A naturalistic understanding of spirituality

The spiritual experience - the experience of meaning, connection and joy, often informed by philosophy or religion - is, from a naturalistic perspective, a state of the physical person, not evidence for a higher realm or non-physical essence. Nevertheless, this understanding of spirituality doesn’t lessen the attraction of such an experience, or its value for the naturalist. We naturally crave such feelings and so will seek the means to achieve them consistent with our philosophy.
(https://www.naturalism.org/spirituali...)

Spiritual Naturalism (also called religious naturalism) is a worldview, value system, and personal life practice. The term appeared by at least 1895, but as a concept it has been around for thousands of years. A religion to some, philosophy to others, Spiritual Naturalism sees the universe as one natural and sacred whole – as is the rationality and the science through which nature is revealed. It advocates principles and practices that have compassion as their foundation, and it finds wisdom and inspiration in innumerable rich traditions and ethical philosophies from around the world.

The focus of Spiritual Naturalism is happiness, contentment, or flourishing in life, and a relief from suffering. It is a spirituality whereby we work to become wiser and to live better over time through continued learning, contemplative practices, and character development. It is by walking such a path that we become more capable of helping to make the world a better place, and in so doing, come closer to the flourishing ‘good life’.
(https://www.snsociety.org/what-is-sn/)

~~~~~

A similar viewpoint would be Religious Naturalism.

What is Religious Naturalism?

"As is contained in its name, religious naturalism has two central aspects.

One is a naturalist view of how things happen in the world – in which the natural world is all there is (and that nothing other than natural, including an active personal God, may cause events in the world).

The other is appreciation of religion (which, for many, is mainly personal), with a view that Nature can be a focus of religious attention.

Naturalist views, grounded in science, provide a framework for understanding what seems real. These include a central story, the epic of evolution, that explains the origins of the cosmos and humans, with perspectives from which to consider why we do what we do.

Religious orientation includes spiritual responses, which can include feelings of appreciation, gratitude, humility, reverence, and joy at the wonder of being alive. It also includes moral responses, involving values rooted in nature – to seek justice and cooperation among social groups and balance in ecosystems.

Beyond these basic premises, religious naturalism has no dogmas or specific beliefs, and it includes a range of views on different topics.

As is explained throughout this website, for those who do not participate in organized religion, and for many of those who do, religious naturalism can serve as a basis for personal spiritual/religious orientation and a foundation for considering life questions."
(https://religiousnaturalism.org/)

“ . . . religious naturalism is
a profoundly meaningful strand of wisdom
widely woven into the tapestry
that is religion on planet Earth.”
~Wesley Wildman

“I am a deeply religious nonbeliever.
This is a somewhat new kind of religion.”
~Albert Einstein
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Comments Showing 1-1 of 1 (1 new)

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message 1: by Laurens (last edited Jan 30, 2022 10:43AM) (new)

Laurens Hi! Welcome to this list.

Unfortunately, I could only add 100 books myself, even though there are more books out there who have a Spiritual/Religious Naturalist "character".

Feel free to add more books about these subjects.

And if someone wants to, could you please check if every book mentioned on the Religious Naturalist Association site has been added already?

w w w . religiousnaturalism . o r g/varieties-of-religious-naturalism
(Please remove the spaces to get the correct link)

Thanks in advance!


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