What's Your Type?

What Is Spirituality?

Over the past several decades the term spirituality has seeped into the cultural consciousness. It’s my sense that most folks, for whom such things matter, speak more comfortably of being spiritual rather than being religious. (How many times have you heard someone say, “I’m not religious but I’m spiritual?”) Spirituality expresses something within an individual, whereas religion refers to external traditions and institutions with structures of beliefs and ethics.

There can be spirituality for the individual within religion, but not necessarily so. Religion can seem to this individual or that individual devoid of spirituality. This is especially so in this age when spirituality for many has come to mean more than a particular faith tradition.

Though it’s become a common term, still there are those kerfluxed by the notion of spirituality. For some it’s so vague—maybe appearing touch/feely or new-agey certainly not concrete. Or they have been conditioned to think of religion in narrow ways. Let me describe/define spirituality, then.

In my estimation spirituality is at the heart of all religions, certainly at their beginnings, no matter how formal or institutionalized they are in a culture sense. But from the personal perspective, a person’s private religion—involving meaning and purpose—is always centered in spirituality.

I associate religious experience with spirituality. Religious experience takes many forms.

The signature of religious experience is an Aha! Realization both immediate and authoritative. The Aha! Need not be something major, it can be as simple as the beauty of a flower or the meaning of a phrase in a poem. Religious experience has an ongoing effect. It isn’t forgotten, though it fades into the unconscious; and its authority lingers. Spirituality is the aggregate of the Aha! Realizations, small and great, and their lingering effects. It is an aesthetic phenomenon—a register of beauty, as beauty comes through the senses and is processed by the mind which includes feeling.

When I studied theology now more than thirty years at McGill University’s Faculty of Religious Studies, I found satisfaction in studying comparative religions, systematic theology, and even Old and New Testament study. Those areas were cut and dry with ample scholarship to play against. But what really fascinated me was psychology of religion—the discipline that seeks to understand the religious instinct in each individual as well as in mass movements.

It was then/there I encountered and became persuaded by the work of Carl Jung, a pioneering Swiss psychologist who was a protégée of Sigmund Freud and later went on to create a distinctive psychology that has fared much better than has Freudianism. I’m Jungian in how I see the human personality unfolding from birth to death through thlife changes as a journey of individuation—of becoming one’s true and whole self. I see amplifications of the universal in that personal journey, through what Jung called archetypes. I still muse about the collective unconscious and suspect that it relates tohow we’re hardwired through our commonly share millions of years of evolution so that we resonate to certain shapes and symbols, stories and myths. For example a circle symbolizes wholeness/unity and the hero’s journey is the basis of many film scripts.

The practical application of Jungian psychology is a personality inventory developed from Jung’s theories. I’m referring to the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) that uses four categories of paired attributes to come up with 16 different personality types. First used in 1942, the MBTI is now well-established, field tested and tweaked, and usually uncanny in describing personality traits and in predicting behavior, even religious behavior.

The four categories of the MBTI relate to how a person faces the world either asan Extrovert or and Introvert; how a persons perceives the world either through the Senses or iNtuition; how a person processes those perceptions by Thinking or Feeling; and how a person acts on the world either by Judging (convergent conclusions) or Feeling (divergent conclusions.)

Here are interesting charts showing the sixteen personality types and the percentages of those types in the general population:

MBTI Breakdown

[If you haven’t taken the MBTI and been typed there are some online resources to take a down and dirty test, such as the one found at www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm or you can even take the MBTI authorized one online. I this recommend this personality inventory to everyone.]

I hope this hasn’t been too much information for those of you unfamiliar with Jungian typology. My intentions are to lay the groundwork to talk about a valuable resource a UU ministerial colleague has created, Peter Tufts Richardson, book titled Four Spiritualities. Peter has taken the two cognitive (mental) categories of the MBTI to describe four basic spiritual orientations. The cognitive functions relate to how we perceive the world either through the senses or though intuition and how we process information through thinking or feeling.

Peter talks about these four spiritualities in terms of a journey, to impart a sense that these are not hard and fast determiners, but more fluid influences, themselves shaped by the journey. The four journeys are: the journey of unity, the journey of devotion, the journey of works, and the journey of harmony. In a moment I’ll describe attributes and outcomes of these four spiritual journeys.

But first let’s sing together a song that touches upon several of the functions that Jungian typology uses, beginning with “Wake, now my senses, #298 in our hymnal.

Four Journeys

Now, see if you recognize your spiritual type in one of the following four journeys/spiritual ways:

The Journy of Unity - The Way of the NT Personality

NTs, iNtuitive Thinking types, have vision, thrive on problem solving, and are adept at impersonal analyzing. Ideas stimulate them. They are task oriented. Comfortable with abstractions, they like intellectual clarity and are adept in seeing the big picture as well as the underlying organizing principles. They are agents of change and strategic planners. On the down side, they can tend to be critical, seeing the bad before seeing the good. They also can tend toward a compulsive sort of perfection consistent with their overall high standards. The comprise 12 per cent of the population.

The NT personality on the Sprititual Journey of Unity have four general characteristics:

  1. they see, in relative simplicity, the organizing principles that bind life to nature, e.g., Schweitzer’s “reverence for life” ethic; Forster’s admonition to “only connect; or the “doctrine of love” associated with Jesus;
  2. they find truths that are global and clear;
  3. they passionate for social justice, but not so much through activism, more through education;
  4. clarity of mind and of spiritual enlightenment are goals for them, so the Buddha is an engaging mentor of this way.

Those on the journey of Unity resonate to serene, graceful worship space often modeled on a Greek on Asian temple and may create their own private and serene surrounds to better think and reflect. Those interested in comparative religions and relations among the various world religions are often NTs.

Something of the opposite of the Journey of Unity is the Journey of Devotion.

The Journey of Devotion - The Way of the SF

SFs, Sensing Feeling types, focus on the immediate present. They are detail oriented. They like tradition and work to keep things intact and harmonious, especially in the traditional family setting. They are sociable and are aware of interpersonal relationships, so they care about people rather than things. Structured settings comfort them. They are the cultural bearers and they often are direct care-givers in their various communities. Abstract thought isn’t of much interest; but they resonate to stories, anecdotes, and concrete references. They often act with natural spontaneity in their structured settings.

The SF personality on the Journey of Devotion evidence eight characteristics:

  1. they find much meaning in pilgrimage;
  2. they are attracted to heroes;
  3. they resonate to stories;
  4. their spiritual life is hands-on, practial;
  5. they keep ancient, even archaic forms in their religious expressions;
  6. personal experience is central to them;
  7. they like simplicity;
  8. they relate to their world through direct service.

The cathedral, mosque, and the synagogue are the settings where SFs on the Journey of Devotion may be found. Ritual soothes and inspires them, such as reading or chanting scripture, lighting candles, saying the rosary, or observing the Shabbat. They sometimes create sacred space in their homes.

Mentors of the Journey of Devotion are Muhammad and St. Francis. 38% of the population are native SFs drawn to the Journey of Devotion.

The Journey of Works - The Way of the ST Personality

STs. Sensing Thinking types, are the realists of the world. They seek and hold on to facts that are impartial, unbiased, impersonally. Details matter and they organize them in direct, linear ways. So they are experienced based. Physical activities have appeal. Accomplishing something with their own hands gives them satisfaction. They often appear to neglect the human element in their understandings and are drawn to technologies. They are doers, who can be impatient with inaction after the facts are gathered. Once they’ve made up their minds, their hard to dissuade. So STs seem old-fashioned, even prejudiced.

The ST personality, on the Journey of Works, also has a number of characteristics:

  1. they favor law and order;
  2. they have a strong sense of right and generally lean toward righteousness;
  3. they are the responsible stewards in their own and communal life;
  4. they maintain a clear cut identity relative to their spiritual life;
  5. work is the means and the end of the righteous life for them;
  6. they see themselves as realists;
  7. they are administrators on behalf of family, community, and the world;
  8. they are justified by their deeds, and often assume a sense of tragic service, even sacrifice.

The STs on the Journey of Works are the administrators and caretakers of religious institutions. When in charge, not only are the institutions, well-maintained, there is a general clarity of belief and membership.

Confucius and Moses are mentors of the Journey of Works.

The Journey of Harmony - The Way of the NF Personality

NFs, iNtuitive Feeling personalities, are the idealists in our midst. They are enthusiastic and insightful, envisioning the needs of other persons, communities, indeed, the world. They often bring that vision to other types. They are keepers of the flame of hope. They see ways of progress. By drawing others to them, they help build consensus and create social harmony. NFs are the communicators. Their expansive vision and their future orientation can make them neglectful of the here and now and close at hand. “Their malleable natures exist to be made and re-formed in evermore exquisite patters of self-actualization.” They are always becoming.

There are 6 attributes of the NF, iNtuitive Feeling spiritual type:

  1. they seek self-actualization, personal authenticity;
  2. they recognize mystical harmony;
  3. they are expectant and open to possibilities;
  4. they seek reconciliation, as well as keeping the dream alive;
  5. they are social idealists;
  6. for them the process of relationships for family and society are the central focus.

The spiritual persuasion of NFs leads them into syncretism (the blending of various traditions with a willingness and freedom to adapt and alter). They emphasize process and seek harmony relative to the workings of religious institutions. They shy away from conflict.

Mentors for this way certainly include Ralph Emerson and Jesus. 12% of the population are NFs.

The Lessons of the Four Spiritualities

Carl Jung’s theory of personality is much more nuanced that the thumbnail description I’ve just given for the basic 4 spiritual orientations. As we progress through our life our experiences enter into a dialogue with our native orientation and our personalities takes on complexity. Still, the simplified 4 spiritualities I’ve described are good starting point and bring certain important general realizations.

First, we each have a native—inborn—way of relating to the world, perceiving it and acting upon it. That way has implications for our spiritual nature relative to our religious experiences and their ongoing effects. We cannot help but be less or more true to our native spiritual way, however, awareness and intentionality can magnify this dimension of our being. This scheme also teaches that our positive orientations invariably have their shadow sides. For example, an overzealous person on the path of Devotion might be totally unreflective about her or his devotional acts.

Second, there is not a one size fits all spirituality. Indeed, spiritual orientation is diverse and can be misunderstood among the orientations. For example, those on the path of Works can be critical of the seeming inaction of a person on the path of Unity—immediate, direct service judging a preference for long term education, rather than immediate action. And a person drawn to Works can be in an extreme case, quite righteous about it, compared to a person drawn to Unity who might find that righteousness overblown in the larger scheme.

Third, we can all learn from one another and even experiment with the practices of other types. I think that this speaks to a certain malleability that is the mark of a wise quester. The right attitude is openness, listening, and seeking to understand.

Fourth, there is a cultural bias to those who perceive the world through the Senses, so that Sensing/Thinking and Sensing/Feeling types who follow either the ways of Works or Devotion make up 76% of the population. Those who favor Unity and Harmony are much smaller in numbers.