Thomas Moore - A Religion of Ones Own: A Guide to Creating a Personal Spirituality in a Secular World

T he world is changing so fast that some days I feel dizzy from it. Im a youthful spirit living in an aging body, trying to keep up with the changes around me. In one way or another, religion has always been a big part of my life, and that, too, is changing in ways I couldnt have predicted ten years ago. The question is: Should I try to live without it? Should I resist change and keep my religion traditional? Or should I rethink what religion is all about?

Ive always believed in a strong, exciting secular life, given a soul through a deep, spiritual outlook and an active religious practice. Ive thought of myself as a religious humanist. But religion is not only changing; in many areas it is disappearing, going the way of bookstores, print newspapers, and landlines. I resist the advancing secularism and want to put up a fight for religion, but a religion essentially and radically reimagined for our time. That reimagining is the gist of this book.

We dont seem to appreciate how deeply we are affected by changes in science, technology, and culture. Today there is little room left over for religion. Science wants to answer all your questions, and technology wants to make life livable. But you still get depressed and anxious. You feel the absence of purpose and meaning. Whether you like it or not, you have a soul that complains when you neglect it. And that soul needs religion. Its not an option.

Nothing is more important than bringing soul to everything we do. But there can be no soul without a vivid sense of the sacred, without religion. Since both soul and religion are difficult words to get hold of, maybe this is the place to offer some definitions: In my in-depth understanding of the word, religion is our creative and concrete response to the mysteries that permeate our lives. When I refer to religion as an institution or organization, Ill be explicit, calling it formal religion. My intention is to deepen our understanding of the religious traditions, but Im aware, of course, that they can get in the way of the deep religion Im seeking.

I use the word soul, another mysterious word that eludes definition, the way it comes up in everyday speech. We talk about people, places, and houses that have soul. Soul is the unreachable depth, felt vitality, and full presence of a person or even a thing. A person with soul gives you the feeling that he has really lived and has a strong personality. For millennia theologians and philosophers have said that the world has soul, too.

Soul is the invisible, mysterious, and softly radiant element that infuses your being and makes you human. Like plasma in your veins, it gives you a sense of meaning, feeling, connection, and depth. If you have soul, you have a visible glow and are alive and present. When people encounter you, they see a real person.