The first money I made as a kid doing something I chose was Caddying when I was 13 years old. There was a private course that we had to cut across to get to school and during those excursions, I found out about caddying. Hey, 20 bucks for a few hours of walking was pretty easy dough for a kid. I even carried a double for Wayne and Frank Schuster once. I was always active playing every sport imaginable but running was my fave--especially long distance.
Anyway, what the hell I'm I talking about? Oh, well, yes, spiritual claims. Now before I get into this I'll mention that I'm in the camp that spirituality (if defined as what's in the best interest of humanity and the earth surviving) is critical at this juncture in time. But it's what that spirituality would look like that informs the rest of this post...Now, I should mention that I concede the ultimate meaningless nihilism of all things in a Godless universe--there's no escaping that if it were true--although I believe it isn't, I'm not going to argue this issue here.
If I were to claim loudly and ubiquitously on all known channels that I could whip Tiger's ass in golf everyone would rightfully think I'm full of shit unless I could prove my claim! Of course, I can't in this instance! But my point in case you missed it is that the same dynamic should be at play in spirituality and it's unfathomable to me why it isn't; why every insane ludicrous claim gets taken seriously in this particular field when it wouldn't be tolerated in others! Prove your claim and if you can't SHUT-UP! Just keep your beliefs to yourself (or as I suggest later, in the Academies).
Here is a list of claims that remain unproven in religious lore:
-that pixies and fairies exist! UNPROVEN!
-that virgins can make babies! UNPROVEN!
-that you've lived here before! UNPROVEN!
-that one is chosen! UNPROVEN!
-that one can levitate! UNPROVEN!
-that meditation tells us anything more than workings of the HUMAN mind and nothing about the COSMOS at large. UNPROVEN!
-that there are endless angels involved in the affairs of humanity! UNPROVEN!
Okay, I could make this a very long list but you may now get that no one anywhere in recent history has proved any spiritual claim that they so willfully shout out to the world! It's all TALK and no action!
I need to talk about what proof of spiritual claims would look like. Say I claim levitation is true. It is then up to me to prove it by repeatable verifiable experiments witnessed and documented by a very large group of peers (especially ones who don't believe it's possible) this is called the scientific method! A group of scientists in India would have to show a group of atheist scientists in France that levitation is repeatable and verifiable.
This hasn't happened! The most that has happened to my knowledge is the limited efficacy of yoga and meditation as they relate to the human body-mind! I can testify to this myself and would even go as far to say that Subtle Energies might be real and should be further studied.
So what's the point again? To keep spiritual claims out of the political and economic spheres so that they have no influence so that society could be left to being run by secular ethics based on the very best of logic and reason! Sadly, this is the last thing that is happening today! Every crackpot religious idea is being fused with politics and economics today and nowhere is that more evident than in the case of Israel.
One note on this: it is now possible in a Godless universe to have a very rich and powerful group of people make their delusions to chosenness come true via a coming wholly human Messiah! It would prove absolutely nothing about God if this is all done via natural human machinations.
But you said you think spirituality is important...Well, yes, I do! And I even have my own preferred spiritual beliefs: Christian Gnosticism. But this belief, like any other one, should only exist in the spheres of academia--a place that should be used as a gathering of minds to discuss and debate spiritual ideas--and that should be the only official residence of humanities endless and ubiquitous spiritual claims. And please, keep spirituality out of the marketplace! It's the last bloody thing we need at this time! Believe in any bloody thing you want but keep spirituality out of politics, economics, and the financial marketplace. Doing this may save humanity and the earth!
A note on small alternative spiritual communities. They should be allowed as long as they are isolated. Independent and very knowledgeable academics could monitor all these communities for toxicity and abuse; as long as they are keeping to themselves and are not a threat but a positive influence in the lives of practitioners then I don't see the harm in them--they could even be ecologically good for the earth...