Spirituality and Ethics: Exploring the Connections

THERE ARE promising and problematic connections between ethics and the emerging phenomena of spirituality. Any definitive resolution of this relationship would be premature because the discipline of spirituality is still defining itself. The variety of spiritualities is enormous, ranging from New Age practices to feminist political writings and Twelve Step programs. On the positive side, certain forms of spirituality can augment those ethical systems that have achieved intellectual rigor at the cost of ignoring the wellsprings of motivation necessary to live morally. In addition, practical considerations from spirituality may open up ethical debates that have become hardened in academic and ecclesiastical circles. On the negative side, some forms of spirituality appear resistant to any form of normative reflection, whether it be ethical, religious, or theological. Personal intuition and pragmatic results supply their own warrants for the validity of certain practices. This private assurance parallels the current preference for personal spirituality over institutional religion. One hears people assert, T m not a religious person, but I am very spiritual." This may mean that they have found resources for inner strength in practices that are not burdened by the doctrinal and historical baggage of institutional religion. Or it