title: Spirituality: What It Is and Why It Matters
author:  Roger S. Gottlieb 
description: <br />"The single best book giving an objective look at the burgeoning interest in spirituality that exists in the English language." --Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor-in-chief of <em>Tikkun</em>
zlib_text: Why Religion and Spirituality Matter as Part of One’s Education
  Subtitle: Why not Take a Course on Religion-Spirituality?
  [#1] The Meaning of Key Terms and Expressions Here
  [A] When I mention religion here, I do not primarily mean <participating in an
  "organized religious tradition"> (such as being a member of Roman
  Catholicism or Islam - although that might be good for some people). By
  “religion” I refer, first of all, to what—for me—is the heart of all religion –
  spirituality, namely, what is in our deepest core, not scientifically quantifiable,
  from which springs the energy (“the spirit”) to pursue meaning for life and living
  and where—the great Traditions point out—we can find our fundamental
  goodness as humans (expressed for example as Imago Dei [Image of God] in
  Judaism and Christianity or “Buddha Nature” in Buddhism”). I will, therefore,
  use the term "religion-spirituality" (taken as one, singular entity) to
  emphasize this.
  [B] To explain further, by spirituality, I mean the dee