Spirituality

Spirituality is, in a narrow sense, a concern with matters of the spirit, however that may be defined; but it is also a wide term with many available readings: it may include belief in supernatural powers, as in religion; but the emphasis is on personal experience. It may be a metaphorical expression for the life perceived as higher, more complex or more integrated with worldview, as compared with the simply sensational.

The spiritual and the religious

An important distinction needs to be made between spirituality in religion and spirituality as opposed to religion.

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In recent years, spirituality in religion often carries connotations of the believer's faith being more personal, less dogmatic, more open to new ideas and myriad influences, and more pluralistic than the faiths of established religions. It also can connote the nature of a believer's personal relationship with God, as opposed to the general relationship with God understood to be shared by all members of that faith.

Related Topics:
Connotation - Faith

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Those who speak of spirituality as opposed to religion generally believe that there are many "spiritual paths" and that there is no objective truth about which is the best path to follow. Rather, adherants of this definition of the term emphasize the importance of finding one's own path to God, rather than following what others say works. The best way to describe this view is a variation on Ockham's Razor: The path which makes the most sense is the correct one (for oneself). Many adherents of orthodox religions who consider spirituality to be an aspect of their religious experience are more likely to contrast spirituality with secular "worldliness" than with the ritual expression of their religion.

Related Topics:
Objective truth - Ockham's Razor - Orthodox - Secular

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Others of a more New Age disposition hold that spirituality is not religion, per se, but the active and vital connection to a force, power, or sense of the deep self (See the full New Age article for more information on that particular brand of spirituality).

Related Topics:
New Age

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