Definitions of Spirituality

Below are six definitions of spirituality used in nursing care and end-of-life care. The six definitions share several themes in common with themes found in spiritual humanism. Based on the definitions below, one may reasonably view spiritual humanism as a spirituality.

  • “Spirituality refers to that dimension of our lives that deals with values—truth, meaning, love, integrity, joy, and happiness, in essence, with how and why we live.” – William Murray 1
  • “Spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred.” – Christina Puchalski, Robert Vitillo, Sharon Hull, and Nancy Reller 2
  • “Spirituality means to be concerned with one’s own existence, the role in one’s own life and the lives of others, as well as to see a meaningfulness in that.” – Piret Paal, Cornelia Brandstötter, Reinhard Grabenweger, Kate Jones, and Megan Best 3
  • “By spirituality I mean a sense of compassion, nonviolence, truthfulness, lovingkindness, being connected to the whole, and living a simple, peaceful harmonious life.” – Mehrdad Massoudi 4
  • “Spirituality is a personal search for meaning and purpose in life, which may or may not be related to religion. It entails connection to self-chosen and or religious beliefs, values, and practices that give meaning to life, thereby inspiring and motivating individuals to achieve their optimal being. This connection brings faith, hope, peace, and empowerment. The results are joy, forgiveness of oneself and others, awareness and acceptance of hardship and mortality, a heightened sense of physical and emotional well-being, and the ability to transcend beyond the infirmities of existence.” – Ruth Tanyi 5
  • “Spirituality is a way of being in the world in which a person feels a sense of connectedness to self, others, and/or a higher power or nature; a sense of meaning in life; and transcendence beyond self, everyday living, and suffering.” – Elizabeth Weathers, Geraldine McCarthy, and Alice Coffey 6

It is important to realize that spiritual humanism does not fit well with all definitions of spirituality. The six definitions above only show that people may reasonably consider spiritual humanism to be a form of spirituality.

References
  1. William Murry (2011). Becoming More Fully Human: Religious Humanism as a Way of Life. Published by Religious Humanism Press. Quotes taken from page 5.
  2. Christina Puchalski, Robert Vitillo, Sharon Hull, and Nancy Reller (2014). Improving the spiritual dimension of whole person care: Reaching national and international consensus. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 17: 642–656. Quote taken from page 643.
  3. Piret Paal, Cornelia Brandstötter, Reinhard Grabenweger, Kate Jones, and Megan Best (2023). Spirituality is “sometimes just a hug”: A conceptual analysis from the perspective of nursing students. Palliative and Supportive Care, 1-8. Quote taken from page 5.
  4. Mehrdad Massoudi (2003). Can Scientific Writing Be Creative? Journal of Science Education and Technology, 12: 115-128. Quote taken from page 118.
  5. Ruth Tanyi (2002). Towards clarification of the meaning of spirituality. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 39: 500–509. Quote taken from page 506.
  6. Elizabeth Weathers, Geraldine McCarthy, and Alice Coffey (2016). Concept analysis of spirituality: An evolutionary approach. Nursing Forum, 51: 79-96. Quote taken from page 93.