The best way to deal with generational conflicts in Spiritist Centres

Livia Doro (photo) is a clinical psychologist in the Brazilian city of  Marília, in the state of São Paulo, where she is the current vice-president of the Luz, Fé e Caridade Spiritist Centre (Light, Faith and Charity), known by its acronym CELFC. As a young Spiritist, she reflects about generational conflict within the Spiritist Movement:

You were born into a Spiritist family. What was the main lesson learned from your experience in the Spiritist Movement?

The main lesson for me was to understand that Spiritism is like a compass in my life. That became clear to me recently, when a teenager attending one of our study groups asked me: “How do you know Spiritism is the right religion?” And I answered: “I don’t know, but Spiritism gives a purpose to my life and explains the problems and challenges I have to deal with regularly. It comforts me and gives me hope, it explains what life is and where I’ll go when I die. It makes me want to become a better person, to help others and reminds me to be grateful for all I have.”

As a young person on the board of a Spiritist organisation, what do you have to say about the ancient matter of clash of generations?

Generational conflict does exist, doesn’t it? And it’s something that goes well beyond Spiritist organisations. I can see that the “old” generation has strict rules about how to conduct our activities, as well as formalities, hierarchy, bureaucracy, but also a great deal of experience. The “new” generation, on the other hand, is more dynamic and questions things more often. They bring in good humour, informality, a necessity to learn and an openness to new things and technology. There’s reluctance from both sides to talk to each other, to make concessions, to hear and to change. I believe that we will only be able to resolve that when we find a middle ground. All sides have to be valued and everyone can give an important contribution to Spiritism.

What do you think are the main obstacles for young people to be fully integrated in Spiritist Centres?

I believe that resistance to change can be the biggest obstacle, and that applies both to the “older” and the “younger” generations. It’s difficult to change, isn’t it? When I look back at my experience, I can see that so many people get comfortable in a “passive” position by attending events, talks and lectures, by observing what they could do to improve themselves but doing nothing about it. We insist on the same work procedures, the same people and the same way of doing things. That happened, for example, during the coronavirus pandemic. We realised that we would need to change things, that our essential services would need to go online. But doing that wasn’t easy. Many opposed the changes and not everyone has adapted. At our Spiritist Centre, CELFC, we had to learn how to use Google Meet, how to broadcast live on YouTube and how to create groups on WhatsApp. Imagine that! The oldest Spiritist Centre in the city went digital! That was only possible because we were able to talk about the challenges we were going through. And because we were able to discuss suggested changes and we agreed to work together. 

What do you suggest to help more mature people overcome their scepticism towards younger generations?

Well… you too were young one day, remember that! Every teenager felt, somewhere in the past, that he or she would like to do something different from the “older” generation. In the Spiritist Movement it’s not different. We must bear in mind that the work we carry out doesn’t belong to us. We are a small part in the bigger project of Our Master Jesus. We need to encourage other people, especially those from the “younger” generation, to carry on with this important task. 

And what should younger people do to overcome the challenges posed by the clash of generations?

They must be prepared to hear what older people have to say. They have a lot to teach. When I talk to people who have been in our Spiritist Centre for longer, I learn a lot about CELFC’s history, its statute, the administration practices and the processes used to coordinate personnel and make decisions. We don’t need to make the same mistakes of those who came before us. 

What would you like to share with us from your experience in Spiritism?

I would like to highlight the importance of attending youth groups. Parents, grandparents and uncles, please take your children to the Spiritist Centre. If it wasn’t for my parents to make sure that I went and attended those activities, I would have moved away from religion. I was lazy and preferred to stay in bed to getting up to study Spiritism. I understand now that going through the youth groups was essential for me to be able, eventually, to take bigger roles in our Spiritist Centre. A great proportion of those who are now in our Centre were children and teenagers who attended our youth groups. They are now able to fully understand the importance of Spiritism and they feel honoured to be in a position of command at a Spiritist Centre.