Spirituality as a source of meaning and motivation

What's the point? This is a question I have been asking myself for a long time, one that often comes up in psychological counselling sessions with my clients, and one that I hear quite often from acquaintances, friends and relatives in my daily life. I wonder why that is? Why, in a world so full of possibilities, is it sometimes so hard to see a reason to just be?

But it turns out that the search for a sense of meaning in the present age is not easy. For example, clinical psychologist Greg Henrik (Gregg Henriques), suggests that civilisation is currently in a meta-crisis - at the intersection of several global, interrelated crises, the first and perhaps most important of which is precisely the crisis of meaning.

Briefly on the global meta-crisis, the crisis of meaning and the other crises that shape it

Very meaningful Psychology Today in an open letter to humanity, Henrik mentions that crisis of meaning (the meaning crisis) is probably at the root of all the other crises. It stems from the fact that collectively humanity has no shared sense of reality or morality. As humanity, we have no agreement on what is true and good, and we do not know how we should live.

Henrik also points out that the roots of the crisis of meaning may lie in the Enlightenment, when the state was separated from religion, and rational thought began to dominate, especially in Western Europe. Nietzsche described this with the quote, "God is dead - we have killed him."

The emergence of a crisis of meaning is thus closely linked to the decline of spirituality and religiosity in society.

Moreover, the tendency to live with a sense of meaninglessness has grown considerably since then, much more acute in the last decades after the postmodern turn. Humanity now lives in a chaotic, fragmented, diverse world in which the image of the zombie has been strongly revived as a symbol of a meaningless life lacking soul and orientation towards an existential, moral purpose (Henriques, 2019).

Other crises that Henrik describes are mental health crisis (mental health crisis) is manifested in a massive epidemic of depression, anxiety, isolation and suicide. It is particularly prevalent among younger generations and certain socio-economic groups. The prevalence of mental health crises is closely linked to the crisis of meaning. The younger generations are now growing up in a culture of confusion, uncertainty and accelerated change, so it is only logical that they feel insecure in this world (Henriques, 2019). It should also be noted that the mental health crisis is closely linked to the education crisis (Piper & Martinson, 2022).

The third Henrik mentioned is techno-environmental crisis (techno-environmental crisis) - the most publicised and debated of the global crises mentioned in this article. It includes aspects of climate change, the depletion of the Earth's technological resources and the mass extinction of species. All aspects leave the Earth vulnerable and exhausted. With each passing decade, the situation worsens and the Earth loses its resilience and becomes more fragile. There is only one conclusion: humanity must evolve and learn to play a new game or face the painful consequences (Henriques, 2019).

The last crisis that Henrik mentions is the crisis of digital globalisation (digital-globalisation crisis) - the most visible, but also the most difficult to understand and the least predictable of the crises. We are witnessing a whole new landscape of complex adaptive systems that are changing all existing norms, leaving old institutions (e.g. media, governments, financial systems) unable to adapt to such governance in time. The most visible changes are related to the decreasing importance of physical distance. The field of human interaction is becoming increasingly virtual. Group and national boundaries are changing radically. Digitalisation is fundamentally transforming the world and the way we identify ourselves (Henriques, 2019).

The search for meaning in a world in crisis

The situation is indeed complex, and the lack of a sense of meaning is a common, understandable and globally justified phenomenon today. The world is open, it is vast and complex. Finding a personal sense of meaning can seem like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The need for meaning is usually characterised by an inner drive to make sense of one's experience and to feel that life has meaning and purpose. It is known from psychological research that the human need for meaning, for a sense of purpose, is continuous and widespread in everyday life, especially in times of stress and crisis (Steger, 2009). 

A sense of purpose is an essential component of healthy human functioning. Human perception without a sense of meaning is chaotic, fragmented and anxious. A sense of meaning, on the other hand, gives the impression that one is in control of one's life and its circumstances, enabling one to cope more successfully with unpredictable events (Park et al., 2013).

How can spirituality help to resolve the crisis of meaning on a personal level?

If the scientific worldview is the dominant one in the world today, why do most people continue to focus on spirituality and religiosity rather than adopting a fully scientific view? Researchers point out that religiosity and spirituality do not lose their relevance because people find them universally useful and essential for maintaining a coherent, orderly worldview. Spirituality and religiosity help to maintain a clear understanding of where one is going in life and why (Park, 2005).

Spirituality and religion offer a search for meaning, significance and motivation in everyday activities in ways that are connected to the sacred (Park et al., 2013). They create a sense that the circumstances of a person's life are as they are for a good reason, such as God's will (Park, 2005).

Spirituality and religiosity are an essential part of life for some 84% of the world's population. Only 14% people describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or non-religious (Hackett, 2012). Given the breadth of the phenomenon, spirituality and religiosity are perhaps the most important influences on the system of meaning and significance in human life. They touch on different aspects of a person's life - beliefs, goals and values.

For many people, it is spirituality and religiosity that serve as the basis of their sense of meaning, which determines their beliefs about themselves, the world and their relationships within it. On a personal level, spirituality and religiosity provide a framework through which people can interpret their knowledge and experience (Silberman, 2005), and through which meaning can be given to various everyday activities and global events (Mahoney et al., 2005). Similarly, spirituality and religiosity often provide a way of making sense of pain and loss, making reality and suffering more understandable and bearable.

Spiritual or religious aspiration can be a central motivating element in life, filling other, lesser pursuits with purpose and intention. Often it is spirituality that provides a sense of meaning in a person's life - along with guidance on how to achieve one's life goals (Park, 2013).

How can spirituality help to find a sense of meaning in everyday life?

Accepting a set of spiritual beliefs can be very functional in a person's daily life. It can provide orientation, inner clarity about the direction and values of one's life, a framework within which one can organise personal projects and invest in long-term results. Research has documented strong relationships between spirituality and religiosity, a person's sense of purpose in life and higher scores on life satisfaction and ability to function (Mahoney et al., 2005).

A spiritual or religious worldview provides a sense of coherence. It provides an overarching framework within which people develop an understanding of the world and their place in it. Spirituality and religiosity help people to create stories about what a good life and a good person are, and to adopt individual ultimate goals in life (e.g. to live ethically and with integrity, to achieve enlightenment, etc.). Accordingly, these ultimate goals set the "tone" - how smaller, lower-level goals are pursued (e.g. providing for one's family or choosing a career).

Similarly, religiosity and spirituality can serve as a person's main source of social identity, and help to answer the question "who am I?" and to stimulate other existential reflections. Moreover, spirituality and religiosity are reinforced socially: the need for a sense of meaning leads to a commitment that serves the community, society. It should also be mentioned that our everyday traditions and rituals (e.g. getting married, celebrating Christmas, etc.) are often expressed in a spiritual framework. By adopting a spiritual or religious worldview, traditions can be given a much deeper, more meaningful meaning.

Spirituality as a tool for maintaining meaning, purpose and motivation

In summary, all major religions and spiritual traditions provide their followers with a detailed set of guidelines for how to live their lives. Including guidelines and even practices and methods on how to reach the little ones, personal life goals (Spilka et al., 2003). 

Spirituality and religiosity can serve a critical psychological function in a person's life - providing a sense of meaning, a framework of significance, motivation and a sense that life is on the right track. When this function is fully satisfied, one lives one's life with a higher sense of well-being.

Sources:

Baumeister, R. F. (1991). Meanings in life. New York, NY: Guilford Press. 

Emmons, R. A. (1999). The psychology of ultimate concerns: Motivation and spirituality in personality. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Hackett, C., Grim, B. J. (2012). The Global Religious Landscape. A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Major Religious Groups as of 2010. Pew Research Center.

Henriques, G. (August 29, 2019). The Digital Identity Problem. Psychology Today.

Mahoney, A., Pargament, K. I., Cole, B., Jewell, T., Magyar, G. M., Tarakeshwar, N., . . . Phillips,
R. (2005). A higher purpose: The sanctification of strivings. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 15, 239-262. 

Park, C. L. (2005). Religion and meaning. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (pp. 295-314). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Park, C. L., Edmondson, D., & Hale-Smith, A. (2013). Why religion? Meaning as motivation. In K. I. Pargament, J. J. Exline, & J. W. Jones (Eds.), APA handbook of psychology, religion, and spirituality (Vol. 1): Context, theory, and research (pp. 157-171). American Psychological Association.

Piper A, Martinson K (2022). Metamodernism and Social Sciences: Scoping the Future. Social Sciences. 11(10), 457.

Silberman, I. (2005). Religion as a meaning system: Implications for the new millennium. Journal of Social Issues, 61, 641-663. 

Spilka, B., Hood, R. W., Jr., Hunsberger, B., & Gorsuch, R. (2003). The psychology of religion: An empirical approach (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Steger, M. F. (2009). Meaning in life. In S. J. Lopez (Ed.), Oxford handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed., pp. 679-687). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.