Transforming Spirituality in Artistic Leisure:How the Spiritual Meaning of Belly Dance Changes Over Time

摘要

Studies show that different dimensions of religiosity change throughout the life course. Yet, we have little information about how spirituality that some people experience outside of formal religious organizations may change. The purpose of this study is to examine how spirituality associated with artistic leisure may emerge or decline over time. Drawing from two waves of semistructured qualitative interviews conducted five years apart, I examine how the spirituality dancers associate with belly dance changes over time and factors associated with those transformations. Rather than emerging, findings show that whether dancers instill belly dance with spirituality remains stable or decreases. Furthermore, much of the decrease in the spiritual meaning that dancers link to belly dance can be understood in the context of their changing involvement in the dance, different meanings they attach to belly dance, revisiting their personal beliefs about spirituality, and expanding their spiritual outlets.