Demyan Belyaev

Many parts of the world have nowadays turned into “post-confessional” societies, in which neither the “traditional” Christian religiosity nor the “modern” science-based worldview can boast the spiritual hegemony. Instead, various “in-between” teachings combining materialistic orientations with belief in the supernatural have enjoyed increasing prominence.
The multiplicity of these teachings caters to what I am referring to as the “custom-built spirituality” – people’s search for building their own, eclectic but individualised worldviews. In many cases, their creators or advocates seek to reach the widest possible audience and for this purpose recur to modern media such as television and Internet. Their primary vehicle of communication, however, is books. What trends and topics prevail in spiritual guidance literature in contemporary Europe? What values does this literature seek to propagate as a spiritual guide? What changes in the life of contemporary individuals account for its spread and popularity? What implications does it have for established religions? A thorough investigation of these issues can help make significant advances in understanding the current processes of socio-cultural transformation in contemporary European societies.
Furthermore, one might expect that under conditions of globalisation the field of spirituality could not remain closed to the transnational flow of ideas leading to the mutual penetration and multiple mixing of local elements with those originating elsewhere. This renders relevant also the question as to whether the contents of this literature circulate transnationally and how. The geography-related aspects of the phenomenon have been barely studied so far.
This project is located in a point of crossing between a number of disciplines, including sociology, social psychology, human geography, religious and cultural studies. Accordingly, it will take into account existing methodological approaches from these disciplines. For the reasons of feasibility, the project focuses on three major European countries: France, Germany and the UK.