Carl R. Rogers: Auf dem Weg zu einer Spiritualität für die säkulare Welt?

Abstract

Carl R. Rogers: On the way to a spirituality for a secular era. Following Carl Rogers’ conclusion that in successful psychotherapy a spiritual dimension is attained, one must question how one can speak of spirituality in a postmodern, secular era. The key experience is the endurance of incongruence and deficiency, and the allied questing and yearning for fulfillment and salvation. The trend to take certain rituals from the great spiritual traditions and isolated parts of their philosophies and integrate them into psychotherapy is seriously questionable. Considering the life of Carl Rogers it becomes apparent that even rigid and authoritarian religions are not able to prevent these human aspirations; the person-centered approach developed by him, and especially the person-centered psychotherapy mirror the essential parts of a spiritual aspiration in a completely secular manner.