Editing Spirituality (section)

===Characteristics===
Modern spirituality centers on the [[worldview|"deepest values and meanings by which people live"]].<ref name=Sheldrake>Philip Sheldrake, ''A Brief History of Spirituality'', Wiley-Blackwell 2007 pp. 1–2</ref> It often embraces the idea of an ultimate or an alleged immaterial [[reality]].<ref>Ewert Cousins, preface to Antoine Faivre and Jacob Needleman, ''Modern Esoteric Spirituality'', Crossroad Publishing 1992.</ref> It envisions an [[Involution (philosophy)|inner path]] enabling a person to discover the [[essence]] of his or her [[being]].

Not all modern notions of spirituality embrace transcendental ideas. [[Secular spirituality]] emphasizes [[humanistic]] ideas on [[moral character]] (qualities such as love, [[compassion]], patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, responsibility, harmony, and a concern for others).<ref name=Dalai/>{{rp|22}} These are aspects of [[life]] and [[human experience]] which go beyond a purely materialist view of the world without necessarily accepting belief in a supernatural reality or any divine being. Nevertheless, many humanists (e.g. [[Bertrand Russell]], [[Jean-Paul Sartre]]) who clearly value the non-material, communal, and virtuous aspects of life reject this usage of the term "spirituality" as being overly-broad (i.e. it effectively amounts to saying "everything and anything that is good and virtuous is ''necessarily'' spiritual").{{sfn|Schuurmans-Stekhoven|2011}} In 1930 Russell, a self-described agnostic renowned as an atheist, wrote "... one's ego is no very large part of the world. The man who can centre his thoughts and hopes upon something transcending self can find a certain peace in the ordinary troubles of life which is impossible to the pure egoist."<ref>{{cite book
 | last1 = Russell
 | first1 = Bertrand
 | author-link1 = Bertrand Russell
 | year = 1930
 | title = The Conquest of Happiness
 | publisher = Lulu.com
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3i6MCgAAQBAJ
 | publication-date = 2018
 | isbn = 9781329522206
 | access-date = 19 September 2019
 | quote = The man who can centre his thoughts and hopes upon something transcending self can find a certain peace in the ordinary troubles of life which is impossible to the pure egoist.
 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Similarly, Aristotle&nbsp;– one of the first known Western thinkers to demonstrate that morality, virtue and goodness can be derived without appealing to supernatural forces&nbsp;– argued that "men create Gods in their own image" (not the other way around). Moreover, theistic and atheistic critics alike dismiss the need for the "secular spirituality" label on the basis that it appears to be nothing more than [[obscurantism]] in that:{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}
* the term "spirit" is commonly taken as denoting the existence of unseen / otherworldly / life-giving forces; and
* words such as "morality", "[[philanthropy]]" and "[[humanism]]" already efficiently and succinctly describe the prosocial-orientation and civility that the phrase "secular spirituality" is meant to convey but without risking confusion that one is referring to something supernatural.

Although personal well-being, both physical and [[Emotional well-being|psychological]], is said{{by whom|date=September 2019}} to be an important aspect of modern spirituality, this does not imply that spirituality is ''essential'' to achieving happiness (e.g. [http://pcl.missouri.edu/jeff/sites/pcl.missouri.edu.jeff/files/Diener.pdf see] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013205140/http://pcl.missouri.edu/jeff/sites/pcl.missouri.edu.jeff/files/Diener.pdf |date=2015-10-13 }}). Free-thinkers who reject notions that the [[numinous]] or non-material is important to living well can be just as happy as more spiritually-oriented individuals ([https://web.archive.org/web/20171023010658/http://www.scienceonreligion.org/index.php/news-research/research-updates/306-does-spirituality-help-well-being-or-do-we-just-need-to-be-good-to-each-other see])<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Maisel | first1 = Eric
 | author-link1 = Eric Maisel | year = 2009 | title = The Atheist's Way: Living Well Without Gods | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mICS5hMZgSAC | location = Novato, California | publisher = New World Library | publication-date = 2010 | isbn = 9781577318422 | access-date = 19 September 2019}}</ref>{{request quotation|date=September 2019}}

Contemporary proponents of spirituality may suggest that spirituality develops [[inner peace]] and forms a foundation for [[happiness]]. For example, [[meditation]] and similar practices are suggested to help the practitioner cultivate a personal [[introspection|inner life]] and character.<ref>{{cite book|last= Wilkinson|first= Tony|title= The lost art of being happy: spirituality for sceptics|year= 2007|publisher= Findhorn Press|isbn= 978-1-84409-116-4}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date= June 2012}} <ref>{{cite book|last= Browner|first= Matthieu Ricard; translated by Jesse|title= Happiness: A guide to developing life's most important skill.|year= 2003|publisher= Little Brown|location= New York|isbn= 978-0-316-16725-3|edition= 1st pbk.}}</ref> Ellison and Fan (2008) assert that spirituality ''causes'' a wide array of positive health outcomes, including "morale, happiness, and life satisfaction".<ref>{{cite journal | title = Daily Spiritual Experiences and Psychological Well-Being among US Adults | journal = Social Indicators Research | date = Sep 2008 | first = Christopher G. | last = Ellison |author2= Daisy Fan  | volume = 88 | issue = 2 | pages = 247–71 | jstor = 27734699 | doi =10.1007/s11205-007-9187-2| s2cid = 144712754 }}</ref> However, Schuurmans-Stekhoven (2013) actively attempted to replicate this research and found more "mixed" results.{{sfn|Schuurmans-Stekhoven|2013}}{{request quotation|date=September 2019}} Nevertheless, spirituality has played a central role in some [[self-help]] movements such as [[Alcoholics Anonymous]]:

{{blockquote| if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain trials and low spots ahead<ref name="Anonymous2009">{{cite book|author= Anonymous|title= Alcoholics Anonymous: By the Anonymous Press|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=C7gY3Sc-9joC|access-date= 5 March 2013|year= 2009|publisher= The Anonymous Press|isbn= 978-1-892959-16-4|pages= 14–15}}</ref>}}

Such spiritually-informed treatment approaches have been challenged as [[pseudoscience]].<ref>
Compare:
{{cite book | editor1-last = Ross | editor1-first = Colin A. | editor1-link = Colin A. Ross | editor2-last = Pam | editor2-first = Alvin. | editor2-link = Alvin Pam | title = Pseudoscience in biological psychiatry: blaming the body | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Qv3aAAAAMAAJ | series = Wiley Series in General and Clinical Psychiatry | volume = 10 | publisher = Wiley & Sons | date = 1995 | page = 96 | isbn = 9780471007760
 | access-date = 19 September 2019 | quote = This doctrine [that alcoholism is a disease] has been adopted throughout the chemical dependency field including Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), despite the fact that it has no scientific foundation and is logically incorrect.}}</ref>