I was struck by John Stott’s comment about the concept of ‘spirituality’:-

‘I confess that the recent evangelical adoption of the word and concept of “spirituality” troubles me for three reasons.

‘First, it is a traditionally Roman Catholic term, which means that inevitably it carries with it some Catholic baggage. Then we spread confusion by using the same language for different notions.

‘Second, the term spirituality threatens to perpetuate the disastrous dichotomy between the sacred and the secular, the spiritual and the material.

‘Third, the evangelical borrowing of spirituality is unfortunate because it establishes an unbiblical term, while at the same time overlooking a better and biblical one, namely discipleship. For discipleship (like spirituality) is an umbrella word, which includes a whole range of Christian responsibilities like public and private worship, disciplined meditation and prayer, moral standards, Christlikeness of character and conduct, work, witness and mission.’

John Stott, in Lewis & McGrath (eds) Doing Theology for the People of God, 16.