“Windows To Spirituality”
Christian Right The Christian right or the religious right are Christian political factions that are characterized by their strong support of socially conservative policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with their interpretation of the teachings of Christianity. In the United States, the Christian right is an informal coalition formed around a core of conservative...
Environmental Protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair damage and reverse trends. Due to the pressures of overconsumption, population growth and technology, the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently. This...
Evangelical Environmentalism Evangelical environmentalism is an environmental movement in the United States in which some Evangelical Christians have emphasized biblical mandates concerning humanity’s role as steward and subsequent responsibility for the care taking of Creation. While the movement has focused on different environmental issues, it is best known for its focus of addressing climate action from a biblically-grounded theological perspective....
Christian Views On Environmentalism Christian views on environmentalism vary among different Christians and Christian denominations. Major Christian denominations endorse the Biblical calling of our stewardship of God’s creation and our responsibility for its care. Some of this church policy is relatively recent and may not be followed by some parishioners. According to some social...
Judaism And Environmentalism Judaism and environmentalism is a part of Jewish daily life. The natural world plays a central role in Jewish law, literature, and liturgical and other practices. Within the diverse arena of Jewish thought, beliefs vary widely about the human relation to the environment, resulting in a notable history...
Religion And Environmentalism Religion and environmentalism is an emerging interdisciplinary subfield in the academic disciplines of religious studies, religious ethics, the sociology of religion, and theology amongst others, with environmentalism and ecological principles as a primary focus. General overview Crisis of values This subfield is founded on the understanding that, in the words of Iranian-American philosopher Seyyed Hossein...
Relationship Between Animal Ethics And Environmental Ethics The relationship between animal ethics and environmental ethics concerns the differing ethical consideration of individual animals—particularly those living in spaces outside of direct human control—and entities such as species or ecosystems. Generally, animal ethicists place the well-being and interests of sentient individuals at the...
Environmental Ethics In environmental philosophy, environmental ethics is an established field of practical philosophy “which reconstructs the essential types of argumentation that can be made for protecting natural entities and the sustainable use of natural resources.” The main competing paradigms are anthropocentrism, physiocentrism (called ecocentrism as well), and theocentrism. Environmmental ethics exerts...
Ecospirituality Ecospirituality connects the science of ecology with spirituality. It brings together religion and environmental activism. Ecospirituality has been defined as “a manifestation of the spiritual connection between human beings and the environment.” The new millennium and the modern ecological crisis has created a need for environmentally based religion and spirituality. Ecospirituality is understood by some practitioners...
Secular Spirituality Secular spirituality is the adherence to a spiritual philosophy without adherence to a religion. Secular spirituality emphasizes the personal growth and inner peace of the individual, rather than a relationship with the divine. Secular spirituality is made up of the search for meaning outside of a religious institution; it considers one’s relationship with the self, others, nature, and...
Henosis Henosis is the classical Greek word for mystical “oneness“, “union” or “unity.” In Platonism, and especially Neoplatonism, the goal of henosis is union with what is fundamental in reality: the One, the Source, or Monad. The Neoplatonic concept has precedents in the Greek mystery religions as well as parallels in Eastern philosophy. It is...
Self-realization Self-realization is an expression used in Western psychology, philosophy, and spirituality; and in Indian religions. In the Western understanding it is the “fulfillment by oneself of the possibilities of one’s character or personality” (see also self-actualization). In the Indian understanding, self-realization is liberating knowledge of the true Self, either as the permanent undying atman, or as the...
Ego Death Ego death is a “complete loss of subjective self-identity”. The term is used in various intertwined contexts, with related meanings. In Jungian psychology, the synonymous term psychic death is used, which refers to a fundamental transformation of the psyche. In death and rebirth mythology, ego death is a phase of self-surrender...
Out-of-body Experience An out-of-body experience (OBE or sometimes OOBE) is a phenomenon in which a person perceives the world from a location outside their physical body. An OBE is a form of autoscopy (literally “seeing self”), although this term is more commonly used to refer to the pathological condition of seeing a second self, or doppelgänger. The term out-of-body...
Kundalini In Hinduism, Kundalini (कुण्डलिनी kuṇḍalinī, “coiled snake”) is a form of divine feminine energy (or shakti) believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the muladhara. It is an important concept in Śhaiva Tantra, where it is believed to be a force or power associated with the divine feminine or the formless aspect of the Goddess. This...
What Is Chakra? Chakra (meaning circle or wheel) is a widely used concept in Indian religion and politics that underpins many spiritual practices and philosophical systems. Within some forms of yoga, the chakras refer to energy centers found in the body located at major branchings of the human nervous system, beginning at the base of the spinal column and moving...
Paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as beyond normal experience or scientific explanation. Proposals regarding the paranormal are different from scientific hypotheses or speculations extrapolated from scientific evidence because scientific ideas are grounded in empirical observations and experimental data...
Qawwali Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing, originating from the Indian subcontinent, and notably popular in the Punjab and Sindh regions of Pakistan; in Hyderabad, Delhi and other parts of India, especially North India; as well as the Dhaka and Chittagong Divisions of Bangladesh. Originally performed at Sufi shrines or dargahs throughout South Asia, it gained mainstream popularity and an international audience in late 20th century. Qawwali...
Outline Of Philosophy The following outline (outline of philosophy) is provided as an overview of and topical guide to philosophy. Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. It is distinguished from other ways of addressing fundamental questions...
Mind Mind is a concept developed by self-conscious humans trying to understand what is the self that is conscious and how does that self relate to its perceived world. Most broadly, mind is the organized totality of the mental processes of an organism and the structural and functional components on which they depend. Taken more...
