Experience(s) of spiritual capital : towards a process perspective on embodiment and enculturation

This project interrogates notions of spiritual through a lens of process theology and asks how it might be developed. The project offers a practical theology which draws from Bourdieu's theory of practise to conceive of spiritual capital as necessary for the development of 'orthopraxis' (right behaviour) which is characterised by loving and caring for other people, and being in solidarity with the marginalised and oppressed. The project seeks to articulate a means by which this capital may be developed beyond the walls of the Church. It further proposes process theology as a suitable and helpful framework for this examination. Research was carried out by a mixture of surveys and then further interviews of a purposive sample of participants who engage in works for, or on behalf of, the 'common good' in order to examine the role and development of spiritual capital in their lives. The data from both the survey and interview stages were then analysed using categories derived from process thought. Thematic analysis highlighted the importance of positive childhood (formative) experiences, as well as the apparent importance of negative adult experiences in the development of their practice. Particular attention was paid to ideas of becoming and perishing, the 'lure' of God, and the nature of divine power - in particular the sense of the divine as co-sufferer. Summative observations were made concerning the nature of the spiritual capital that was observed in participants, and the way this may be understood in the light of process theology. Notably, spiritual capital is developed in response to experience of suffering, which should be understood sociologically as the field of spiritual struggle and theologically as an act of communion with the divine. The project challenges the Church in North America and Western Europe to avoid the distraction of concern about perceived diminishing power and numerical decline, recognising the pattern of perishing and becoming in all things. The Church should instead develop a sharp focus on the 'high hope of adventure' which is a persistent and uncompromising practise that depends on the 'weak' power of persuasion, advancing unconditional love where possible and creating opportunities for others to do the same, actively encouraging the becoming of the new.