yoga is an ancient Indian philosophy that preaches an eight-limbed approach to conscious living.”
At the turn of the 21st century, some experts predicted that spirituality would surpass religion, due to this thriving “spiritual market.”
Spiritual and wellness influencers are gaining attention by focusing on personal and planetary health and criticizing the ills of modern capitalist consumerism. High-profile examples include entrepreneur and podcast host “On Purpose” Jay Shetty and Australian author of “I Quit Sugar,” Sarah Wilson.
Many of these influencers focus on self-care and the need to slow down, be mindful, and develop a more respectful and sustainable relationship with ourselves and the natural world, while some also commercialize and sell their own products and services and build a reputation through social media.
Psychological risks and harms
While spirituality was once associated with hippies and “peace, love and green beans,” reports of psychological harm, including emotional, sexual and economic abuse, are becoming increasingly apparent within both religious and spiritual communities.
It includes numerous allegations of abuse by students of well-known gurus, including Tibetan Buddhist Sogyal Rinpoche, renowned for his teachings on death and dying, and Bikram Choudhury, founder of Bikram Yoga.
In recent years, the penetration of conspiracy theories in spiritual communities and vaccine resistance within them have also become serious issues. This “spirituality” has been linked to spiritual exceptionalism and circumlocution, which, combined with distrust of medical and state power and individual bodily sovereignty, has resulted in the denial of the suffering that the COVID pandemic has brought to the most vulnerable in society.
Not everything is “Uh Anon”
Conspirituality during the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly made spirituality more public. It also seems to have drawn more men into the spiritual movement, with some male conspiritual leaders in Australia mobilizing “spiritual warriors” for the “space wars.”
However, a pilot study on spirituality and wellness conducted in Australia during the pandemic found that among 202 participants who self-identified as “spiritual,” only a minority held conspiritual views.
Only 2% of respondents believe the virus was caused by global elites, pharmaceutical companies, aliens or demonic forces, and just 5% said they would not get vaccinated. In contrast, 88% support lockdowns and 91% support wearing masks.
This is important given that media coverage of conspirituality tends to exaggerate its prevalence within the wellness community.
It is important not to label all spiritual people as “Uh Anons”, especially as spiritual people make up an increasingly large proportion of the Australian population.
Australian spiritual influencers, particularly Sarah Wilson, played a key role in countering con-spirituality during the peak of the pandemic, using spiritual narratives of relational and compassionate care.
The pervasiveness of conspiracy theories in spiritual communities remains a concern, but research shows that relational spiritual stories and practices can play an important role in both individual and planetary wellbeing, including countering vaccine hesitancy in Australia and internationally.
Although spirituality can be experienced in individual ways, it is also complex and communal, and it is important to be aware of the potential benefits and risks of spirituality.
This is the first article in the “Religion and Spirituality” series, which has emerged from the Australian Spirituality Discovery Project, funded by the Australian Research Council and led by Deakin University academics. The series looks at what is called the growing interest in spirituality in Australia and how it relates to well-being and risk.
