New Way of practicing Old Beliefs

[HappySkeptic]

Is that fundamentally different from any other religion?

Good point!

So let's take (temporarily, tentatively) the definition of spirituality to be "a value system which emphasizes first and foremost efforts to be more grateful, appreciative, aware of and connected to other life in the world, and humble about one's place in the world." 

Then any religion (or ideology, or political commitment) which met this definition would be spiritual. 

And we all know that sometimes religion does the opposite. It has been known to make people less connected to people unlike themselves, and prouder about their own group. So when it does those things it's unspiritual and bad. Ideologies and passionately-held commitments can have such effects. 

But I recognize that I've worked up a definition of spirituality here which is different from how many people use the word.

As a UU, I'm not against re-interpreting religious language in a more secular sense.  

Many UUs don't like the word "spiritual" because it implies the existence of a supernatural spirit (or a supernatural spiritual realm).

I think most of us have gotten over it.  The spiritual, even in theism, is about connection.  They just imagine an other-worldly connection where we posit no such thing.