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Spi i ual li e acy: non- eligious
econcep ualisa ion o educa ion in a secula
en i onmen
I o Ji ásek
To ci e his a icle: I o Ji ásek (2023): Spi i ual li e acy: non- eligious econcep ualisa ion
o educa ion in a secula en i onmen , In e na ional Jou nal o Child en's Spi i uali y, DOI:
10.1080/1364436X.2023.2166467
To link o his a icle: h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/1364436X.2023.2166467
© 2023 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma
UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis
G oup.
Published online: 23 Jan 2023.
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Spi i ual li e acy: non- eligious econcep ualisa ion o
educa ion in a secula en i onmen
I o Ji ásek
Depa men o School Educa ion, Facul y o Humani ies, Tomas Ba a Uni e si y in Zlin, Zlín, Czech
Republic
ABSTRACT
This a icle aims o acili a e he ansi ion om a eligious
de ini ion o spi i ual li e acy o a non- eligious, secula one.
Philosophical an h opology emphasises he spi i ual dimen-
sion as an an h opological cons an . Howe e , esea ch in
a ious ields equen ly conside s i s in e sec ion wi h eli-
giousness. Non- eligious spi i uali y cul i a es expe iences o
anscendence bu does no en e in o he p ocesses o
hie ophany ( he sac ed, he holy). The e m ‘spi i ual li e acy’,
which emphasises ha he gi en mode o human expe ience
is no cons an bu can be in en ionally cul i a ed, p o es
op imal o educa ion e en in secula en i onmen o public
schools. A spi i ually li e a e (cul i a ed) pe sonali y is an
indi idual who e lec s and cul i a es skills o sel - e lec ion,
who can ac in ela ion o o he people in a mode cha ac-
e ised by p osocial o ien a ion and al uism, who can expe i-
ence en i onmen al sensi i i y and kinship wi h na u e, and
who is capable o as onishmen and amazemen a expe ien-
cing anscendence in ela ion o he wholeness.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Recei ed 16 Sep embe 2021
Accep ed 2 Janua y 2023
KEYWORDS
Spi i uali y; holism;
philosophy o educa ion;
hie ophany; public schools
In oduc ion
The seman ic ield de ining he unde s anding o he opic o his pape is e y
blu ed and imp ecise. The speci ic delimi a ion o he meanings o basic e ms
is undamen ally dependen on he ideological g ounding o indi idual
esea che s and expe s publishing on spi i uali y in he educa ional en i on-
men . Concep ual ambigui y may he e o e be he eason why spi i ual de el-
opmen is pe cei ed as a pa adoxical ideal (Moulin-S ozek 2020). The unclea
link is e iden , o example, in he case o spi i ual de elopmen and holis ic
educa ion, al hough I can join he iews ha holis ic educa ion mus no neglec
he spi i ual dimension o pe sonali y (Nya ko 2020; Mille 2016), o he whole
o he human way o being is no comple e wi hou spi i uali y.
Since he e is a model ha sees spi i uali y as a concep b oade han he
eligious and desc ibes spi i ual de elopmen also wi hin he amewo k o
CONTACT I o Ji ásek [email p o ec ed]; [email p o ec ed] Depa men o School Educa ion, Facul y o
Humani ies, Tomas Ba a Uni e si y in Zlin, Czech Republic Š e ániko a 5670, Zlín 760 01, Czech Republic
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHILDREN’S SPIRITUALITY
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/1364436X.2023.2166467
© 2023 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis G oup.
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-NonComme cial-NoDe i a i es
License (h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which pe mi s non-comme cial e-use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc-
ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed, and is no al e ed, ans o med, o buil upon in any way.
eligious educa ion (O’Donnell 2020), I would like o emphasise an al e na i e
concep ion. I will y o accen why i is possible o pe cei e spi i uali y wi hou
a eligious dimension and how spi i uali y can be de eloped in a secula en i -
onmen . Fo his de ini ion I will use he concep o spi i ual li e acy. As I will y
o explain in he ollowing ex , a spi i ually li e a e (cul i a ed) pe sonali y is an
indi idual who e lec s and cul i a es skills o sel - e lec ion (Rohya in e al.
2020; Ezealah 2019), who can ac in ela ion o o he people in a mode cha -
ac e ised by p osocial o ien a ion and al uism (Fiona e al. 2018; Za ghi and
Bolghan-Abadi 2021), who can expe ience en i onmen al sensi i i y and kinship
wi h na u e (P es on and Shin 2022; Sugan hi 2019), and who is capable o
as onishmen and amazemen a expe iencing anscendence in ela ion o he
wholeness (Jas zebski 2021; Manuel-Mo gan and Lomas 2021; Abe ne hy and
Kim 2018).
I will y o p o e ha he spi i ual quali ies o li e belong po en ially o e e y
human being, ha i is a undamen al cha ac e o all human beings, bu a he
same ime ha wi hou de eloping his po en ial, a pe son can – in he wo ds o
Jan Amos Komenský - all in o ‘non-human’ (Hábl, 2017). An unde de eloped
spi i uali y mani es s i sel in a na cissis ic o e es ima ion o one’s own impo -
ance and in an exagge a ed sel -admi a ion. O (possibly simul aneously) in
psychopa hic a ogance in ela ion o o he people’s igh s and eelings. In
a lack o sensi i i y o en i onmen al issues and in i esponsible plunde ing o
na u al esou ces. In sho , a li e wi h unde eloped spi i uali y is a li e wi hou
p inciples and peace, mani es ing i sel in he pu sui o mammon o in supe -
icial p eoccupa ion wi hou asking deep ques ions. The e o e, i is app op ia e
o de elop one’s spi i ual po en ial and he concep o spi i ual li e acy sugges s
he de elopmen al dimension o his heme.
Religious spi i uali y
I is clea ha he unde s anding o he e ms eligion and spi i uali y, and hei
con en , depends o a la ge ex en on hei cul u al and social cons uc ion. One
o he heses o his pape is ha eligion – unlike spi i uali y – is no pa o
e e yone’s li e. As an example, conside he si ua ion in Cen al Eu ope: while
he Czech Republic migh be he mos secula ised coun y in Eu ope,
1
such
a cha ac e isa ion does no apply a all o he nea es neighbou ing coun ies,
whe e eligiosi y each abou 80% eligious popula ion.
2
A ce ain hype sensi-
i i y o e ms such as ‘ eligion’, ‘holy’, ‘sac ed’, e c. can be expe ienced in he
Czech Republic. And, e en mo e, he access o eligious o ganisa ions o public
educa ion in his coun y is no ully equal, as chu ches based on Ch is iani y in
pa icula ha e a p i ileged posi ion hanks o special igh s gua an eed by he
s a e (Ha líček 2018).
Does his mean ha he people he e canno expe ience deepe s a es o
exis ence? A low le el o eligion does no eo ipso mean a low le el o spi i ual
2I. JIRÁSEK
expe iences. Pe haps su p isingly, he people li ing he e a e no eligious, bu
hey a e highly spi i ual and di e se spi i ual p ac ices belonging o a ious
adi ions a e widely used and expe ienced he e (Nešpo o á and Nešpo 2009).
The e o e, i seems likely ha e o s o name he essen ial speci ics o non-
eligious spi i uali y may be mo e adical in a secula en i onmen han in one
whe e spi i uali y and eligion a e concei ed o in a blu ed connec ion be ween
he in e sec ions o bo h phenomena, including use in pedagogical con ex s.
Because his o ically he de elopmen o spi i uali y has been associa ed
p ima ily wi h a eligious way o li e and wi h e en pie y, he eligious
modus o spi i uali y has adi ionally de eloped in a eligious con ex . Thus,
eligious spi i uali y is pe cei ed di e en ly and speci ically in di e en eligious
sys ems, wi h di e en emphases o heology such as Ch is ian spi i uali y
(Louw 2021; Sco gie 2022), Islamic spi i uali y (Gho bani e al. 2018;
Ami uddin, Qo ib, and Zailani 2021), Jewish spi i uali y (Alex and Mo gan
2016), e c. Due o heological di e ences in he unde s anding o eligious
spi i uali y, i s de elopmen is ca ied ou di e en ly, i.e., wi h ega d o eli-
gious ai h. So eligious spi i uali y ‘is closely linked wi h eligion o ai h adi-
ion’ (Lee 2020), p. 1). Thus eligion can be seen as one o he i e dimensions o
spi i uali y ha a eache can de elop in child en (Roge s and Hill 2002).
The cu en si ua ion o eligious di e si y also equi es in e eligious dialo-
gue in eligious educa ion (Polle ey and Richa ds 2020). Thus, in scien i ic
schools, guided by he idea o plu alism and democ acy o di e se eligious
sys ems, in o ma ion om scien i ic s udies o eligions is used (Moe 2019),
eedom o eligion is emphasised, and he e is no uni o m o common educa-
ional policy on eligious educa ion in he coun ies’ na ional sys ems (Llo en -
Vaque o 2018).
I adi ionally he e m spi i uali y has been used mainly in eligious con ex s,
since oughly he mid-20 h cen u y, in ela ion o he New Age mo emen , he
wa e o en i onmen alism and eminism, he e m has come o e e o
a b oade ange o spi i ual expe iences (Vliegen ha 2020) and nowadays he
p e ailing iew is ha spi i uali y can be ealised bo h wi hin and ou side
eligious adi ions (Vaughan 2002). Rela ed o his is he inc easingly popula
sel -labelling ph ase ‘spi i ual bu no eligious’, wi h which a ela i ely la ge
pa o he popula ion o Wes e n ci ilisa ion iden i ies. Ye e en his de ini ion
emains a ied and ambiguous in i s use, and cul u ally con ingen (Wixwa and
Saucie 2021).
Non- eligious spi i uali y
The concep ual complexi y and ambigui y o he basic concep , spi i uali y, is
behind many o he di icul ies in po en ially de ining i s non- eligious concep-
ion. Spi i uali y is pe cei ed as pa o heal h, o spi i ual heal h is concei ed as
a holis ic phenomenon (Zullig, Wa d, and Ho n 2006; Fishe 2011; Ji ásek e al.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHILDREN’S SPIRITUALITY 3
2021). Psychological esea ch ope a es wi h he possibili y o pe cei ing spi i-
uali y as an independen dimension o pe sonali y, e.g., as a six h ac o
ex ending he ‘Big Fi e’ i e-componen model o pe sonali y (Henningsgaa d
and A nau 2008; Piedmon 1999), o linking i o he ou Jungian pe sonali y
unc ions (Bunke 1991). Ano he concep p esupposes spi i uali y o be an
independen o m o in elligence (Emmons 2000; Vaughan 2002). Howe e ,
his is a highly deba able concep , as spi i ual expe ience phenomenologically
anscends he in ellec ual sphe e (Ga dne 2000).
The spi i , he basic cons i u i e elemen o he human way o being, includes
no only in ellec , bu also hinking (in ideas), and a ce ain manne o pe cei ing
he essen ial con en , as well as a g oup o oli ional and emo i e ac s such as
lo e, espec , bliss ulness, eedom, and so o h. The spi i , an exclusi ely
human cha ac e is ic, is no an objec o subs ance, bu an e en , a cons an
sel - ealisa ion and upda ing. The cen e o he mani es a ions o he spi i is he
pe son and his speci ic ea u es o openness o he wo ld, eedom, and exis-
en ial de achmen (Schele 1981). Hence he assump ion ha i is possible o
analyse spi i uali y wi hou e e ence o eligion and he e o e ha i is ade-
qua e o conside he phenomenon o non- eligious, e en a heis spi i uali y,
ye his is no an en i ely o iginal heme (Ji ásek 2013; Schnell 2012; Sku zak
2020; Manuel-Mo gan and Lomas 2021; Walach 2017). Ano he p emise is he
hypo hesis o he di e ence be ween spi i ual (pneuma ic) and men al (psychic)
s a es, p ocesses and expe iences. The o me a e cha ac e ised by an emphasis
on he exis en ial dimension o li e and i s meaning (F ankl 2006), hus ans-
cending no only physical g ounding in he wo ld bu also psychic pe o -
mances (i.e., eason, will, and emo ion). The inal p emise is a cha ac e is ic o
non- eligious spi i uali y, e iden in ou dis inc ypes o ela ionships: o sel , o
o he people, o na u e, and o anscendence (Jenni e , Haslip, and Schein
2019b; Roge s and Hill 2002; Wal on 1996; Hay and Nye 1998, 1996).
No e ha i is he la e ela ionship ha is p obably he main eason o he
con la ion o eligious and non- eligious modes o spi i uali y, ha is, he
dis inc ion made by he ca ego y o he sac ed, he basic elemen o eligion,
and he exis en ialis one ha cha ac e ises spi i uali y. I belie e ha o ade-
qua e spi i ual pe sonal de elopmen , including expe ienced anscendence,
basic unde s anding need no be ancho ed h ough eligious e ms deno ing an
on ologically di e en eali y (God, Lo d, C ea o , highe powe , di ini y, e c.)
and expe iences p esupposing a ela ionship o i ( eligious a i ude, ai h,
p aye , e c.). This b ings us back o he undamen al di e ence be ween eligion
and spi i uali y.
Religious and spi i ual expe ience
Typically, e e ence is made o he ins i u ional ounda ions o eligious li e and
pe sonal expe ience o spi i uali y o dis inguish he wo (Nash 2002), ye I a gue
4I. JIRÁSEK

ha he ela ionship be ween he wo domains o indi idual expe ience and
social li e is mo e complica ed, including he dis inc ion be ween eligious and
spi i ual expe iences. Wha used o be pe cei ed as a eligious mode o expe i-
ence is now e y o en desc ibed as he spi i ual dimension o expe ience, like
peak expe ience (Maslow 1994), low (Csikszen mihalyi 1975), o holo opic, i.e.,
o ien ed owa ds he whole (G o 2003). All hese ypes o expe iences a e no
he esul o eligious sa u a ion, bu o knowledge based on pe sonal expe i-
ence. Thus, hey a e anscenden , spi i ual expe iences, bu no necessa ily
eligious ones. In connec ion wi h hei po en ial o use in he pedagogical
en i onmen , hey can be subsumed unde he umb ella e m ‘ ans o ma i e
expe iences’, expanding a change in he ho izon o unde s anding and li e
con ex (Ji ásek, Pa y, and Allison 2020).
In pa icula , he pe sonal connec ions ha exceed o dina y expe ience, ha
is, he ela ionship o anscendence, o o e coming empi ically de ec able
eali y, is he a ea whe e spi i uali y mos closely mee s (o c osses) eligion.
Religious expe iences di e om he daily p o ision o needs in he absence o
pu pose ulness and en e ing he ealm o he sac ed, he holy. Religious expe i-
ences a e a ainable only h ough ai h, which is a e y di e en cogni i e
app oach o he wo ld compa ed o o he app oaches such as a ionali y.
Wi hou ai h, eligious expe iences and he e o e eligious o ms o he spi i ual
dimension canno be ully expe ienced.
Bo h sphe es ( eligion and non- eligious spi i uali y) in e ene in bo h a eas,
i.e., he p o ane and he sac ed. Religion is no only belie s, i uals and com-
mands, bu also objec s, buildings, o ganisa ions and o he secula aspec s
belonging essen ially o eligion. Spi i uali y is cha ac e ised in pa icula by
expe ien ial s a es such as awe, beau y and lo e, which h ough ex ao dina y
expe iences me ge in o ex ao dina y s a es o consciousness. I he expe iences
each in o he sac ed sphe e, hey acqui e he cha ac e o mys ical, eligious
expe iences. We can imagine wo di ec ions o expe ien ial expansion: hie o-
phany, he pene a ion o he sac ed (di ine) in o na u al eali y, so o speak,
om he op down, is necessa y o eligious mo emen . Con e sely, he spi i-
ual dimension is cha ac e ised by anscendence, ha is, he ascen om
o dina y expe ience in o ex ao dina y s a es o consciousness, as i we e,
om he bo om up. The in e sec ion o hese wo p ocesses is possible. I will
ocus on hose aspec s o he possible de elopmen o spi i uali y ha a e
accessible o e e y pe son, ega dless o hei wo ld iew o ai h s ance.
Non- eligious spi i ual li e acy
This pape in ends o highligh he possibili ies o a non- eligious spi i uali y, i
leans owa ds he spi i ual de elopmen o child en h ough undamen al
ques ions, and a sense o sel and non-ma e ial well-being (W inge 2002),
h ough a sense o awe and wonde , pa adoxes and con lic s as pa s o
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHILDREN’S SPIRITUALITY 5
human li e (Mille and D ake 1997), by he e ec o he pe sonali y o he
eache , who is always he mos impo an ac o : ‘Whoe e ou s uden s may
be, wha e e subjec we each, ul ima ely we each who we a e’. (Palme
1999), p. 10).
Spi i ual li e acy, which can be de eloped in he secula en i onmen o
public schools, hus cul i a es ou basic ela ionships ( o sel , o o he s, o
na u e, and o anscendence), makes use o expe ien ial ela ionships ha go
beyond he commonly ealised pe sonal iden i y, bu does no en e he ealm
o he ‘absolu ely o he ’, he sac ed and holy, whe e spi i ual expe iences a e
al eady ans o med in o eligious ones.
The e m ‘spi i ual li e acy’ appea s spo adically in he pedagogical li e a u e,
bu i is an a ea ha has no been much explo ed and cla i ied so a , and no is i
e minologically ancho ed. We encoun e he concep especially in esea ch on
child en’s spi i uali y h ough isualisa ion me hods (Binde 2011; Emma and
Smalley 2013), whe e he idea o spi i ual li e acy is p esen ed wi hou su icien
heo e ical de ini ion and i s in ui i e cla i y is assumed when speci ic ac i i ies
in he school en i onmen a e being desc ibed. Also, a se o hund eds o sho
examples poin ing o a spi i ual pe spec i e on hings, he en i onmen , leisu e,
ela ionships, and communi y uses he e m ‘spi i ual li e acy’ (B ussa and Ann
B ussa 1998), bu wi hou adequa e concep ual analysis. Spi i ual li e acy, again
wi hou dis inguishing be ween spi i uali y and eligion, is also ela ed o he
possibili ies o amily he apy (Holmbe g, Jensen, and Ve e e 2021). Wi h e e -
ence o he use o he e m ‘spi i ual li e acy’ in he con ex o eligious educa-
ion, he e m has been c i icised as being inhe en ly uns able (Tagga 2002).
The mos ecen con ibu ion o he schola ly deba e (Anna and Da Sil a 2022)
summa ises he li e a u e on child en’s eme ging spi i uali y, explains he
impo ance o spi i ual expe ience in child en’s li es, and e alua es he delinea-
ion o spi i uali y owa ds o, o placemen in, eligious educa ion and e lec s
on he po en ial implemen a ion in cu iculum and he in oduc ion o spi i ual
li e acy in o public educa ion. Thus, i is a e y close ideological a ini y wi h his
s udy, di e ing p ima ily in selec ed a gumen a i e emphases and speci ic
o mula ions.
The idea o he con en ul ilmen o spi i ual li e acy canno be app oached
h ough a de ini ion. Howe e , some delimi a ion is p o ided by e e ence o
expe iences in he ou ypes o ela ionships al eady men ioned. O cou se, i is
no possible o make a comp ehensi e lis , so I will a he indica e he a ious
aspec s by selec ed illus a i e examples:
(1) Spi i uali y in ela ion o onesel is mani es ed in he skills o sel - e lec ion
(including lis ening o he oice o conscience), mind ulness, concen a-
ion on p esen s a es o being, and ques ioning he meaning o li e. This
a ea can be cul i a ed h ough calming and se ling down, by limi ing he
pe cep ion o p essu e and excessi e sensa ions o he ex e nal wo ld,
6I. JIRÁSEK
con empla ion, medi a ion, b ea h wo k, ac i e imagina ion (Koncz e al.
2021, Kea ing 2017; Van Go don, Shonin, and Richa dson 2018,
Pio owski, Binde , and Schwind 2017).
(2) Spi i uali y in ela ion o o he people p esen s i sel in he ho izon al
anscendence o he sel in p osocial o ien a ion and al uism, in pe so-
nal iendly and lo ing a i udes, in compassion owa ds o he s. Such
a ela ionship canno be concei ed in a possessi e mode, i is no based
only on pe sonal indi idual quali ies, bu is he building o a space
‘be ween’ wo people (Tsaba 2017; Aslanian 2018).
(3) Spi i uali y in ela ion o na u e is e iden in he en i onmen al sensi i i y
and in he a ini y wi h he na u al wo ld, in he possibili ies o ‘connec-
ion’ o he landscape and he na u al wo ld. This a ea is well commu-
nica ed by a well-de eloped adi ion o en i onmen al and ou doo
educa ion (Hein zman e al. 2008; 2010, Solomon 2003).
(4) Spi i uali y in ela ion o he whole and o anscendence, which is
e iden in he e ical ex ension o he sel , mani es ed in he capaci y
o wonde and amazemen . The expe ience o o e lap, deep connec ion,
consonance o usion, which app oxima e he desc ip ions o he ex a-
o dina y s a es o consciousness commen ed abo e (peak expe ience,
low, holo opic expe ience) and ans o ma i e expe iences, bu wi hou
he in ol emen o he p ocess o hie ophany and en e ing he ealm o
he sac ed and holy. The expe ience o inding one’s own place in he
o ali y o eali y and accep ing he pa adoxical na u e o eali y (Pi e al.
2015; Schinkel 2020; Yaden e al. 2017).
The e o e, I p esen a wo king de ini ion o a spi i ually li e a e pe sonali y as
an indi idual who e lec s and cul i a es skills o sel - e lec ion, mind ulness, and
concen a ion in ela ion o hemsel es, who can ac in ela ion o o he people
in a mode cha ac e ised by p osocial o ien a ion and al uism, i.e., iendly and
lo ing, who can expe ience en i onmen al sensi i i y and kinship wi h na u e,
and who is capable o as onishmen and amazemen a expe iencing anscen-
dence in ela ion o he whole and anscendence, o example, in he o m o
ex ao dina y s a es o consciousness and ans o ma i e expe iences.
How o de elop spi i ual li e acy
Conside ing he easonable scope o he ex , I will only poin ou , by way o
illus a ion, a ew possibili ies o he de elopmen o spi i ual li e acy wi h
ega d o he age o he pe sonali ies being de eloped.
E en a an ea ly age, in he p eschool se ing, child en can be spi i ually
cul i a ed h ough ee play, c ea i e exp ession, and by emphasising holis ic
educa ional oppo uni ies in building in e pe sonal ela ionships, sensing
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CHILDREN’S SPIRITUALITY 7
ad en u e, asking ques ions, and p ac icing i ues (Ma a-McMahon 2019;
Jenni e , Haslip, and Schein 2019a, 2020).
In p ima y educa ion, pic u e books a e p o ing o be app op ia e ehicles
o cul i a ing spi i ual li e acy, pa icula ly as a basis o guided discussion
be ween child en and an adul acili a o o highligh spi i ual issues (Kendall
1999), o in e p e ing associa ions be ween hei own li es and my hological
s o ies (Hyde 2005), o using a echniques, d ama isa ion and ole-play (Gellel
2018). Simila ly, eading s o ies wi hou isual accompanimen can se e
a simila pu pose (Mye s and Elaine Mye s 1999).
Fo olde school-aged child en wi h mo e de eloped cogni i e skills and
abs ac hinking, he pedagogical app oach o Philosophy o Child en (P4C)
(Lipman 1984, 2011) has been shown o be a sui able ool o de eloping
spi i ual li e acy. The goal o P4C is holis ic hinking (Lipman 1993), o a o m
o ‘ ull li e acy’ (Mu is 2016), hence i mee s he ques o cul i a e spi i ual
li e acy in a holis ic exis ence.
In adolescence, ou doo educa ion also appea s o be a sui able op ion o
de eloping spi i ual li e acy, as li e ans o ma ion h ough ad en u e and
expe ien ial p og ams adically changes ela ionships o sel , o he s, na u e,
and he whole (Ji ásek and S oboda 2016; Quay 2013; Hein zman 2010). I
seems ha he essence o hese pa icula educa ional ac i i ies can be unde -
s ood in hei ambi alence o a ac ion and conce n as a p inciple o spi i ual
de elopmen o implici eligion (Ji ásek 2020).
Spi i ual li e acy can also be de eloped in adul hood wi h adequa e means
and me hods. As an example o he wonde and amazemen o con on ing
wha anscends ou indi idual exis ence, le us men ion he p inciples o
sys emic cons ella ions (Hellinge 2002, 2003), used in psycho he apy, pa ne
and amily counselling, coaching and managemen , as well as in pedagogy. The
di e se links and sys emic connec ions a e o med no only by isible hie a ch-
ical s uc u es, bu also by unconscious emo ional sa u a ions (Wel o d 2014;
P i zke and Duncan 2019).
Spi i ual li e acy, howe e , is a opic ha escapes a clea desc ip ion o he
con en o he cu iculum and pene a es a he in o he wo ld beyond wo ds,
in o he ealm o imagina ion and symbolic a che ypes.
Conclusion
The e-concep ualised iew o spi i ual li e acy as a pedagogical e o o
de elop hose dimensions o he human way o li e ha can be le in seclusion
in adi ional educa ion allows he educa ional use o a ious echniques, me h-
ods, means, and s a egies wi hou e e ence o a eligious ideological back-
g ound. To pu i mo e clea ly: such e o s a e no di ec ed agains espec able
eligious adi ions. I is a o mula ion o an e o o spi i ually deepen he li es
o people o whom eligious li e is inaccessible because hey do no possess
8I. JIRÁSEK
Wixwa , M., and G. Saucie . 2021. “Being Spi i ual bu No Religious.” Cu en Opinion in
Psychology 40: 121–125. doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.09.003.
W inge, C. 2002. “Is The e Spi i uali y? Can I Be Pa o Educa ion?” Jou nal o Philosophy o
Educa ion 36 (2): 157–170. doi:10.1111/1467-9752.00267.
Yaden, D. B., J. Haid , R. W. Hood J , D. R. Vago, and A. B. Newbe g. 2017. “The Va ie ies o
Sel -T anscenden Expe ience.” Re iew o Gene al Psychology 21 (2): 143–160. doi:10.1037/
gp 0000102.
Za ghi, M., and M. Bolghan-Abadi. 2021. “The Al uism T ai : The Role o Religiousness.”
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Zullig, K. J., R. M. Wa d, and T. Ho n. 2006. “The Associa ion Be ween Pe cei ed Spi i uali y,
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