Spirituality is, in a narrow sense, a concern with matters of the spirit. The spiritual, concerning as it does eternal verities regarding Man's ultimate nature, is often contrasted with the temporal or the worldly. The central defining characteristic of spirituality is a sense of connection to a much greater whole which includes an emotional experience of religious awe and reverence. As with some forms of religion, the emphasis of spirituality is often on personal experience. It may be an expression for life perceived as higher, more complex or more integrated with one's worldview, as contrasted with the merely sensual.

The spiritual and the religious

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An important distinction needs to be made between spirituality in religion and spirituality as opposed to religion.

In recent years, spirituality in religion often carries connotations of the believer's faith being more personal, less dogmatic, more open to new ideas and myriad influences, and more pluralistic than the faiths of established religions. It also can connote the nature of a believer's personal relationship or "connection" with their god or belief system, as opposed to the general relationship with the Deity understood to be shared by all members of that faith.

More on [ Spirituality ]

L.A. Times - Religious News

Breakaway parish appeals case involving L.A. Episcopal diocese
Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800
The Anglican congregation asks the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its argument over the La Crescenta property from which it was evicted. An Anglican congregation evicted from its La Crescenta church in October after it lost a legal battle with the Episcopal Church asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to hear its case.
Oral Roberts dies at 91; televangelist was pioneering preacher of the 'prosperity gospel'
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800
One of the most famous preachers of the 20th century founded a university in Tulsa, Okla., that bears his name. He paired TV with sophisticated and relentless direct-mail campaigns. Oral Roberts, a dirt-poor Oklahoma farm boy who popularized the idea of a "prosperity gospel" while becoming one of the world's most recognizable televangelists, died Tuesday. He was 91.
L.A. Latinos celebrate a patron saint and a culture
Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800
Thousands attend the two-day festival of the Virgin of Guadalupe held at La Placita. It was just before midnight and downtown Los Angeles lay empty and silent, its streets subdued by the rain.

Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly

Pentecostal Minister and Televangelist Oral Roberts Dies at 91
fred yi Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:42:17 -0000
Televangelism pioneer Oral Roberts died of complications from pneumonia Tuesday (December 15). He was 91. Roberts was one of the first ministers to use television to spread his Pentecostal message, and he attracted a huge following, not only of evangelicals, but “spirit-filled” mainline Protestants and Catholics as well. He built a multimillion-dollar empire that included [...]
Father Richard Curry, S.J.: The Perfection of Eloquence
fred yi Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:17:08 -0000
"Once you have empowered a disabled person artistically, you have in fact empowered a disabled person,” says this Georgetown University chaplain who ministers to wounded combat veterans and amputees through the theatre.
Obama Speaks of War and Peace in Nobel Acceptance Speech
fred yi Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:55:08 -0000
President Obama this week (December 10) accepted the Nobel Prize for Peace. The president acknowledged the paradox of accepting the peace prize while America is waging two wars, but he said the cause was just: President Obama: “Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force may sometimes be necessary [...]

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