Introduction

Spiritual matters are thus those matters regarding humankind's ultimate nature and meaning, not only as material biological organisms, but as beings with a unique relationship to that which is perceived to be beyond the bodily senses, time and the material world. Spirituality in this sense implies the mind-body dichotomy, which indicates a separation between the body and soul. But spirituality may also be about the development of the individual's inner life through specific practices.
The spiritual is traditionally contrasted with the material, the temporal and the earthly. A perceived sense of connection forms a central defining characteristic of spirituality — connection to a metaphysical reality greater than oneself, which may include an emotional experience of religious awe and reverence, or such states assatori or nirvana. Equally importantly, spirituality relates to matters of sanity and of psychological health.

Spirituality and science
Analysis of spiritual qualities in science faces problems — such as the imprecision of spiritual concepts, the subjectivity of spiritual experience, and the amount of work required to translate and map observable components of a spiritual system into empirical evidence.

Opposition
Science takes as its basis empirical, repeatable observations of the natural world, and thus generally regards ideas that rely on supernatural forces for an explanation as beyond the purview of science. Scientists regard ideas which present themselves as scientific, but which rely on a supernatural force for an explanation, as religious rather than scientific. In this context scientists may oppose spirituality, at least in the scientific sphere.