The World is Our Cloister: A Guide to The Modern Religious Life

by Jennifer Kavanagh

The dedicated religious life of monks and nuns has a fascination for many of us―at a distance. We live in the world we have, and it's hard to figure out how to do it in a God-filled way. The World is Our Cloister is about the new religious life; a life to which Protestant, Catholic, Hindu or those with no label can relate. It is a guide to living the devotional life, not behind the walls of a monastery, but in the world. It's about engagement in the world as well as withdrawal, the balance between a life of action and one of contemplation; how to be in the world but not of it.

Genres: Religion

223 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 2007

About the author

Jennifer Kavanagh is a former literary agent, who spent nearly 30 years in publishing. She now sets up micro-credit programmes, mainly in Africa, and is a facilitator for the conflict resolution programme, Alternatives to Violence project. Jennifer lives in London, England. She is a Quaker, an associate tutor at the Quaker study centre, Woodbrooke, and she writes and speaks regularly on the Spirit-led life.
She is the author of twelve books of non-fiction and three novels, the third of which, "And this shall be my dancing day", comes out in July 2023.

Reviews

[Suzanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

This hot mess of a book suffered on many fronts including a loss of focus, a poor outline from the beginning, tenuous relationships between the chapters, clunky transitions, excessive block quotes, and an awful layout that made reading it tough. The chapters blurred together and the flurry of long, long, much too long, block quotes made this read like someone's college paper rather than an actual text written by a seasoned professional.

The title made this book seem like a guide on how to be a modern religious person seeking community in faith beyond the cloister, but it was actually just a series of interviews and a series of personal info-dumps from the author. Good editing would have helped her find her focus and probably a better title that was more in touch with her intent.

Sigh. I shouldn't be surprised that this book was published via a vanity press, and I suspect that's the difference between "sure, it's technically correct" and "wow, what a book!"

[Chaundra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Im a little ashamed at how long it took me to work my way through this book, but that I kept coming back to it after long pauses is a testament to its enduring relevance. At its core it’s a survey of how different people live out their faith but it’s also an invitation to reflect on our own spiritual lives. How they are. How they could be. Options. Musing. I have a sneaking suspicion this will be a boon I continue to dip in and out of for a long while. After all living as a person of faith in the world is a constantly evolving thing.

[Amanda Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rhythm of the writing brings you through deep thinking with a fresh understanding.

[Alistair · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-researched and thought-provoking read, although I admit I felt like it somewhat lost its steam in the last couple of chapters. Would strongly recommend to anybody looking to explore the experience of living their faith.