Abstract:
This thesis examines the relationship between well-being and spirituality. In it, I address three central questions: What is spirituality? Is spirituality important to well-being? and, If spirituality is important to well-being, to what extent should the state be engaged in promoting it? I begin by examining the thought of a number of philosophical theologians and philosophers of religion, as well as the views of three sociologists; I also look at recent medical research into spirituality. I then present a philosophical account of spirituality, which consists of a disjunctive definition as well as a list of some of the tangible benefits that spirituality can offer. I argue that spirituality can be important to well-being, and suggest that there are strong reasons for thinking that further qualitative research into the phenomenon will reveal it as an aspect of well-being that should be understood as important for everybody. I offer an account of the philosophical debates surrounding the notion of well-being, and argue that objective-list accounts are well-suited to capturing what it consists in. I then detail, with particular reference to Jonathan Wolff and Avner de-Shalit's account of wellbeing, the various considerations that would need to be made in order to demonstrate whether or not, and how, spirituality should be accommodated within any given objective-list account of well-being. Finally, I present arguments in support of the claim that the state should engage in promoting spirituality. I outline a number of policies that governments might implement in order to encourage certain kinds of spiritual engagement.