The Spectrum of Gratitude Experience by John Elfers & Patty Hlava

Author:John Elfers & Patty Hlava
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

Values: Secular Versus Religious

Finally, one other casualty of the religion/spirituality divide is the loss of moral and ethical structures that guide human behavior. Moral ideals have been traditionally bound to the shared religious beliefs of a group, grounding ideals of moral behavior in both a belief structure and a culture. A concern that is frequently voiced in regard to social movements outside of religion is the creation of a moral vacuum. Science has not been seen as an appropriate foundation for moral structures as its focus is on the material universe.

Philosopher John Dewey and later psychologist Abraham Maslow both advocated for a humanistic understanding of spirituality that maintains core universal values that transcend the cultural-based religious values. 24 Dewey felt that the religious temperament would be free to develop once it has been released from the encumbrances of supernatural belief. More recently, the Dalai Lama has put out the same call for what he refers to as secular values. “I do not agree that ethics requires grounding in religious concepts or faith. Instead, I firmly believe that ethics can also emerge simply as a natural and rational response to our very humanity and our common human condition”. 25 Stating that humanity can live without religion but not without inner values, he understands innate human nature as having a drive toward compassion, kindness, and caring. These values are echoes of altruism and generosity—those motivations that form the cooperative bonds of social groups. 26

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