The Death of the Church and Spirituality Reborn

This is a controversial and radical book by an ordained Anglican priest who was also a scientist, psychic and therapeutic counsellor. The title indicates the thesis, and it is interesting to note that numbers of Anglican clergy have gone down from 25,000 in the 1970s to 6,000 now, with a good proportion of women. The two parts reflect the title - the author sees the point of religion as spiritual growth and personal transformation, an agenda not always present within the church, or indeed the new age. For him, this means becoming Christ-like and experiencing a real connection with the sacred and a consequent spirituality based on intensity, strength or depth of integrity. He diagnoses a crisis of leadership within the church and a misguided focus on historically based issues rather than connecting people with the numinous. Here he sees a new role for cathedrals in putting on a wider range of events to draw people in and as places for contemplative prayer and meditation. He has an interesting chapter on the differences between prayer, meditation and magic in its true sense. I think he is right in saying that society is far from being nonreligious, so it is crucial to put forward new forms of spiritual practice that respond to people's current needs. There is a widespread need for real spiritual leadership to challenge what the author calls the spiritual darkness and ignorance of our society. This means rediscovering a prophetic ministry and leading by example. This is a trenchant contribution to the current debate on religion and spirituality.