Discerning urban spiritualities : Tahrir Square, occupy Wall Street and the idols of global market capitalism

dc.contributor.authorDu Toit, Calvyn C.
dc.date.accessioned2015-08-17T08:06:43Z
dc.date.available2015-08-17T08:06:43Z
dc.date.issued2013-04-15
dc.description.abstractDiscernment might be said to be a process of searching for meaning in the light of an (un) articulated Absolute. This search takes place in the tension between the private and public spheres of life, mostly mitigated by a community. Intermediate communities, such as churches or social movements, construct symbolic spirituality systems for its adherers to search for meaning in the light of an (un)articulated Absolute. The urban events of Occupy Wall Street and Tahrir Square also step into the tension between the public and private spheres of life, creating a (temporary) symbolic spirituality system for its adherers. These events were attempts to construct alternatives to the meta-narrative of global market capitalism. As events attempting to symbolise an urban spirituality, Tahrir Square and Occupy Wall Street dissipated rapidly, effecting rather little change at the heart of global market capitalism. This article theorises a possible reason for these urban spiritualities’ dissipation, namely an overlap with global market capitalism’s idols of instant gratification and technology. INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS : Viewing Occupy Walls Street and Tahrir Square as symbolic systems of spirituality further strengthens theological urban discourse whilst adding weight to viewing mass movements as spiritualities attempting discernment.en_ZA
dc.description.librarianam2015en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.ve.org.za/en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationDu Toit, C.C., 2015, 'Discerning urban spiritualities: Tahrir Square, Occupy Wall Street and the idols of global market capitalism', Verbum et Ecclesia 36(1), Art. #1355, 5 pages. http://dx.DOI.org/ 10.4102/ve.v36i1.1355en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1609-9982 (print)
dc.identifier.issn2074-7705 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.4102/ve.v36i1.1355
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/49341
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherAOSIS OpenJournalsen_ZA
dc.rights© 2015. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS OpenJournals. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.en_ZA
dc.subjectDiscernmenten_ZA
dc.subjectTahrir Squareen_ZA
dc.subjectSpiritualitiesen_ZA
dc.subjectWall Streeten_ZA
dc.subjectPublic sphere of lifeen_ZA
dc.subjectPrivate spheres of lifeen_ZA
dc.titleDiscerning urban spiritualities : Tahrir Square, occupy Wall Street and the idols of global market capitalismen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

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