Atheists and Spirituality?

Question

ok my last question asked why are atheists here and I got a lot of answers saying they are spiritual

Please explain what you mean by spiritual

I assumed it means having a spirit - maybe you define it differently, what would that be

Answer 1

Being spiritual, to me, means following your heart, your soul, your spirit to tell you whats right (moral). You don't need some made up character, like a god, to fear you into it.

Answer 2

I'm an atheist who wouldn't say that, because "spirituality" typically implies a belief in the supernatural. As a result, spirituality strikes me as shallow and superficial.

There's a book from 2002 (I think) by philosopher Robert Solomon titled "Spirituality for the Skeptic" that tries to get past this problem by exploring the notion of a "spirituality" grounded in the real world and removed from the problematic belief in the supernatural. I think he fell short of his goals, but it's worth understanding what those goals are. His bottom line, it seems, is that a truly deep "spirituality" has to be about our connection with the world. On that point, I firmly agree: the real world is wonderful, our time in it is precious, and I don't need to embellish it with fantasies.

Answer 3

Check out this video on yotube...
Do I Have To Believe In God To Live A Spiritual Life?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGtq2fyVexg

A cool look at the nature of existence and our purpose in life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0drT_L4G8w8

53 others http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=ARIfilms

Answer 4

Most atheists are scientifically and rationally minded. Hence, we reject God and other supernatural explanations of existence.

There is a minority of atheists who reject the existence of God for other reasons and are not scientifically minded. Some of these cling to the supernatural concept of "spirit" and "soul." Thesse people should read about memes.

Answer 5

Read the book 'Unweaving The Rainbow' by Richard Dawkins if you want to get a good sense.