Life-denying and Life-affirming Spiritualities

I define spirit as that which animates or makes alive. I define spirituality as a collection of words and practices of or related to that which makes alive, spirit.

Two Categories of Spiritualities

In my view there are many different spiritualities: Vedantist, Ancient Egyptian, Taoist, Tantric, Jewish, Buddhist, Platonic, Native American, Christian, Muslim, Neopagan, American, Nietzschean, and many more. Even within the categories I listed there are subcategories of spirituality. For example, there are many different Catholic and Protestant spiritualities, Native American spiritualities, Neopagan spiritualities, and so on. I think we can sort all spiritualities into two general categories: life-denying and life-affirming.

Life Denying Spiritualities

Life-denying spiritualities deny the value of life, all life. Since spirit is that which makes alive, to deny the value of life is to deny the value of spirit as well.

The words and practices of life-denying spiritualities tend to be about avoiding, escaping, suppressing, inhibiting, and weakening life or spirit.

The methods of life-denying spiritualities often include a preference for pain over pleasure, banning laughter, fasting, keeping vigils, poverty, obedience to authority instead of personal freedom, wearing uncomfortable clothes, sleep deprivation, submission to suffering, flagellation, virginity, celibacy and other restrictions on sex. Since sex is often denigrated and restricted, marriage is often viewed as an inferior status as is conceiving new life and bearing offspring. In life-denying spiritualities relationships based on a shared faith tend to take precedence over family relationships.

In life- or spirit-denying spiritualities spirit or life often serves death and death is the final liberation and escape from life. The goal is to escape "this life" for "the next life" or individual annihilation and absorption into whatever is named the ultimate reality. Martyrdom is often glorified. The desired next life is often a purely disembodied, inherently eternal life of bliss or joy.

Life-denying spiritualities are anti-spiritualities rather than spiritualities. They are anti-spiritualities because they are against spirit, that which makes alive. They form weak and withdrawn human beings, often dependent on the charity of others, and who contribute little if anything to the common good.

Life-Affirming Spiritualities

On the other hand, life-affirming spiritualities value of life, all life. In valuing life they value spirit. Their words and practices tend to be about embracing both the pleasures and pains of life, being fully engaged in life, promoting, liberating, nourishing, strengthening, and celebrating life.

The methods of life-affirming spiritualities often include such things as a preference for pleasure over pain, sensuality, an affinity for beauty, eating, drinking, both laughing and crying, dancing, singing, passion, sex for pleasure, sex for conceiving, bearing and raising offspring, freedom, and happiness.

In life- or spirit-affirming spiritualities death serves spirit, it supports the continuation of life. However, because life-affirming spiritualities value life above death, all life is deeply respected and honored. It is taken only when necessary, reluctantly, with reverence, without waste, and in order to sustain life. The goal is sustaining, strengthening, and continuing spirit, that which makes us alive.

Life-affirming spiritualities are true spiritualities because they affirm life and therefore spirit. Their words and practices of and about spirit celebrate, sustain and strengthen spirit, all spirit, all life.

No Pure Types But Degrees

There are no pure anti-spiritualities or spiritualities. Different spiritualities vary in their degrees of both spirit-denying and spirit-affirming elements. That being said, I do think it is possible to distinguish between anti-spiritualities and spiritualities. For example, Vedic or Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Islamic, and many New Age traditions tend to be anti-spiritualities. They tend to deny the value of life and look to an other-worldly future beyond life.

On the other hand, Shamanic, Taoist, Pagan European, African and many Native American traditions tend to be life- or spirit-affirming spiritualities. They tend to affirm the value of all life, celebrate it in numerous ways, sustain it, strengthen it, and assure its continuation.

Five Questions

I close with a list of five questions for distinguishing spiritualities from anti-spiritualities:

1. How do the adherents relate to all life- the earth and its water, wind, land, plants, and animals including humans? Do they affirm or deny the spirit of all that live? Do they treat all that live with respect or not?

2. Do the adherents kill without real necessity or regard for life, exterminate other species of life, consume more than they need to sustain themselves, and deplete and pollute where they themselves live or do they support the life of others, take life only when necessary to sustain their own, consume only what they need, leave little trace of their presence in an area, and minimize their impact where they live?

3. Do the adherents enjoy life, engage in it, rise to its challenges or dislike life, avoid it, and looking forward to going to a better place after they die?

4. What does the spirituality say about and practice with regard to pleasure, sex, child-birth, and family? Does it promote these or their opposites?

5. Bottom line: does the spirituality promote life or seek salvation from it?