Spirituality and History

Shows how and why our understanding of spirituality must take into account the historical factors that have shaped it. Sheldrake’s approach does not just take spiritual traditions at face value, but attempts to uncover the cultural and socially-defined questions that were being posed. He attends to the “underside” of history, examining groups and movements, such as the Beguines, that have been marginalized in standard histories of Christianity.

Philip Sheldrake is vice-principal of Sarum College, Salisbury, England. He is an associate editor of The Way, and editor of the Traditions of Christian Spirituality series (Orbis Books). His many books include Living Between Worlds: Place and Journey in Celtic Spirituality (Darton, Longman, Todd).