Edit: I'm changing this post around to be a bit more inviting for other people to share their spirituality. Feel free to hijack the thread with your own interpretations of spirituality.
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I don't think that it would be fair to be a moderator for this sub-forum without letting everyone know where I stand first. That way, people know what to expect and feel comfortable talking about such a personal, controversial issue.
I am a devout Universalist. I believe that
all religions have truth, and that it isn't necessarily the dogma that matters, rather, it is the individual's growth that matters. I am including Atheists in the category of having truth because, for them, there really no higher power that they can recognize.
My religious background is eclectic Christian (Mormon, Catholic, Born Again, and Corner Church of Christ {I love visiting the small, single congregation churches
}), solitary Wiccan, Taoist, and I'm starting to study Druidism and Buddhism.
Which do I hold most near and dear? All of them. I am as comfortable around Christians as I am around Witches. My personal philosophy doesn't allow me to single any one group out. I love the selflessness that Christian doctrine teaches, the understanding of cycles that comes with Wicca, and the all-encompassing Now/Here/It/Way of Tao.
The only thing that I am intolerant of is intolerance. That doesn't mean that if someone makes a racial or religious slur, that I'll be intolerant towards that person; rather, I will stop the intolerant action and work with the people involved to help them see each other's side.
Personally, individual spirituality is more important to me than religion. I recognize, though, that many people's spirituality is closely tied with their religion. Even for people on a more solitary path, they have a foundation in at least one major world religion. I would love to learn more about the different religions so that I can help as many people as possible. Because of that, I am thinking of starting a weekly topic in this sub-forum where we introduce different religions and learn about their ways. I'll probably start that a week from tomorrow, to give the new members a chance to get to know each other first.
Finally, my life purpose is to bring peace to everybody. This is largely due to the time that I spent in the military training people how to wage war in the name of peace. I recognize now that fighting for peace is like having sex for abstinence. I see spirituality, or self-determination for the atheists, as one of the cornerstones for peace. Pursuing Consciousness and Awareness is one of the paths to peace that anybody can follow, no matter what their religious background.