The question “Can you sell spirituality?” came up in conversation recently. The person who asked it plans to provide an online spiritual direction service and worried that asking for money in exchange for her services would in some way be immoral.
I’ve given this some thought and my answer is no you cannot sell spirituality because it is not yours to sell. It is the same reason “Money can’t buy you love” as the Beatles put in many years ago. Spirituality and love (are their others?) are of the heart. They are my responsibility and no-one can sell me a solution to my existentialist angst.
The Wrong Question
Moreover, “Can you sell spirituality?” is the wrong question. Lots of people have spiritual directors and most of them charge for their service. I’m not sure how many make a living out of it but it is legitimate to make the charge. Why? Because you are selling your time and experience as a service. It is your time and service that is for sale, not spirituality.
The important thing is integrity. You need to be clear about what you are selling. Services such as spiritual direction are obviously open to abuse. Most spiritual directors are accountable to some sort of support network. It may be someone selling a course online might not have any accountability and that could lead to exploitation.
But it’s like everything else, if you have put in time and effort to produce something worthwhile, there is no harm in charging for your time and service. Whether you charge to make a living or to make-a-million is a matter for your conscience.