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As we had such fun with those "spirituality" articles, I present you "atheist spirituality" by vjack [View All]

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More Than A Feeling Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jan-22-08 07:27 PM
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As we had such fun with those "spirituality" articles, I present you "atheist spirituality" by vjack
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Atheist Spirituality

Can an atheist be a spiritual person, and if so, in what sense? Is it meaningful to talk of atheist spirituality, or should the term be reserved for religious believers? This post may end up generating more questions than answers, but that seems fitting for a discussion of spirituality.

Let me get my bias out of the way at the beginning because it probably colors what I am about to say on the topic. I do not care for the word "spirituality" when referring to atheists. I have trouble getting past the "spirit" part of the word because I do not believe in spirits, souls, ghosts, demons, or anything else that is not part of the natural world. However, I recognize that my naturalism is not entailed by atheism and that other atheists are free to accept the reality of the supernatural.

(snip)

Can an atheist be a spiritual person?

Absolutely. If we think of something like trait spirituality as ranging on a continuum from low to high, atheists can score at any point along the continuum just like anyone else. High scores would indicate someone who seeks spiritual experiences or who experiences the various components of spirituality, depending on how the measure functions.

(snip)

Do atheists need spirituality?

I think this question needs to be reframed in order to be meaningful. Think of it this way: atheists (like everyone else) vary in terms of their need for spirituality. Spirituality is vital to some atheists, and we could appropriately label such persons as needing spirituality. For others, the need for spirituality may be low enough that it would be hard to recognize it as such.

http://atheistrevolution.blogspot.com/2008/01/atheist-spirituality.html


Have at it!:popcorn:
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