Society in based on communication, there cannot be any society without some kind of communication. Communication means objectification: what is a subjective experience needs to be translated into some language, which means transposed into an objective vehicle that carries objects. This is the only way to make communication possible: no communication is possible without some kind of language. Language, communication, transposition, means some level of betrayal, infidelity. All of these things make society and spirituality not very helpful to each other, we can even say enemies to each other. Spirituality keeps a permanent orientation to what cannot be expressed, which is the original source of what finally comes out in expressions and understanding. Society needs understanding, clarity. This does not mean that any kind of social spirituality is impossible. The world has plenty of religions, spiritualities and artistic experiences that witness how social spirituality is not only possible, but also a great experience. However, even in any religion, in any social experience of any kind of spirituality, the ultimate reference point is still the inexpressible. A musical band, or a sport team, are able to give a spiritual esperience because what is visible a communicable in them refers to other things that are beyond communication. Without this reference even a football game is pointless, meaningless, tasteless.
Between society and spirituality some kind of pulling happens. Society has spirituality, but society in general pulls us towards objectivity, with a tendency to make us lose sight of the inexpressible. Society will never recommend us to pay attention to the inexpressible. A member of a society could, but society won’t. On the opposite side, spirituality has a tendency to pull us towards solitude, where we will be able to perceive much more easily the universe of inexpressible things and experiences.
Obviously we can cultivate a dialogue and harmony between spirituality and society, but what I have said shows that their respective nature makes them not very compatible with each other and even enemies. We can verify this situation in the life of several spiritual people, for example in Jesus. Society welcomed Jesus when he entered Jerusalem, but then society killed him. Nothing and nobody can be blamed about this: it is just their natures that makes them enemies.
In this situation, when problems become quite harsh, it ends up society being quite unable to help or give protection to certain individuals .
An instict to society is in our DNA, so that this conflict will ever be inside each of us. Our evolution has developed in us a survival instinct that looks for society, but at the same time we cannot help feeling, at times at least, some need to retreat from society and dwell in the warm and comforting home that is our inner life, spirituality, listening. Sometimes it is society, or a partner, a friend, a parent, who makes us feel the strongest warmth of being at home. This is a spiritual experience as well, but spirituality as such has its ultimate core in solitude, subjectivity, the exclusivity of each one’s self. Compared to these things, any other experience of warmth comes out as being good, but inevitably lower and passive.

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