The Spiritual, the Cultural and the Religious
What can we learn from a study of boy choristers
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20504753 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Martin Ashley (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2002 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 257-272 |
| Publication date | 2002-12-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Children s Spirituality (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1364-436X • E-ISSN: 1469-8455 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1364436022000023185 |
| OpenAlex | W2094572654 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 10 |
This article reports on a study of the boys in a major city centre church choir. It is treated as a case study of the potential confusion between the spiritual, the cultural and the religious. The study shows that the performance of religious rituals might, for many of the boys, be more accurately described as a cultural phenomenon. A deep appreciation of music, with evidence of 'peak experiences', describes a reality which has been called 'spiritual' in humanistic phenomenological writings. All the boys in the study were found to be 'spiritual' in that they loved and were moved by the music they sang in church, but few perceived their singing as a form of religious ministry. Religious commitment and faith development was found to range from piety to atheism, with an increasing tendency towards Enlightenment scepticism amongst the older boys. The boys could be identified as a social group by their shared love for music, but not by a shared religious faith. Discussion is developed about the reality of the spiritual with and without a religious commitment, in which credal literalism is seen as cultural rather than spiritual. A call for greater recognition of the significance of the cultural and social is made
Aesthetics · Atheism · Enlightenment · Faith · Humanism · Piety · Singing · Skepticism · Sociology · Theology · Diverse Music Education Insights · Music Therapy and Health · Philosophy · Psychology · Religious Education and Schools · Religious studies · Social Psychology
The perpetuation of hegemonic male power and the loss of boyhood innocence
Finding a moral homeground
Exploring the religious and spiritual trajectory of cathedral choristers in England
Spirituality of the Traumatized Child
You sing like a girl? An exploration of ‘boyness’ through the treble voice
Children as Mystics, Activists, Sages, and Holy Fools
| Citations per year | 0.3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2006 - 2023 (18) |
| Highly cited | No |