Spirituality: heterodoxy and point of encounter, an asset for social education

Abstract

Contemporary Western societies are showing a growing interest in the non- material needs of the individual, what might be called interiority or spirituality. We have gone from collective struggle and social commitment to the cult of the self, with an emphasis now on the need to care for the inner realm from a nonreligious view of the individual, a vision that needs to harmonize with the various religious traditions that exist in out cities. The idea that spirituality is a dimension of the human being is coming to be accepted by a majority of people. In this light, religion as a set of beliefs that give rise to a particular vision of life is a particular form of concrete spirituality. This approach adds a fourth pillar to the bio-psycho-social model of the human sciences, on which the training of social workers is based — one that takes account of the spiritual dimension.