Spiritual Gifts

Traditionally, many religions have regarded spirituality as an integral aspect of religious experience. Many do still equate spirituality with religion, but declining membership of organized religions and the growth of secularism in the western world has given rise to a broader view of spirituality. There has also been a growth in the scope of use of the term "spiritual". William James' definitive lectures given in 1902 on the "Varieties of Religious Experience" would almost certainly be called today, "the varieties of spiritual experience."

The psychology of religion would, as a scientific field of study, rely on operational definitions. There are numerous definitions for "spirituality" and a variety of metrics used to measure someone's spirituality. There is debate as to whether or not spirituality should be considered separate from religion, or if spirituality is an aspect of religion. However, it is the study of religion and related fields that is primarily concerned with defining and studying spirituality.

Secular spirituality denotes various attempts to recognize aspects of life and human experience which are not captured by a purely materialist or mechanistic view of the world, but without accepting belief in the supernatural. It is for example possible to regard many kinds of spiritual practice such as mindfulness and meditation as beneficial or even necessary for human fulfilment without accepting any supernatural interpretation or explanation. Indeed, there is no necessary connection between spirituality and belief at all. For some, the term simply carries connotations of an individual having a religious outlook which is more personalized, less structured, more open to new ideas/influences, and more pluralistic than that of the doctrinal faiths of organized religions, although whether it is helpful to call this view secular may be doubtful. While atheism tends to lean towards scepticism regarding supernatural claims and the existence of any actual "spirit", some atheists define "spiritual" as nurturing thoughts, emotions, words and actions that are in harmony with a belief that the entire universe is, in some way, connected; even if only by some mysterious flow of cause and effect at every scale. Some versions of Buddhist spirituality would also be examples of this style of thought since Buddhism, although conventionally involving the supernatural, is not theistic.

In contrast, those of a more 'New-Age' disposition see spirituality as the active connection to some force/power/energy/spirit, facilitating a sense of a deep self.

For some, spirituality includes introspection, and the development of an individual's inner life through practices such as meditation, prayer and contemplation. Some modern religions also see spirituality in everything: see pantheism and neo-Pantheism. In a similar vein, religious naturalism has a spiritual attitude towards the awe, majesty and mystery it sees in the natural world.