The religious sentiment of Stoicism Part 1
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This fortnight we will discuss the Religious Nature of Stoicism and seek to find out the difference between Traditional Stoicism and Modern Stoicism.
Please read the dolling and listen to the podcast below In preparation for this Meet Up.
The Religious Nature of Stoicism
December 8, 2015 Posted by Chris Fisher:
While Stoicism was never a religion in the modern sense, with temples and altars, its spiritual nature evoked reverence and piety in the ancients and in many who practice it today. In its traditional form, Stoicism was a personal religion where “the fundamental doctrines of the Stoa were such as to create a kind of spirituality and to raise men’s souls toward the cosmic God.”
However, most modern popularizers of Stoicism are themselves atheists or agnostics. Therefore, they reject or ignore the deeply religious sentiment woven into Stoicism. They either disregard Stoic physics and theology altogether or dismiss it as an anachronism from a less enlightened, pre-scientific age. This is truly unfortunate because this deeply spiritual, philosophical way of life is a legitimate option for moderns seeking a reasonable form of spirituality not tied to organized religion. Stoicism offers a meaningful and reasonable spiritual alternative to the existentialism and nihilism of our modern age. Nevertheless, instead of the powerful and deeply spiritual Stoicism which inspired the lives of Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, most moderns are offered a popularized, atheistic version of Stoic ethics. For those who appreciate the holistic nature of Stoic theory and its philosophical way of life, these formulations appear to be little more than Cognitive Behavioral Therapy mixed with mindfulness techniques and a few Stoic aphorisms. Such criticism may appear harsh; however, as demonstrated below, many scholars of Stoicism offer equally severe criticism of those who attempt to minimize the Stoic conception of cosmic Nature found within their holistic system.
Unfortunately, words like “religion”, “religious”, and “God” are burdened with a tremendous amount of baggage which causes many people to recoil almost instinctively from them. Therefore, it is important to clarify what we mean by the religious nature of Stoicism and how it differs from what commonly comes to mind with such words. The word spiritual applies equally well; however, it also carries baggage from many “new age” forms of spirituality. Roger Walsh, professor of psychiatry at the University of California at Irvine, offers the following definitions of religion and spirituality which fit the religious nature of Stoicism nicely,
“We need to distinguish between two crucial terms: religion and spirituality. The word religion has many meanings; in particular it implies a concern with the sacred and supreme values of life. The term spirituality, on the other hand, refers to direct experience of the sacred. Spiritual practices are those that help us experience the sacred— that which is most central and essential to our lives— for ourselves”
https://traditionalstoicism.com/the-religious-nature-of-stoicism-2/
Stoicism on Fire Episode 15 - The Religious Nature of Stoicism
https://open.spotify.com/episode/01IGSAcpTO8MVUUBTIClHe?si=5EbMAFO0RR2uScD6ldN9dQ
If you haven't had much exposure to Stoicism before, please peruse the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy's entry on Stoicism.
We hope to see you there!