Spiritual Roots of Protest: Envisioning a Social Spirituality in the Age of Neoliberalism

Spiritual Roots of Protest: Envisioning a Social Spirituality in the Age of Neoliberalism

In recent years, the concept of ‘social spirituality’ has been widely used in Korean Christian social movements. This is due to the idea that spirituality should not only be experienced and realized on an individual and inner dimension, but also on a communal and social dimension. To be sure, ‘liberation spirituality’ or ‘prophetic spirituality’ has been pursued for a long time and such spirituality has social and political implications. However, the reason why social spirituality is explicitly expressed today is, paradoxically, because of the absence of society in Korean society. This is related to the individualism, competitiveness, materialism and consumerism of neoliberalism, which destroy society and impose a way of life in which each individual must survive on his or her own. Therefore, in searching for “the spiritual roots of protest,” this essay will first critically analyze the political, economic and spiritual attributes of neoliberalism that lead to a societyless society and second, examine the biblical paradigm of social spirituality and third, explore and envision the practice of social spirituality with a focus on mindfulness.