RIP, David Bowie the Promiscuous Spiritualist

RELIGION DISPATCHES
By Ed Simon

It’s almost stranger to think that there ever could have been a David Bowie than that he is no longer here. Certainly his 1977 classic “Heroes” will be the favorite of many. “Heroes” is a profoundly religious song, because it’s about the power of rituals, of actions, of the transcendent hiding in the material—of freedom in a kiss. It is “religion” (with a lower case “r”), the faith that sets men and women free—the sound of rock ‘n’ roll. His spiritual interests were promiscuous. He explored everything from the I Ching to Zen Buddhism, to Aleister Crowley, to his own brand of ritualistic and performative mysticism embodied in that alien rock ‘n’ roll messiah. [link]