Published: 11:23 PM, 22 August 2026
How Spiritualism Lost Its Ground in Present-Day World Literature
In the great history of world literature spiritualism once occupied a central and powerful position. Writers across civilizations explored God the soul morality destiny death transcendence and the mysterious relationship between human beings and the universe. From the sacred poetry of ancient India to the mystical verses of Rumi from Dante’s vision of the afterlife to the religious imagination of John Milton literature frequently treated the spiritual dimension of life as one of its deepest subjects. In the present-day literary world however, that prominence appears to have weakened. Spiritualism has not disappeared entirely but it has lost much of its former ground to materialism, individualism political consciousness, scientific thought, psychological inquiry and the rapidly changing realities of modern life.
The decline of spiritualism in literature is closely connected with the transformation of society itself. Earlier societies were largely shaped by religious traditions, rituals , communal beliefs and ideas of divine order. Literature naturally reflected these values. Writers often saw human life as part of a larger moral or cosmic structure. In contrast, modern society is increasingly influenced by science, technology, capitalism , urbanization , consumer culture and secular institutions. As a result contemporary writers frequently concentrate on immediate human problems rather than metaphysical questions.
Modernist writers played a major role in this transformation. Writers such as James Joyce T. S. Eliot Virginia Woolf and Franz Kafka portrayed fragmented individuals living in uncertain and often alienating societies. Their works still contain religious and spiritual concerns but spirituality is frequently presented through doubt, crisis fragmentation and uncertainty rather than unquestioned faith.
T. S. Eliot is an especially interesting example. His poetry demonstrates that spiritual concerns did not vanish from modern literature; instead they became deeply complicated. In The Waste Land Eliot presents a civilization suffering from spiritual exhaustion. The poem is filled with references to Christianity Buddhism Hindu philosophy and other traditions. Yet the dominant atmosphere is one of cultural fragmentation and loss. Eliot's later poetry, particularly Four Quartets, moves more directly toward spiritual reflection. His work therefore illustrates an important truth: spiritualism did not simply disappear from modern literature; it became less dominant and more troubled.
The twentieth century also brought two devastating world wars, political revolutions, genocides colonial conflicts and unprecedented technological destruction. These experiences profoundly affected writers' attitudes toward religion and spirituality. How could traditional ideas of divine justice easily explain the horrors of Auschwitz Hiroshima and countless wars? Literature increasingly turned toward questions of absurdity suffering alienation and human responsibility.
The works of Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre demonstrate this intellectual shift. Their existentialist literature often places human beings in a universe without an obvious divine purpose. Camus's The Stranger and The Myth of Sisyphus explore the absurdity of existence and the human struggle to find meaning. Instead of receiving meaning from a supernatural authority individuals must confront existence themselves. This represented a significant departure from earlier literary traditions in which spiritual or religious frameworks frequently provided answers to life's deepest questions.
Another important factor behind the decline of spiritualism is the growth of material culture. Contemporary life is increasingly organized around money consumption, employment technology, entertainment and social status. Modern literature naturally reflects these pressures. The city has become one of its major settings and the contemporary city is often portrayed as a place of competition, loneliness, inequality , desire and economic struggle.
Digital technology has accelerated this transformation. People now live surrounded by smartphones, social media, artificial intelligence, online entertainment advertising and constant information. Attention has become a valuable commodity. The quietness traditionally associated with spiritual reflection is difficult to maintain in an environment of continuous digital stimulation. Contemporary literature increasingly explores the psychological consequences of this condition: loneliness despite connectivity anxiety caused by information overload and the loss of a stable sense of identity.
The changing role of religion in public life has also affected literature. In many parts of the world secularism has expanded while religious belief has become more private. Writers are often reluctant to present religious faith as an unquestionable truth. Contemporary literature tends to value plurality and individual interpretation. A modern novelist may portray Christianity Islam , Hinduism, Buddhism or indigenous spirituality but often through the personal experiences of characters rather than as an authoritative system of universal truth.
The novels of Hermann Hesse, although belonging to an earlier period, remain influential in demonstrating this transition. Siddhartha combines Buddhist Hindu and Western philosophical ideas in a search for self-knowledge. Hesse's work became particularly influential among readers seeking alternatives to conventional materialism. Similarly the writings of Paulo Coelho, especially The Alchemist have reached a global audience with their emphasis on destiny, faith, personal transformation and the spiritual meaning of life. His popularity demonstrates that the modern reader has not completely abandoned spiritual concerns.
Contemporary African Asian and Latin American literature also challenges the idea that modernity necessarily means the disappearance of spirituality. Writers from societies where traditional belief systems remain deeply embedded in everyday life often combine modern political and social realities with spiritual or mythical elements. Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude for example blends Catholic imagery indigenous traditions, folklore and magical realism. The result is a literary world in which the boundaries between ordinary reality and the supernatural remain deliberately uncertain.
Likewise many South Asian writers continue to draw upon religious philosophy, mythology and spiritual traditions. The influence of Hindu Buddhist Islamic and Sufi thought remains visible in poetry fiction drama and philosophical writing. Rabindranath Tagore though not a contemporary writer remains an important example of a literary tradition in which spirituality and humanism are closely connected. His writings demonstrate that spiritual consciousness can coexist with modern ideas of freedom, universalism and human dignity.
Another reason spiritualism appears weaker today is the changing nature of literary readership. Contemporary readers often demand narratives that address recognizable social realities. Issues such as climate change migration, gender racism, war poverty, political oppression, identity and mental isolation occupy a significant place in current literature. These subjects require writers to confront the material conditions of human existence. Spiritual questions may remain present but they are often placed alongside political and psychological concerns rather than occupying the center.
Yet the apparent loss of spiritualism may actually represent a transformation rather than a complete decline. Modern literature has become suspicious of fixed answers. The contemporary writer often does not tell readers what to believe. Instead literature creates spaces in which readers can experience uncertainty, doubt, wonder and moral complexity. Spirituality has therefore moved from the realm of certainty into the realm of questioning.
A contemporary novel may not mention God at all and still be profoundly spiritual if it asks what makes life meaningful, how human beings should respond to suffering or whether there is something larger than individual existence. Environmental literature for example frequently challenges the idea that humans are separate from nature. Such writing can produce a spiritual awareness without depending upon conventional religion.
The decline of spiritualism in present-day world literature should therefore be understood as part of the broader transformation of human consciousness. Literature has moved from a world in which religious and spiritual explanations were often taken for granted to one in which they must compete with science, philosophy, politics , psychology, technology and personal experience.
Spiritualism has lost its former central position but it has not disappeared. It has changed its language. The old questions about God, the soul eternity and transcendence have been joined by new questions about identity consciousness, nature suffering technology and the meaning of existence. Writers such as T. S. Eliot Albert Camus Hermann Hesse Gabriel García Márquez Paulo Coelho and many others show different stages of this literary transformation.
Ultimately present-day world literature is not necessarily less spiritual than the literature of the past; it is simply less certain about spirituality. The modern writer often stands between faith and doubt tradition and reason material reality and the desire for transcendence. In that uncertain space spirituality continues to exist—not as an unquestionable foundation but as a persistent human longing to discover meaning in an increasingly complex world.
Mahfuz Ul Hasib Chowdhury
is a contributor to different
English newspapers and magazines.
The writer is also a Commonwealth Open University Fellow.
