Have Atheists found their path to Spirituality?

While catching up on some reading recently, I came across an article titled "Atheism has finally found its spiritual leader". I must admit, I was very intrigued. (To read article, click here.)

“I am just trying to redirect our global conversation. I am not trying to change atheism.” A statement made by Sam Harris, when asked about his new ideas about atheists being spiritual, as proposed in his new book "Waking Up".

 The article, written by Tom Roston, is essentially an extensive book review for the new work titled, "Waking Up:  A Guide to Spirituality without Religion" by Sam Harris. Harris is an author and neuroscientist, as well as one of the four horsemen of new-atheism, "...along with Hitchens, Dawkins, and philosopher Daniel Dennett" (Roston).

From this resume alone, it is never surprising when Harris comes out with works flashing titles such as, 'The End of Faith' and 'Letter to a Christian Nation'. 
However, in his new book 'Waking Up', Harris takes on an entirely different scene; spirituality.

While I am always open to new thoughts and opinions when discussing religion - especially those that entertain ideas in category of secular thought - the notion that atheists are expected to be bound by spirituality seemed to introduce a certain dilemma among militant and hard-headed atheists everywhere. Roston addresses this in his article by saying,

"Waking Up could be called a self-help book for atheists. Not that Harris would want us to do that; he doesn’t run with the touchy-feely crowd. Nevertheless, he’s writing for an audience...that needs some gentle guidance. We’re talking about a group of people who are primarily skeptics, fiercely individualistic, and mostly non-joiners—those who identify themselves by what they don’t believe in. This is not a crowd that easily rallies around any person or precept." (As read in Roston) 

Sam Harris proposes to his readers methods to attain 'a rational form of spirituality': he suggests atheists meditate. Harris notes here that some of his fellow atheists have referred to spirituality as a sign of mental illness, which he then combats by arguing, "This is a problem, because millions of people have had experiences for which spiritual and mystical seem the only terms available" (Roston).
Harris refers to spirituality as "cutting through the illusion of the self. The inner “I” that we think is so special...disciplined, meditative introspection is a key tool to unpacking the originator of our thoughts" (Roston).

I feel as if reading this article allowed me to dive right into the conversation Harris has sparked, with secular voices from all different viewpoints jumping in. The review unpacks comments from minds of militant atheists (like Richard Dawkins); evolutionary biologists (like Jerry Coyne), and even 'faitheists' (like Chris Stedman).

Coyne remarks 'positively' on the new book by saying, "The book will surely anger or confuse those people who think Sam has gone soft on religion, but take my word for it, there’s not an iota of sympathy for the divine." (Roston).

Chris Stedman - author of the book 'Faitheist: How an Atheist Found Common Ground with the Religious', posted a response to this book in his article, "Can atheists be spiritual? Sam Harris reignites long-running debate" Although Stedman remains objective throughout this article, he quotes other atheists who have something to say about secular spirituality.

Adam Lee - atheist activist - argues for the cause of this spirituality by saying,

“Spirituality is just another term for the human feelings of awe and wonder, which are common to atheists and the religious alike,” Lee said in a recent interview. “Historically, religion claimed to be the sole source of these feelings, but atheists know we can also feel them from simply contemplating the mystery and vastness of the cosmos and the strange beauty of the world in which we find ourselves. The natural world is at least as good a source of transcendent bliss as any religious belief.” (As read in Stedman).

Truthfully, after reading through these articles, and understanding the meaning behind the all-encompassing word, 'spirituality', I have to say I was comforted by some of these ideas being presented. I do consider myself to be an atheist, and I also consider myself to be spiritual.

In the words of Chris Stedman in describing spirituality as an appreciation for the world's beauty and wonder, "I experience that same awe when I see people of different beliefs coming together across lines of religious difference to recognize that we are all human — that we all love and hurt."

How do you feel about the ideas this book proposes? Would you consider yourself to be spiritual in the ways Harris, Stedman and others have explained it here?

Sofia White
Values in Action

Commenting below is welcomed, as long as the responses are formed in a respectful way. 

References

Roston, Tom. "Atheism Has Finally Found Its Spiritual Leader." Quartz. N.p., 15 Sept. 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2014 <http://qz.com/265152/atheism-has-finally-found-its-spiritual-leader/>.

Stedman, Chris. "Can Atheists Be Spiritual? Sam Harris Reignites Long-running Debate - Faitheist." Faitheist. RNS: Religion, News, Service, 30 Jan. 2014. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://chrisstedman.religionnews.com/2014/01/30/can- atheists-spiritual-sam-harris-reignites-long-running-debate/>.