Opening
Chapter 5 in Thesis – On the Universal Meaning and Significance of Spirituality –
Before diving into the subject matter of the universal meaning and significance of spirituality for human life, it will serve to introduce the historical context from which this investigation is motivated. As alluded in the justification, the current research question “should spirituality be considered a universal and vital dimension of human life?” is motivated by more than curiosity and by more than a general ethical concern. More than these general reasons, this research question is motivated by the particular historical conditions in which it arises and the ethical concerns that pertain to those conditions. By understanding the history of spirituality leading up to the current conditions, it will become clear why we are in need of a universal understanding of spirituality as well as why we must understand the significance of spirituality for human nature.
As we will see, spirituality has been an intimate part of human life from the cradle of our species, and although it has been challenged by modernity, its flame has persisted and flared up in multiple waves of counterculture, until it eventually began to be embraced by the mainstream. What transpired in those waves and what is happening in the current embrace of spirituality, will help explain why we as a whole, can no longer make due only with traditional spirituality and why there is a distinct need for the emergence of a universal spirituality. Taken as a whole, I will argue that these historical patterns amount to what may aptly be described as a spiritual renaissance, the fruit of which may be a universal reconciliation of spiritual knowledge, increasing prioritization of spirituality in western culture, potentially leading to unprecedented spiritual growth. Indeed, it is in this historical context that I am attempting to understand the universal meaning and significance of spirituality and the history is therefore important to understand. We will begin by some general long-term history, and then we will move on to understand the antecedents, rise and birth of the spiritual renaissance.
Author – Sagi Andersen