Spirituality, Meaning, and Well-Being: A Role in the University Classroom

In recent years, for higher education—especially in the United States—spirituality has emerged as a prominent topic on campus, both in curricular and co-curricular formats. Historically, religion has played a large role in the foundations and even missions of many universities, but in the modern era, especially for public universities, personal spirituality has become the frequent way in which topics such as meaning, values, compassion, and mindfulness are addressed. Meaning is an especially prominent theme—not only “the meaning of life” but also “meaning in life” and the individual student’s experience of “the search for meaning.” This essay explores not only previous research and theoretical proposals on the links between spirituality and meaning, but it also proposes ways in which spirituality and well-being can be relevant topics for curriculum offerings in modern universities. The essay provides one illustrative example of a way to create learning structures to support students’ exploration of practices from personal spirituality (e.g., mindfulness practices, values clarification, reflective journaling, and dream study) and how such practices can promote an enhanced sense of meaning in one’s life. The essay concludes with thoughts regarding ways in which interested faculty might collaborate to share best practices on the modern university campus to support students’ spiritual growth and their search for meaning in life.