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Abstract
This paper uses the idea of spiritual happiness to explore some issues regarding the difference between science and spirituality. It suggests that those pursuing spirituality feel more inclined to adopt a modernist theoretical framework than those pursuing religion, and so are hesitant to declare that spirituality has a different ontology, methodology, taxonomy and epistemology than science. The argument is made here that they are indeed different but that as long as spirituality is argued for as intrinsically pluralistic — supported by suitable nuanced taxonomies — it can live comfortably within the modern world and also draw on relevant hard science and social science research to argue its case. This is important where professionals in a wide range of disciplines want to acknowledge the spiritual needs of their practitioners or clients. The paper is based on a keynote presentation given at the Annual Conference of the British Association for the Study of Spirituality in May 2016 which addressed the question ‘Can spirituality transform our world?’.
Notes
1 On the Gulf Winds album released by A&M Records in 1976.
2 Self-generating.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Mike King
Mike King is a freelance scholar with research interests in arts, science and religion. He is the author of five books and numerous papers and chapters exploring the intersection of these fields. He is a former Director of the Scientific and Medical Network and Reader at London Metropolitan University, UK.