The objective of this concept paper is to suggest that spirituality should be integrated into community development. As the impact of science on our lives grow stronger, religion and spirituality are playing greater role in reminding us of our humanity. A greater knowledge of spirituality is required to define the essence of spirituality. Based on the thinking of Dalai Lama, a spiritual Guru, this spiritual essence is defined as a moral compass that helps to balance the toxic emotions that often accompany modern materialism. This moral compass is an essential principle of the concept spirituality which includes the promotion of human values in order to have happier individuals, families and communities -- and, in that way, are strongly informed by spiritual values like wisdom, kindness, patience, generosity and compassion. The nexus between the vertical and horizontal spirituality is examined to highlight the inherent issues to bring in the spiritual approach into community development. The impact of spirituality in community development is discussed at length to testify that spirituality can play a pivotal part in changing the ‘soulless life’, arguing that the six dimensions of community development, namely economic, social, political, spiritual, cultural, and environmental are strongly formed by spiritual values.
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In-Text Citation: (Razak et al., 2021)
To Cite this Article: Razak, R. R. A., Yusoff, H. A. N. M., Embong, R., & Maslan, A. (2021). Cultivating Spirituality in Community Development. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(17), 230–237.
Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)
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