LESSON 1:

BASIC
FOUNDATIONS OF
SPIRITUALITY

Prepared by: Asst. Prof. Philip Joseph D. Sarmiento

Activity: Concept Mapping

Each group will provide;

• cartolina or Manila paper
• colored pens
• and masking tape.
 Activity: Concept Mapping
1. On your cartolina/manila paper design your group concept map.
Using your colored pen, each member has to write a word or
phrase that describes one’s understanding of the term
“SPIRITUALITY”. The group can come up with their own design
of a concept map

SPIRITUALITY
 Activity: Concept Mapping
2. Finalize the content of the concept map
by removing a word or phrase which
he/she thinks not related to spirituality.

3. Collate the major themes/constructs

produced from the concept map.

4. Assign a member to present the

concept map to the class by posting on
the board.
Activity: Concept Mapping

RUBRICS IN GRADING
 CONTENT - 15
 CREATIVITY - 10
 COLLABORATION - 10
Total score - 35
 Activity: Concept Mapping

Common
Themes/Notions/Concepts
on Spirituality
 DEFINITIONS OF
SPIRITUALITY

Prepared by: Asst. Prof. Philip Joseph D. Sarmiento

The word “spirituality”
can be traced from its
origin in the Letters of
St. Paul especially in 1
Corinthians 2:14-15
 By the 5th century words
spiritus and spiritualis (Latin
translation of pneuma and
pneumatikos) has come to
signify those individuals
whose mind, will and heart
were ordered and led by the
spirit over against those
egoistically attached to
things of the world.
 In Hebrew, spirituality
can be traced from the
concept of “ruach”
which means “breath,
spirit or wind,” which is
the one that animates.
Spirituality can also refer to
the organized study and
teaching of the varieties of
personal and communal
spiritualities that have
appeared in history and are
appearing at this moment
(Woods, 1989).
 Spirituality is viewed
primarily as a subjective,
“inner” pursuit that includes
the inclination to perceive
the self and others as
“spiritual” and an existential
search for meaning and
transcendence (Astin et al.,
2011).
 The term spirituality
can be understood
depending on the kind
of thought it is being
expressed. The Western
thought has a different
understanding of
spirituality over the
Eastern/Asian thought.
Fisher (2011) proposed
points of agreement on
the nature of
spirituality:
1) innate
2) emotive
3) related to religion
4) subjective
5) dynamic
 Spirituality can be defined in
various perspectives. Spirituality
is often defined more broadly
than religiosity, with a focus on
seeking the sacred or ultimate
truth without the institutional
boundaries of organized religion
(Newberg & Newberg, 2008 as
cited in Brandenberger &
Bowman, 2013).
 Spirituality is also often
connected with the concept
of religion and religiosity. The
foregoing history shows how
religion and spiritualty have
carried many shifting and
sometimes opposed
connotations, underscoring
the need to clarity their
meanings (Oman, 2013).
 According to Oman (2013) he compiled a list of past and present
selected definitions of spirituality from various scholarly
contexts:
Year Author and Definition of Spirituality Context
1965 von Balthasar (1965, p. 7): The basic practical or existential attitude of man which is Theology
the consequence and expression of the way in which he understands his religious –
or more generally, his ethical committed – existence

1975 Tart (1975, p. 4): That vast realm of human potential dealing with ultimate purposes, Psychology
with higher entities, with God, with love, with compassion, with purpose Transperso
nal
1983 Wakefield (1983, p. 361): Those attitudes, beliefs, and practices, which animate Theology
people’s lives and help to reach out towards super-sensible realities
1984 Shafanske and Gorsuch (1984, p. 231): A transcendent dimension within human Psychology
existence…discovered in moments in which the individual question the meaning of Transperso
personal existence and attempts to place the self within a broader ontological nal
context
1991 Fahlberg and Fahlberg (1991, p. 274): That which is involved in contacting the divine Health
within the Self or self Promotion
1991 Vaughan (1991, p. 105): A subjective experience of the sacred Psychology
Transperso
nal
1992 Doyle (1992, p. 302): The search for existential meaning Medicine,
pallative
 According to Oman (2013) he compiled a list of past and present
selected definitions of spirituality from various scholarly
contexts:
Year Author and Definition of Spirituality Context
1994 Hart (1994, p. 2): The way one lives out one’s faith in daily life, the way Psychology
a personal relates to the ultimate conditions of existence

1998 Wuthnow (1998, p. viii): All the beliefs and activities by which Sociology
individuals attempt to relate their lives to God or to a divine being or
some other conception of a transcendent reality
2000 Hill et al. (2000, p. 66): The feelings, thoughts, experiences, and Psychology
behaviors that arise from a search for the sacred
2003 Myers and Williard (2003, p. 149): The capacity and tendency present in Psychology
all human beings to find and construct meaning about life and existence
and to move toward personal growth, responsibility, and relationship with
others.
2006 Hufford and Bucklin (2006, p. 29): Spirituality refers to the domain of Medical
spirit(s): God or gods, souls, angels, jinni, demons – and only by Humanities
metaphorical extension to other intangible and invisible things…
2009 Puchalski et al. (2008)” The way individuals seek and express meaning Medicine
and purpose and the way they experience their connectedness to the
moment, to self, others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred.
 Oman (2013, p. 28) also noted
that “in the late 20th century, the
word spirituality began to
acquire an additional English
usage as something that can be
explicitly pursued not only
within a formal religious
tradition, but also outside of
traditions.”

- “Spiritual But Not Religious”

 Other scholars cite the
interconnectedness of
spirituality and religiosity as a
single scientific construct (Good
& Willoughby, 2014).

The interrelatedness of
spirituality and religiosity (S/R)
can be understood in the
institutional and personal levels
(Good, 2011as cited in Baring et
al, 2016) .
In a recent article published by Baring
(2018) on the emerging transitions of
meanings on religious constructs.
Because of the shifts on diffused
spiritual religiosity and the
emergence of the communal-
personal poles in understanding
religion (Figure 1) and the sacred
(Figure 2), he proposed a new shift
towards “ethical spirituality” (Figure
3) which highlights the ethical
character of the diffused condition of
spirituality and religiosity.
 MAJOR
WORLD
RELIGIONS
 Major world religions also
present certain kind of
spirituality depending on their
emphasis and meaning making.
It can be said that spirituality is
not owned by any religion nor
movements. Each religion has
its own unique way of
expressing and strengthening
their members’ spirituality.
 Bowen (2018) provided the
latest religious demographics in
the world. According to him,
Christians are the majority
group (31.5 %) of about 2.2
billion people followed by Islam
(22.3 %) with 1.6 billion people,
no religion (15.4 %), Hindu (14
%), Buddhist (5.3 %), Sikhism
(0.3 % ), Judaism (0.2 %) and
others (11 %).
 MAJOR
WORLD
RELIGIONS
Islam
- Founded :610 CE on the
Arabian Peninsula by the
Prophet Mohammed.
- estimated 1.6 billion members.
- Holy places such as Makkah
(Mecca) and Madinah in Saudi
Arabia.
- Holy book is Qur’an
- Holy symbols are the crescent
and star.
Hinduism
-Founded and developed
gradually in prehistoric times.
- Around 1 billion followers.
- Sacred places such as River
Ganges especially at Varanasi
(Benares) and other places in
India.
-Holy Books: Vedas, Upanishads,
Mahabharata and Rarnayana
- Holy Symbol: Aum
Buddhism
-Can be traced its beginnings in
535 CE in Northern India.
- It has 576 million followers.
- Holy Places: Bodh Gaya,
Sarnath in Northern India
– Holy Book:Tripitaka
- Holy Symbol: eight-spoked
wheel
Sikhism
-Founded in Northwest India in 15th
Century CE.
- 23 million followers
- Holy Places: they consider takhts, or
seats of high authority in Amritsar,
Patna Sahib, Anandpur Sahib,
Nanded and Talwandi
-Holy books include the Guru Granth
Sahib and their holy symbol is the
Khanda, the symbol of the Khalsa
Judaism
-Founded in what is now Israel
around 2,000 BCE
-Around 14 million followers.
- Jerusalem is considered to be a
holy place especially the
Western Wall.
-Holy book includes the Torah,
Nebiim and Ketubim (Tanak)
- Holy symbol is the seven
branched menorah (candle
stand).
 Group
Assignment
Lead the class
to a 3-5
minute prayer
session
Group schedule will be
given next meeting
 LESSON 1:
BASIC
FOUNDATIONS OF
SPIRITUALITY

Prepared by: Asst. Prof. Philip Joseph D. Sarmiento