Yes. Secular spirituality sits in a long tradition. Here are just a few I write about:
- 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.