000			01698 a2200217 4500
005			20251011193819.0
020			_a9780199588756
082			_a204 SHE
100			_aSheldrake, Philip
245			_aSpirituality : A Very Short Introduction
250			_a1
260			_bOxford University Press _aOxford _c2012
300			_a133
440			_aVery Short Introductions
520			_aIt has been suggested that 'spirituality' has become a word that 'can define an era'. Why? Because paradoxically, alongside a decline in traditional religious affiliations, the growing interest in spirituality and the use of the word in a variety of contexts is a striking aspect of contemporary western cultures. Indeed, spirituality is sometimes contrasted attractively with religion, although this is problematic and implies that religion is essentially dogma, moralism, institutions, buildings, and hierarchies. The notion of spirituality expresses the fact that many people are driven by goals that concern more than material satisfaction. Broadly, it refers to the deepest values and sense of meaning by which people seek to live. Sometimes these values are conventionally religious. Sometimes they are associated with what is understood as 'the sacred' in a broader sense - that is, of ultimate rather than merely instrumental importance. This Very Short Introduction, written by one of the most eminent scholars and writers on spirituality, explores the historical foundations of the thought and considers how it came to have the significance it is developing today.
650			_aSpirituality
650			_aReligious Life
650			_aRationalism
650			_aMythology
942			_cBK _2ddc
999			_c51563 _d51563