If so, what is this other spirituality?
In his book Pagans and Christians in the City: Culture Wars from the Tiber to the Potomac Steven Smith argues that, since the rise of Christianity down to this very day, Christianity and paganism have been in conflict in presenting us with rival spiritualities.
This might seem to be a strange claim, given how Christianity conquered paganism. Worldwide, there are billions of Christians and not many people believe in the old Roman gods. But Smith argues that focusing on beliefs in the pagan gods misses the heart of pagan spirituality, what made it so attractive, then and now. And if we focus on pagan spirituality, rather than beliefs in pagan gods, then we come to see that Christianity never really defeated paganism. Paganism has persisted and existed alongside Christianity this entire time. And, in fact, after existing for 2,000 years in the shadows, paganism is now ascendant once again.
So, what does Smith mean by "pagan spirituality" as a contrast and rival to "Christianity spirituality"? According to Smith, the vital difference between paganism and Christianity is the location of the scared. Smith writes:
[P]agan religion differs from Judaism and Christianity in its placement of the sacred. Pagan religion locates the sacred within this world. In that way, paganism can consecrate the world from within: it is religiosity relative to an immanent sacred. Judaism and Christianity, by contrast, reflect a transcendent religiosity; they place the sacred, ultimately, outside the world--"beyond space and time."Again, Smith points out that immanent spiritualities--locating the sacred within the world--have always been around, and even have mixed in various ways with the transcendent spirituality of Christianity. For Christians, God is both immanent and transcendent, so the two can mix together. That said, as a Christian spirituality shifts towards an immanent sacred it becomes an increasingly "paganized" version of Christianity. And there are lots of historical and modern examples of these "pagan Christianities."
Smith goes on to observe that, after 2,000 years of cultural dominance in the West, the transcendent spirituality of Christianity is now losing ground to the immanent spirituality of paganism. Increasingly, people aren't looking toward a transcendent sacred that stands over, interrupts and judges human affairs. Rather, we seek and sacralize goods we find within creation. Things are good--food, sex, values, human being--in themselves. Creation, the parts we enjoy at least, is intrinsically good, independent of any other transcendent good that confers goodness.
I think we see multiple examples of this at work in the modern West, and within many sectors of Christianity.
All that to say, I think Smith's argument is helpful in describing how, exactly, our enchantment has shifted. Over the last 500 years, we haven't gone from enchantment to disenchantment. Rather, we've been shifting from a Christian to a pagan enchantment, moving from a transcendent enchantment to immanent enchantments.
