Atheism and spirituality.

[iNow]

Perhaps spiritual is a term used by those who lack the vocabulary to more precisely describe their experience.

[Prometheus]

So, do I find wonder and awe in the universe around me? Yeah. Do I feel a strong connection to the world in which I live that causes me to become emotionally invested in it? Yes. But I refrain from using the word "spiritual" when describing my opinions and experiences because it is often associated with religious beliefs. (and I don't believe in the spirit or the soul as a thing that exists independent of my own mind/body)

 

What term would you use to describe your experience?

[dimreepr]

My being at peace with the world is all the spirituality I need.

[John Cuthber]

 

Do we really need to?

 

We don't have a strict definition of life, yet we talk about it endlessly. Spirituality ,human construct that it is, would be even harder to pin down. Maybe it's best not to try. Sure it means we can't have well structured debates about it, but isn't that what art and literature are for?

It depends what you mean by "well structured debate".

The problem is that you end up debating the meanings of words, rather than the substance of the topic.

[Prometheus]

It depends what you mean by "well structured debate".

The problem is that you end up debating the meanings of words, rather than the substance of the topic.

 

Yeah, but that's likely because the substance of the concept itself is vague, and the debates on the meanings of words just reflect that. We have the various arts though so we can communicate things without precise definitions, or even words.

[TheBeardedDude]

 

What term would you use to describe your experience?

 

Fascinating

Profound

Interesting

Motivating

 

There are a number of terms I would use describe my own experience, but I still tend to refrain from using terms intimately connected to religion.

[Prometheus]

There are a number of terms I would use describe my own experience, but I still tend to refrain from using terms intimately connected to religion.

 

As is your prerogative. Religious people will use other terms to describe the same experiences, which means some common ground may be unnecessarily lost when discussing such things. Sometimes (granted it really is only sometimes), someone might describe what you have experienced as god, because their culture only knows how to express these things in those terms. I hold that the various arts are the best way to communicate these experiences.