Recently, there have been a growing number of buzz words that use the ‘metro’ prefix. For example, Metro sexuality, which is the term for heterosexual men having a strong concern for their appearance, is a term that is now quite common, widespread and ordinary. Similar to this, a rather new concept that is emerging is called ‘Metro spirituality’. Metro spirituality can be described through many perspectives but most simply put, while metro sexuality is a blend of the sexual choices that are being made as a part of the urban lifestyle, metro spirituality is considered as a blend of spiritual options emerging. It is simply the act of being spiritual in an urban or metro environment which is creative, complex and pluralistic.
Metro spirituality is basically based on the theory that there is more to spirituality than just going to the church and having internal belief which is known as being self-absorbed religion. It claims that there is more to religion than institutionalization. The basic belief of metro spirituality is that rather than practicing religion internally, one must pursue a practical life based on the beliefs, based on living life by following the acts of Christ. Basic acts are what define spirituality and a lifestyle that promotes good deeds is what is more important, moreover, metro spirituals believe that it is very important to enjoy, party and have good time.
The basic beliefs of metro spirituality such as working actively for others and practically implementing the lifestyle of the pious is very impressive and inspiring but the dilemma lies in the fact that with the passage of time metro spirituality is becoming less concerned with religiousness and more with being liberal and open. It is argued that Metro spirituality has emerged as a result of people wanting to believe that they are spiritual in whatever ways that they can make it happen.
It is the approach of being ‘spiritual but not religious’. Which is considered as not being religious at all as spirituality and religion come side by side and disregarding one is equal to disbelieving religion in itself. Metro spirituality deduces that in the matter of religion, they can be as liberal as they wish to be and be categorized as being broad minded and modern.
The lifestyle of the metro spirituals tends to revolve around doing well for the environment and for others. It is hence an important aspect of being metro spiritual that products be bought or consumed that pose some benefits to the environment. For example, when it comes to shopping, metro spirituals claim that what one buys reflects his/her beliefs and lifestyles. This note directs to a major criticism and rather the main essence of the popularity of metro spirituality.
Shopping in general has become more of a spiritual act for people and what they buy is considered to be what they believe. Nowadays Metro spirituals seem to be a term for individuals who base their purchasing choices upon what is spiritual, socially responsible and ecological. This stratum prefers to buy products from companies that contribute to the environment in some way and this factor allows companies to take advantage of them through promoting their brands as being socially responsible and supportive.
Metro sexuality is now largely considered to be nothing but a marketing gimmick by companies that want to promote their brands by approaching the spiritual side of the people. Metro spirituality is said to be a fusion of spirituality and commercialism due to the way that companies advertise their products such as organic chocolate, yoga clothing etc. companies have recognized these sector as being a niche market and they target them with supporting what they do and attract them to gain profit for themselves.
Metro spirituality gained a lot of attention when it was first introduced but it has gradually died out. A reason for it to fade away is that they sort of people that adopted this culture were too inconsistent in the first place. People do believe that making choices based upon the inner values and spirituality is very vital but the exploitation, consumerism and manipulation by businesses make it hard to follow something for a long period of time without being taken advantage of.
Metro spirituality is deemed to be highly similar to metro sexuality. The emergence and popularity of metro sexuality is considered to be a conscious and rather successful effort made by the companies by working together and changing the mind sets and cultural perceptions of people in order to gain access to a new target market and thus, increase profitability. Similar is the case with metro spirituality. It is believed that metro spirituality is yet another attempt to tap into new markets by capturing the lifestyles and value systems of these believers and combining it with products and trends that seem supportive and thus, yet again gaining profit
Nonetheless, on the contrary it could be perceived that the beliefs of the metro spirituals in yielding responsibility to the environment and taking positive social actions has to some extent put imposed some impact on the culture as well as the business practices by teaching them about spending money consciously and maintaining a holistic thinking.
In conclusion, it is important to understand that metro spiritual may be something new but it is certainly not wise to follow something without having a true belief in it. This is new concept and it broadens the way people practice their religion. It does not bound spirituality to the extent of going to churches and being well versed about the facts of religion but it rather promotes the importance of practically doing good deed that benefit oneself as well as others.
Metro spirituality is seen as a marketing gimmick and by many, it is not believed to be something real and thus has gained a lot of skeptic views and criticism but whether these actions and motives are seen as positive or negative however depends upon the point of view and belief systems of every individual.