Spirituality, REV-TOD
Spirituality reaches beyond formal doctrine into questions of meaning, inner life, practice, and connection. Explore the many ways people have sought wisdom, transcendence, and peace.
Spirituality Encyclopedia Articles By Title
revelation
revelation, in religion, the disclosure of divine or sacred reality or purpose to humanity. In the religious view,......
Richard of Saint-Victor
Richard of Saint-Victor was a Roman Catholic theologian whose treatises profoundly influenced medieval and modern......
Ridley, Nicholas
Nicholas Ridley was a Protestant martyr, one of the finest academic minds in the early English Reformation. Ridley......
Rifāʿīyah
Rifāʿīyah, fraternity of Muslim mystics (Ṣūfīs), known in the West as howling dervishes, found primarily in Egypt......
rite of passage
rite of passage, ceremonial event, existing in all historically known societies, that marks the passage from one......
ritual
ritual, the performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by tradition or by sacerdotal decree. Ritual is a specific,......
ritual bath
ritual bath, religious or magic ceremony involving the use of water to immerse or anoint a subject’s body. The......
Roberts, Oral
Oral Roberts was an American Pentecostal evangelist known for his televised faith-healing ministry. Roberts was......
Rogers, John
John Rogers was a religious Reformer and the first Protestant martyr of the English queen Mary I’s reign. He was......
Rolle, Richard
Richard Rolle was an English mystic and author of mystical and ascetic tracts. Rolle attended the University of......
rosary
rosary, (from Latin rosarium, “rose garden”), religious exercise in which prayers are recited and counted on a......
rumspringa
rumspringa, a rite of passage and period of growth in adolescence for some Amish youths, during which time they......
rusalka
rusalka, in Slavic mythology, lake-dwelling soul of a child who died unbaptized or of a virgin who was drowned......
Ruysbroeck, Jan van
Jan van Ruysbroeck was a Flemish mystic whose writings influenced Johann Tauler, Gerhard Groote, and other mystics.......
Rūmī
Rūmī was the greatest Sufi mystic and poet in the Persian language, famous for his lyrics and for his didactic......
sacrament
sacrament, religious sign or symbol, especially associated with Christian churches, in which a sacred or spiritual......
sacred
sacred, the power, being, or realm understood by religious persons to be at the core of existence and to have a......
sacrifice
sacrifice, a religious rite in which an object is offered to a divinity in order to establish, maintain, or restore......
sacrilege
sacrilege, originally, the theft of something sacred; as early as the 1st century bc, however, the Latin term for......
saddha
saddha, in Buddhism, the religious disposition of a Buddhist. The Theravada branch of Buddhism, which claims to......
Saint-Martin, Louis-Claude de
Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin was a French visionary philosopher who was one of the leading exponents of illuminism,......
Salesian
Salesian, member of either of two Roman Catholic religious congregations, one of men and one of women, devoted......
salvation
salvation, in religion, the deliverance of humankind from such fundamentally negative or disabling conditions as......
samsara
samsara, in Indian philosophy, the central conception of metempsychosis: the soul, finding itself awash in the......
Sand painting
Sand painting, type of art that exists in highly developed forms among the Navajo and Pueblo Indians of the American......
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela, city, A Coruña provincia (province), capital of the comunidad autonóma (autonomous community)......
Santos, Lucia dos
Lucia dos Santos was a Portuguese shepherd girl, later a Carmelite nun, who claimed that she received visions of......
Sarapion, Saint
Saint Sarapion ; feast day March 21; Coptic church March 7) was an Egyptian monk, theologian, and bishop of Thmuis,......
Sarcophagus
Sarcophagus, stone coffin. The original term is of doubtful meaning. Pliny explains that the word denotes a coffin......
Savonarola, Girolamo
Girolamo Savonarola was an Italian Christian preacher, reformer, and martyr, renowned for his clash with tyrannical......
scapegoat
scapegoat, (“goat for Azazel”), in the Yom Kippur ritual described in the Torah (Leviticus 16:8–10), goat ritually......
Schwenckfeld, Kaspar
Kaspar Schwenckfeld von Ossig was a German theologian, writer, and preacher who led the Protestant Reformation......
Scillitan Martyrs
Scillitan Martyrs, 12 North African Christians from Scilla (or Scillium) in Numidia who were tried in Carthage......
Sebastian, St
St. Sebastian ; feast day January 20) was an early Christian saint popularized by Renaissance painters and believed......
Sefer ha-zohar
Sefer ha-zohar, (Hebrew: “Book of Splendour”), 13th-century book, mostly in Aramaic, that is the classic text of......
Seraphim of Sarov, Saint
Saint Seraphim of Sarov ; canonized 1903; feast day January 2) was a Russian monk and mystic whose ascetic practice......
Sergius and Bacchus, Saints
Saints Sergius and Bacchus ; feast day October 7) were among the earliest authenticated and most celebrated Christian......
Servite
Servite, a Roman Catholic order of mendicant friars—religious men who lead a monastic life, including the choral......
seven deadly sins
seven deadly sins, in Roman Catholic theology, the seven vices that spur other sins and further immoral behavior.......
Seven Sleepers of Ephesus
Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, heroes of a famous legend that, because it affirmed the resurrection of the dead, had......
shaitan
shaitan, in Islāmic myth, an unbelieving class of jinn (“spirits”); it is also the name of Iblīs, the devil, when......
Shavuot
Shavuot, Jewish holiday that is associated with agriculture, pilgrimage to the Temple of Jerusalem, and Moses’......
shaṭḥ
shaṭḥ, in Ṣūfī Islām, divinely inspired statements that Ṣūfīs utter in their mystical state of fana (passing away......
Shaṭṭārīyah
Shaṭṭārīyah, Ṣūfī (Muslim mystic) order deriving its name from either a 15th-century Indian mystic called Shaṭṭārī......
shen
shen, in indigenous Chinese religion, a beneficent spirit of the dead; the term is also applied to deified mortals......
Shirdi Sai Baba
Shirdi Sai Baba was a spiritual leader dear to Hindu and Muslim devotees throughout India and in diaspora communities......
Shādhilīyah
Shādhilīyah, widespread brotherhood of Muslim mystics (Ṣūfīs), founded on the teachings of Abū al-Ḥasan ash-Shādhilī......
Silesius, Angelus
Angelus Silesius was a religious poet remembered primarily as the author of Der cherubinischer Wandersmann (1674;......
sin
sin, moral evil as considered from a religious standpoint. Sin is regarded in Judaism and Christianity as the deliberate......
Sixtus I, St.
St. Sixtus I ; feast day April 3) was the pope from approximately 115 to about 125. He succeeded St. Alexander......
Sixtus II, St.
St. Sixtus II ; feast day August 7) was the pope from 257 to 258, and is one of the early Roman church’s most venerated......
Socrates
Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher whose way of life, character, and thought exerted a profound influence......
- Introduction
- Philosopher, Athens, Dialogues
- Philosopher, Athens, Dialogues
- Athenian, Philosopher, Trial
- Philosopher, Athens, Trial
- Athenian Democracy, Philosophy, Trial
- Athenian Ideal, Free Speech, Philosopher
- Philosopher, Athens, Trial
- Philosopher, Athens, Trial
- Philosophy, Athens, Impiety
- Philosopher, Dialogues, Athens
- Philosopher, Dialectic, Athens
Solovyov, Vladimir Sergeyevich
Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov was a Russian philosopher and mystic who, reacting to European rationalist thought,......
Soter, St.
St. Soter ; feast day April 22) was the pope from about 166 to about 175. Succeeding St. Anicetus as pope, Soter......
soul
soul, in religion and philosophy, the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being, that which confers individuality......
Soul loss
Soul loss, departure of the soul from the body and its failure to return. In many preliterate cultures soul loss......
Southwell, Robert
Robert Southwell was an English poet and martyr remembered for his saintly life as a Jesuit priest and missionary......
Spenta Mainyu
Spenta Mainyu, in Zoroastrianism, the Holy Spirit, created by the Wise Lord, Ahura Mazdā, to oppose the Destructive......
Spiritism
Spiritism, belief system founded by French author and educator Allan Kardec in the middle of the 19th century that......
Spiritualism
Spiritualism, in religion, a movement beginning in the 19th century in America and Europe based on the belief that......
Spiritualism
Spiritualism, in philosophy, a characteristic of any system of thought that affirms the existence of immaterial......
spirituality
spirituality, the quality or state of being spiritual or of being attached to or concerned with religious questions......
St. Dymphna
St. Dymphna ; feast day May 15) was an Irish virgin martyr who is venerated as the patron saint of people with......
St. George
St. George ; feast day April 23) was an early Christian martyr who during the Middle Ages became an ideal of martial......
St. Peter’s Basilica
St. Peter’s Basilica, present basilica of St. Peter in Vatican City (an enclave in Rome), begun by Pope Julius......
Stace, W T
W. T. Stace was an English-born philosopher who sought to reconcile naturalism with religious experience. His utilitarian......
Stein, Edith
Edith Stein ; canonized October 11, 1998; feast day August 9) was a Roman Catholic convert from Judaism, Carmelite......
Stephen, St
St. Stephen ; feast day December 26) was a Christian deacon in Jerusalem who is believed to have been the first......
Suhrawardī, as-
as-Suhrawardī was a mystic theologian and philosopher who was a leading figure of the illuminationist school of......
Suhrawardīyah
Suhrawardīyah, Muslim order of mystics (Ṣūfīs) noted for the severity of its spiritual discipline, founded in Baghdad......
Sulzer, Salomon
Salomon Sulzer was an Austrian Jewish cantor, considered the most important composer of synagogue music in the......
sun worship
sun worship, veneration of the sun or a representation of the sun as a deity, as in Atonism in Egypt in the 14th......
sunyata
sunyata, in Buddhist philosophy, the voidness that constitutes ultimate reality; sunyata is seen not as a negation......
supplicatio
supplicatio, in Roman religion, a rite or series of rites celebrated either as a thanksgiving to the gods for a......
Suso, Heinrich
Heinrich Suso was one of the chief German mystics and leaders of the Friends of God (Gottesfreunde), a circle of......
Swedenborg, Emanuel
Emanuel Swedenborg was a Swedish scientist, Christian mystic, philosopher, and theologian who wrote voluminously......
Symeon the New Theologian, Saint
Saint Symeon the New Theologian was a Byzantine monk and mystic, termed the New Theologian to mark his difference......
séance
séance, (French: “sitting”), in occultism, meeting centred on a medium (q.v.), who seeks to communicate with spirits......
tama
tama, in Japanese religion, a soul or a divine or semidivine spirit; also an aspect of a spirit. Several mitama......
Tauler, Johann
Johann Tauler was a Dominican preacher, who, with Meister Eckhart and Heinrich Suso, was one of the chief Rhineland......
Taurobolium
Taurobolium, bull sacrifice practiced from about ad 160 in the Mediterranean cult of the Great Mother of the Gods.......
Telesphorus, St.
St. Telesphorus ; Western feast day January 5; Eastern feast day February 22) was the pope from about 125 to about......
Templar
Templar, member of the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, a religious military order of knighthood......
Ten Depictions of Hell
In depicting the place where, in many religious traditions, the spirits of the damned reside and are punished,......
tengu
tengu, in Japanese folklore, a type of mischievous supernatural being, sometimes considered the reincarnated spirit......
Teresa of Ávila, St
St. Teresa of Ávila ; canonized 1622; feast day October 15) was a Spanish nun, one of the great mystics and religious......
Thargelia
Thargelia, in Greek religion, one of the chief festivals of Apollo, celebrated on the sixth and seventh days of......
That’s a Wrap: Methods of Mummification
Mummies have been the antagonists of horror-based media since Western societies discovered them. We have to admit,......
The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church
The Roman Catholic Church has seven holy sacraments that are seen as mystical channels of divine grace, instituted......
The Spiritual Exercises
The Spiritual Exercises, a structured yet flexible program of Christian spirituality that was developed in the......
theocracy
theocracy, government by divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided. In many theocracies,......
theophany
theophany, (from Greek theophaneia, “appearance of God”), manifestation of deity in sensible form. The term has......
Thomas, St
St. Thomas ; Western feast day December 21, feast day in Roman and Syrian Catholic churches July 3, in the Greek......
Thorns, Crown of
Crown of Thorns, wreath of thorns that was placed on the head of Jesus Christ at his crucifixion, whereby the Roman......
tian
tian, in indigenous Chinese religion, the supreme power reigning over lesser gods and human beings. The term tian......
Tijāniyyah
Tijāniyyah, an especially proselytizing order (tariqa) of Islamic mystics (Sufis) widespread in northern and western......
Timothy, St
St. Timothy ; Western feast day January 24 [in Roman church January 26 with St. Titus], Eastern feast day January......
Tingley, Katherine Augusta Westcott
Katherine Augusta Westcott Tingley was an American theosophist, a woman of forceful personality, who introduced......
Today in History—April 18: How Grace Kelly Became a Princess
A little more than a year after winning an Academy Award, an American actress stepped into a different role: that......
Today in History—February 10: The Bride Wore White (for the First Time)
On this day in 1840, Queen Victoria got married…to her cousin, Albert. He was the second son of a foreign duke—and......