He was right to believe in his project: after 30 years of research and compilation, the philosopher and sociologist Frédéric Lenoir signed “The Odyssey of the Saint”, a great historical fresco of faith since the beginning of time, complemented by an analysis of this eternal need for spirituality Search. A work that the author will be able to present to the public in Quebec as he will take part in conferences in Montreal and at the book fair at the end of November.
Published at 1:27 am. Updated at 7:00 a.m.
From the outset, the design of the work shows a suspected, even claimed, parallel to Yuval Harari’s famous Sapiens. But through the prism of the saint, Frédéric Lenoir traces the history of humanity; a suggestion from his publisher who suggested that he write a “Spiritual Sapiens,” thereby paving the way for a synthesis of his years of research on the subject. With more than 520 pages, “The Odyssey of the Saint” is divided into two parts that trace the journey and mutations of spirituality through the centuries and then discuss the philosophical and sociological question: “Why is man a spirit animal?”
We thus attack the heart of the matter from the first chapter, with the relevant puzzle of the emergence of the feeling of the sacred in man, which is directly linked to the opacity of the “great final leap”.
The first archaeological evidence we have on this subject is the fact that humans bury their dead with burial rituals.
Frederick Lenoir
“We saw the emergence of symbolic practices in the Neanderthals and then in the Sapiens, who developed them greatly, which shows that there was a belief in the possibility of the survival of the soul.” For example, we bury the dead in the fetal position, which is the “Suggests the possibility of rebirth, or with his head facing east, or with weapons and food,” explains Frédéric Lenoir.
The essay then traverses stages and epochs, exploring the ancient religions, then the spiritual revolution of the universalist religions and philosophical movements (between 800 and 200 BC), after a detour on the ideas of magic and witchcraft, the rise of the great monotheistic ones Currents Impact of the Enlightenment before we get to the contemporary segment. So what would be the state of affairs? The author notes that in the Western world he detects a division of the spiritual and religious, a rejection of the management of the sacred by collective organizations and a loss of trust in them.
“But that absolutely doesn’t stop you from continuing to ask spiritual questions, to experience the sacred, to question the meaning of your own life. Today’s event is therefore this distancing, which means that there are more and more individuals who are spiritual and not religious, even atheists, but also individuals who are religious without being spiritual, that is, for religion only a collective is identity, and we see that today in a somewhat tragic way,” he says.
Based on this overview of spiritual history, how does the philosopher predict its development in the coming century? For him, the sacred will continue its path as a universal feeling and question of meaning. It also anticipates two phenomena.
In the continuity of the collapse of religion observed in the West and in a particularly brutal form, we can witness the strong development of an “off-track” spirituality, no longer linked to the collective or religious traditions of Quebec.
Frederick Lenoir
“We have also observed in other cultures that the phenomenon of the hardening of religious identity as a reaction to loss of orientation, individualism and materialism continues,” he continues. This could even lead to religious revivals in the West, albeit in other forms that we cannot yet imagine, or even to the birth of new religions. »
From astrology to neuroscience
On the fringes of the major global spiritual movements, certain very detailed chapters of the Odyssey of the Sacred explore the areas of esotericism and astrology. They teach us, for example, that the latter dates back to the invention of writing (since ancient times planetary positions were noted in order to relate them to earthly events), before being discredited by Cartesianism from the 17th century onwards, which made it scientifically invalid exposed.
However, in recent years we have observed in our societies a renewed interest in predictions of all kinds. When asked about this point, Frédéric Lenoir explains this with a transformation of astrology in the form of a “psycho-astrology”, equipped with a new language that relates to the individual speaks and offers him a photo of his psyche. “In this sense, it corresponds to his need to feel connected to a living cosmos, to nature, to the universe and to establish a connection between the macrocosm and the microcosm,” he analyzes.
Another very insightful section of the essay deals with beliefs examined from a scientific perspective, including those of neuroscience and cognitive psychology. Research shows that people who are driven by spiritual beliefs are much more resilient in the face of life’s challenges. When it comes to the human brain, we discovered an area called the cingulate cortex that is missing in animals. “It would meet the need for meaning. Humans would be the only animal that would have to exist for life, and perhaps it is this peculiarity in the brain that explains it. But that remains a question,” concludes the essayist.
Frederic Lenoir in Montreal
Frédéric Lenoir will give two lectures at the Grande Bibliothèque de Montréal: on November 27th at 7 p.m. on his new book and on November 28th at 7 p.m. on Carl Jung. The author will also be present at the Montreal Book Fair from November 23rd to 26th and will take part in a public discussion with Nicole Bordeleau on “Spirituality Different” on November 23rd at 4 p.m.
The Odyssey of the Saint
Albin Michel
526 pages