A Preliminary Genealogy of Yoga in Italy: Between Religion and Contemporary Spirituality
Matteo di Placido, Stefania Palmisano
Religions June 27, 2023 DOI: 10.3390/rel14060800 via DOAJ
Summary
Yoga in twenty-first-century Italy is neither entirely new nor a clear alternative to established religions, but instead shares overlapping boundaries with Catholicism, contemporary spiritualities, and Western esoteric traditions such as theosophy and anthroposophy. Drawing on a discursive study of religion approach, the authors construct a preliminary genealogy of yoga in Italy that reveals its premodern, esoteric, and theosophical roots. They question the novelty often attributed to contemporary spiritualities and show how yoga's positioning within the Italian religious field involves porous and overlapping concepts. The article reflects on the limits of sociocultural theorizing for interpreting the spiritual and religious field.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Religion Spirituality Contemporary spiritualities Modern yoga Crossing boundaries |
| Key finding | Yoga in twenty-first-century Italy is not entirely new nor a clear alternative to established religions, but shares overlapping boundaries with Catholicism, contemporary spiritualities, and Western esoteric traditions. |
Abstract
In this article, we design a preliminary genealogy of yoga in Italy, showing its positioning within the growing field of “contemporary spiritualities”, their premodern, esoteric and theosophical roots and Catholicism. Our main claim is that yoga and contemporary spiritualities as practiced in XXI-century Italy are neither entirely new nor are they clearly an alternative to more established religions. We rely on the methods and tools of a “discursive study of religion” approach to unpack the intricacies, genealogical roots and definitional boundaries that yoga, contemporary spiritualities and religion in Italy share. More specifically, we question the novelty of contemporary spiritualities in Italy, unveiling some of their esoteric, theosophical and anthroposophical roots, presenting, in turn, a preliminary genealogy of yoga in Italy, discussing its positioning amid Catholicism and contemporary spiritualities. We conclude by reflecting on the creation, use and limits of sociocultural theorizing about interpreting and understanding the spiritual and religious field, with a specific emphasis on the overlapping and porous boundaries between the concepts of religion, contemporary spiritualities, Western esotericism and modern yoga.