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Spirituality And Autonomous Religion In Southern Ontario: A Sociological And Theological Study, Christopher J. Medland

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis analyzes non-institutional forms of religion in Southern Ontario with depth and description, via interviews of a specific local population sample (n = 10), and provides interpretation of these phenomena within a practical theological perspective (via typology). This analysis shows measurable potential for the development of a form of personal theological autonomy that is prevalent in this sample of individuals. The aspirations of the participants have suggested two possible types emerging from this sample of spiritual adherents: 1) the “inclusive seeker” and 2) the “spiritual-political activist”. This sociological account of the so-called “spiritual but not religious” (SBNR; and …