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Spirituality is fast becoming a common and accepted term for the pursuit of inspiration, meaning, and purpose, even among the non-religious.
Where many seem to get tripped up is in the root of the word, “spirit”, which seems to indicate some kind of supernatural entity. However, the etymology of the word can be taken in quite naturalistic directions:
spirit (n.)mid-13c., “animating or vital principle in man and animals,” from Old French espirit, from Latin spiritus “soul, courage, vigor, breath,” related to spirare “to breathe,” from PIE *(s)peis- “to blow” (cf. Old Church Slavonic pisto “to play on the flute”). (Online Etymology Dictionary)
The root meanings of courage, vigor, breath, to breathe, and to blow all have naturalistic overtones. Moreover, concepts ancestral to the English notion also have naturalistic roots: Greek pneuma or “breath”, and Hebrew ruach or “breath, wind.” Finally, the usage of the word to refer to a supernatural being is relatively late:
Meaning “supernatural being” is attested from c.1300 (see ghost); that of “essential principle of something” (in a non-theological sense, e.g. Spirit of St. Louis) is attested from 1690, common after 1800. Plural form spirits “volatile substance” is an alchemical idea, first attested 1610; sense narrowed to “strong alcoholic liquor” by 1670s. This also is the sense in spirit level (1768). (Online Etymology Dictionary)
In addition to these ancient naturalistic meanings referring to air-based phenomena, a new meaning has developed in the modern era:
In modern times “spirituality” has acquired a new meaning. It still denotes a process of transformation, but is often seen as separate from religious institutions, as “spiritual-but-not-religious.” Spirituality has come to mean the inner experience, the individual aspect. Religion represents the organized aspect, the institutions which press people into a mold. This modern spirituality blends (humanistic) psychology with mystical and esoteric traditions and eastern religions.
Social scientists have defined spirituality as the search for “the sacred,” where “the sacred” is broadly defined as that which is set apart from the ordinary and worthy of veneration. Spirituality can be sought not only through traditional organized religions, but also through movements such as the feminist theology and ecological spirituality. Spirituality is associated with mental health, managing substance abuse, marital functioning, parenting, and coping. It has been suggested that spirituality also leads to finding purpose and meaning in life. (Wikipedia)
To illustrate the shift in meaning in modern times, it may be helpful to display a number of uses of the word by notable figures today.
Lawrence Krauss, physicist and strident atheist, exclaims:
I get upset when people say that science isn’t spiritual. I get spiritual wonder looking at every Hubble space telescope picture. And science, in fact, is a better kind of spirituality because it’s real.
In a Huffington Post article, evolutionary evangelist Michael Dowd explains:
New Theists practice what might be called a “practical spirituality.” Spirituality for us means the mindset, heart-space and tools that assist one in growing in integrity (i.e., in right relationship to reality) and supporting others and our species in doing the same. It also means an interpretive stance that can be counted on to deliver hope in times of confusion, solace in times of sorrow and support for handling life’s inevitable challenges.
Pantheist Annika Garratt adds:
Some people regard the word ‘spirituality’ as pertaining strictly to the ‘supernatural’. In my opinion, spirituality can be wholly naturalistic. Is ‘spirit’ something supernatural? This word is Latin in origin and means “breath”. To breathe is not a feat of the supernatural. Breathing is a characteristic of something that is alive, and to be ‘spirited’ or ‘in high spirits’ is to be lively. So then, spirituality is something to do with breathing and feeling lively, understanding what life is, and valuing this experience of being alive. Your personal spirituality is your understanding of what life is and how to make the most of this life. A spiritual experience is something that inspires you to go on living. Sometimes, gazing up at the sky is my only reason for living.
Philosopher Brendan Myers comments in The Other Side of Virtue:
Spirituality is very simple. The values that configure a meaningful life need only transcend the individual self to be spiritual. They need not transcend the whole world.
Further, Spiritual Naturalist DT Strain writes on The Humanist Contemplative:
But most people think of ‘spirituality’ as inherently about the supernatural – God, the afterlife, souls, and so on. How can there be spirituality without spirits? The group’s literature points out that the root Latin word, spiritus, meant wind or breath – the essence of life. “When we say ‘the spirit of the law’ we mean the essence of the law. In the same way, a true spirituality would be a practice that focuses on the essence or the ‘essential in life’. To those with supernatural views,” says Rev. Strain, “…that might be salvation in the afterlife. To us naturalists, the ‘spirit of life’ is about living a good, meaningful, and flourishing life in the here and now. This is an older and broader understanding of spirituality.”
Politician Al Gore is quoted in Bron Taylor’s Dark Green Religion:
Gore contended that Western civilization had become dysfunctional and destructive and that the roots of the environmental crisis were “spiritual.” When making such statements, Gore knew he was going out on a limb: “As a politician, I know full well the special hazards of using ‘spiritual’ to describe a problem like this one. . . . But what other word describes the collection of values and assumptions that determine our basic understanding of how we fit into the universe?”
Finally, neuroscientist and atheist Sam Harris defends the use of the word, and mentions that so did the late Christopher Hitchens. Harris is, in fact, in the process of writing a book on the subject.
These comments vividly demonstrate the shift in meaning described in the Wikipedia article.
See also “Deity.”
Check out other entries in our HPedia.
“The natural world that formed me… is my ‘sacred canopy.'”
In The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion, published in 1967, Peter Berger analyses religion as socially constructed knowledge. His description suggests to me that our body of knowledge about the history and evolution of life could serve as the basis for a religion.
Berger sees three steps in the process by which humans construct their society and are in turn constructed by it. Read More
Can knowledge of the evolutionary history of life on earth serve as a meaningful basis for religion?
Life on Earth as a religion? by Brock Haussamen
Appearing Sunday, April 28th, 2013
What are the potential social benefits of what we do?
Is Naturalistic Paganism beneficial to society? by B. T. Newberg
Appearing Sunday, May 5th, 2013
Is Naturalistic Paganism harmful to society? by B. T. Newberg
Your help is needed! Please critique this entry from the HPedia: An encyclopedia of key concepts in Naturalistic Paganism. Please leave your constructive criticism in the comments below.
The definition of religion is highly contested. One of the most widely recognized, but by no means the only, definition is that of symbolic anthropologist Clifford Geertz:
Religion is defined as (1) a system of symbols which acts to (2) establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by (3) formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and (4) clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that (5) the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic
Nothing in Geertz’ definition necessitates a supernatural force or agency. There are many, however, who propose that supernaturalism is the defining characteristic of religion, and those that lack it are not true religions. There are at least three problems with this view. First, “supernatural” is a Western concept developed in late Roman and early Medieval Europe (see Saler), and as such it may be inappropriate to apply it uncritically to other traditions. Second, not all traditions conventionally considered religions are supernaturalistic: witness monastic Theravada Buddhism, philosophical Daoism, Neo-Confucianism, Stoicism, Epicureanism, many forms of liberal Christianity, and more. Finally, the temptation to discount these traditions as “not true religions” may be circular reasoning that falls prey to the “no true Scotsman” fallacy. Whittle summarizes the “not true religion” reaction:
It seems a natural response from conventionally bright people encountering an idea they don’t easily comprehend; especially when it’s an uncomfortable one. It’s rather like reading an e. e. cummings poem and wondering why it doesn’t rhyme.
Today is Earth Day. This day has been gaining steam since its inception in 1970, and is now celebrated by over 175 countries. It’s intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for our natural environment. Google “how to celebrate Earth Day” to find no end of ideas for activities. Here’s a list of 15 ways to celebrate Earth Day. My personal favorite is to spend the day as a “trashmonk“, picking up trash as a form of meditation and devotion. I find it calming, centering, and rewarding. Sometimes I even chant a hymn to the Earth Mother as I go along.
Here are lyrics for an Earth Day Anthem set to Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”:
Joyful joyful we adore our Earth in all its wonderment
Simple gifts of nature that all join into a paradise
Now we must resolve to protect her
Show her our love through out all time
With our gentle hand and touch
We make our home a newborn world
Now we must resolve to protect her
Show her our love through out all time
With our gentle hand and touch
We make our home a newborn world
Naturalistic Paganism
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