Paper short abstract:

The research project Learning from new religion and spirituality came across several interesting dynamics between religion and work life. We argue that the relationship between religion/spirituality and contemporary work life can be complex in a relatively secular society such as Finland.

Paper long abstract:

The research project Learning from new religion and spirituality (Academy of Finland 325148) came across several interesting dynamics between religion and work life. Through applying some central concepts and theories from the research on adult learning, the ethnographically oriented project was implemented through case studies that sought to understand what, how and why adult residents in Finland engaged with what were for them in some ways new religious or spiritual practices. The studied practices included mindfulness, Tibetan sound healing, Ramadan and Orthodox catechumen courses as well as diverse mind-body practices. The presentation will look at some of the ways in which religion/spirituality and work life were connected or dis-connected in the interviews. Our interlocutors reported to us about their 1) difficulties to integrate religion/spirituality with work life, 2) studying religion for work life, 3) wishes to make work out of spirituality, and 4) more or less secret ways of integrating religion/spirituality with their secular work. On the basis of these observations, we argue that the relationship between religion/spirituality and contemporary work life can be manifold and complex in a relatively secular society such as Finland. We also suggest that the dynamics that we were able to observe and analyse shows a complex field of non-formal adult learning trajectories through which individuals may seek to attain such for them valuable skills and knowledges that are not usually offered by formal education.