Meditation and the Post-Secular Condition

Meditation practice is increasingly linked to a post-secular turn in culture, which reinterprets the usual opposition between secularism and religion by asserting immanence over transcendence. While meditation is often embedded in either a religious or secular framework, contemporary forms are increasingly secular. A third way is suggested, favoring a meditation practice that acknowledges the post-secular turn, especially when secular forms like mindfulness have been decontextualized to the point of undermining the ethical context of meditation.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract This chapter looks at the links between meditation practice and the post-secular turn in the wider domain of culture. The latter is a multifaceted phenomenon, and the chapter focuses on one of these—namely the assertion of immanence over transcendence. This calls for a reinterpretation of the habitual opposition between secularism and religion. Meditation is often embedded in either a religious or secular framework, with contemporary forms increasingly of the latter kind. A third way is suggested, in favor of a meditation practice that acknowledges the post-secular turn. This is particularly called for at a time when secularist forms of meditation such as mindfulness have been decontextualized to the extent of undermining the ethical context of meditation.