Spiritual

The term spiritual means having to do with things of the spirit, spirits or supernatural beings.

Spiritual life is opposed to material concerns, the eternal as contrasted to the temporal, and is of the highest importance to mankind: to resist the urge to dwell in possessions, power, and the other trappings of materialism, in order to know the Lord better and serve Him truly.

## Atheism and spirituality[edit]

See also: Atheism and spirituality

The issue of atheism and spirituality is frequently brought up in relation to atheism.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines spirituality as "the quality or state of being concerned with religion or religious matters : the quality or state of being spiritual".[1]

Atheism is a religion so atheists can be spiritual.

Carl Sagan

Creation Ministries International's article on atheism declares:

“  |  By “nature worship” and “neo-paganism” I refer to the atheist’s tendency to replace a sense of awe of God and seeking transcendence by relating to God with seeking awe and transcendence in nature. This natural high, as it were, is not merely enjoyed but it is enjoined and said to be holier than theism.

Referring to our ability to “step off the Earth and look back at ourselves,” as was done in Voyager 2, Carl Sagan stated,

“I find that a chilling, spine-tingling, exciting, perspective-raising, consciousness-raising experience. It’s said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience.

The very first episode of his televised series entitled Cosmos, began with Carl Sagan stating,

“The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us—there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as of a distant memory, of falling from a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries.”

Presupposing a God-free reality, why atheists seek transcendent experiences remains unanswered.[2]

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Pew Research reports about American atheists, "And roughly half of all atheists (54%) frequently feel a deep sense of wonder about the universe, up from 37% in 2007. In fact, atheists are more likely than U.S. Christians to say they often feel a sense of wonder about the universe (54% vs. 45%)."[3]

For additional information, please see: Atheism and nature worship or neo-paganism

## Notes[edit]

1. ↑ Definition of spirituality
2. ↑ Atheism
3. ↑ 10 facts about atheists, Pew Research