Laozi, who lived in ancient China, found reverence with alignment in the way of nature.
In ancient India, the Buddha found it in disciplined experience focused on this realm.
In ancient Greco-Roman times, the Stoics refined strict alignment with reality.
In post-Medieval times, Spinoza found spirituality in nature itself.
In modern times, James and Dewey found it in lived human transformation and being.
Even Einstein and Carl Sagan found it in cosmic awe grounded in scientific observations.

In ancient thought, secular spirituality shows up again and again. Laozi pointed toward the Dao, the deep way of nature that words can never fully capture. The Buddha focused on suffering, impermanence, and disciplined inner practice. The Stoics taught people to live according to nature, accept what they cannot control, and shape what they can. These are not lab sciences, but they are deeply rooted in the observation of life, mind, and nature.

In modern thought, the same thread continues. Spinoza found sacredness in nature itself rather than in a supernatural ruler outside it. William James studied spiritual experience as lived human experience. John Dewey separated religious institutions from the deeper “religious” quality of devotion, purpose, and moral seriousness. Einstein and Sagan talked openly about how science-first spirituality deepens awe.

So yes, secular spirituality is supported across history. Many serious thinkers chose not to ignore human experience, nature, mystery, or our limits. Science-first spirituality does not mock belief or drain life of wonder. It simply lets reality push back. It honors awe without pretending to know what it does not know.

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Deep-Dive Article: Historical lineup for Secular Spirituality

Annotated References:

Spinoza, Baruch. Ethics. 1677. Parts I and V: identifies God with Nature and locates human understanding, freedom, and fulfillment within the natural order rather than beneath a supernatural ruler standing outside it. Spinoza provides one of the clearest early foundations for finding spiritual depth within reality itself.
Dewey, John. A Common Faith. 1934: distinguishes organized religions from the broader “religious” quality of human experience. Dewey argues that devotion, moral purpose, transformation, and the creation of meaning can be preserved without supernatural dogma or claims that compete with science.
Sagan, Carl. Cosmos. Random House, 1980: unites scientific knowledge with awe, humility, wonder, and humanity’s sense of belonging within the universe. Sagan demonstrates that a science-first worldview need not drain life of spiritual feeling; understanding stars, evolution, matter, and cosmic scale can deepen reverence while keeping belief accountable to evidence.
Prestwood, Michael Alan. 30 Philosophers. 2024. Chapter 25, “Spinoza and Monism,” section “Material-Spiritual Framework”: develops secular spirituality as reality-calibrated spiritual exploration. It preserves awe, meaning, purpose, and mystery while sorting ideas as empirical, rational, speculative, or disproven and requiring claims about the material world to accept empirical testing.

Michael Alan Prestwood
Author & Natural Philosopher

Prestwood writes on science-first philosophy, with particular attention to the convergence of disciplines. Drawing on his TST Framework, his work emphasizes rational inquiry grounded in empirical observation while engaging questions at the edges of established knowledge. With TouchstoneTruth positioned as a living touchstone, this work aims to contribute reliable, evolving analysis in an emerging AI era where the credibility of information is increasingly contested.