Intellectuals turned to mysticism because church forms felt inadequate

Evidence

Observe, for instance, the fact that quite a few intellectually advanced individuals employ mysticism to satisfy their religious needs. This has been noticed since around the turn of the century. On the whole it can be assumed that these people were socialized into the ideologies of one or another of the existing churches. A double motivation for their mysticism is unmistakable. First of all, the forms which objectify and direct religious feeling are felt to be inadequate for contemporary life. On the other hand, these mystical tendencies suggest that life’s longing may be frustrated by objective forms in themselves, that the religious impulse must search for different goals and ways. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 863

Categorization

• QUESTION: Simmel notes the mysticism trend ‘since around the turn of the century’ but the examples are vague—worth chasing who exactly he means (Steiner? Bergson circle?).
• XREF: connects to: Preserving religious feeling requires abandoning religious forms — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 865

Related

• Modern religiosity persists after its supernatural objects are excised (similarity 0.79)
• Preserving religious feeling requires abandoning religious forms (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Preserving religious feeling requires abandoning religious forms #qualifies (0.60) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 865