Spiritual capital

Spiritual capital is a concept that involves the quantification of the value to individuals, groups and society of spiritual, moral or psychological beliefs and practices. Proponents liken it to other forms of capital, including material capital (or financial capital), intellectual capital, and social capital. Some scholars such as Robert Barro see spiritual capital as simply another term for the power and influence generated by religion belief and practice, whilst others, such as Danah Zohar define it more broadly as the value of personal, social or cultural beliefs and meanings that stimulate creativity, encourage moral behaviour and motivate individuals.
 
Spiritual capital, when used in research, can be operationalized through various measures that measure an individual's religious and spiritual inclinations, such as frequency of church attendance and prayer, as well as one's belief in the transcendence.
 
It is a process that has been going on for some time, at least since the origin of agriculture. Interestingly, there are allusions to this degeneration of human capacity in several ancient spiritual traditions, particularly Taoism. While perhaps better understood as metaphors for the submerged capacities of childhood, Taoism abounds with references to ancient humans who possessed wisdom and abilities far exceeding those of people today. Similar references exist in ancient stories of the Golden Age in Greek and nearly every other mythology.
 
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