About the Project

The project Spirituality as the Foundation of a Sustainable Future (DUHOBUD) explores the role of spirituality—both in its religious forms (especially Christian) and in its secular expressions—as a fundamental component in shaping a sustainable future.

Over the past few decades, spirituality and spiritual development have become increasingly prominent topics among scholars. Today, spirituality is widely recognized as a resource and an important factor across many areas of human life and activity. 
The starting point of the research is the conviction that a truly sustainable future cannot be achieved without spiritual development, which includes a person’s connection with their inner self, with other people, with the created world, and with the transcendent. 

The aim of the project is to analyze how spiritual values influence the formation of awareness regarding the meaning of human life, environmental responsibility, social justice, and intergenerational responsibility; how spirituality can motivate individuals toward responsible behavior; and how spirituality can be learned—that is, which methods support learning and growth in spirituality.  

Achieving the goals of a sustainable future requires a shift in focus from material consumption toward deeper spiritual and moral values. Special emphasis is placed on the role of education in promoting these values through the integration of the spiritual dimension into educational content and pedagogical approaches. 

Through interdisciplinary analysis and empirical research, the project seeks to offer concrete guidelines for strengthening a culture of responsibility, coexistence, and meaningful action as the foundation of a sustainable future that places the human person—and their connectedness with themselves (“living before death”), with others, with nature, and with transcendence—at its center. 

The project is funded by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2021–2026, and is led by Prof. Ružica Razum, PhD. 

What do we study?

Research Areas

Scholarly Interest in Spirituality: Theoretical Research and Literature Review

  • Scholarly interest in spirituality and the openness of science to dialogue with the religious and spiritual sphere. 
  • Spirituality across different academic disciplines (theology, philosophy, art, literature, psychology, social work, etc.). 
Religious and Secular Spirituality
  • Religion, religiosity, and spirituality. 
  • Religious spirituality. 
  • Non-religious (secular) concepts of spirituality. 
  • Concepts of religious and secular spirituality in education. 
  • Religious and spiritual literacy. 

Christian Spirituality

  • Terminological clarifications (religiosity, spirituality, Christian spirituality, devotion, etc.). 
  • The relationship between Christian spirituality and the spiritual traditions and practices of other religions. 
  • Analysis of key Catholic Church documents. 
  • Methods of learning and growth in spirituality, with particular emphasis on Christian spirituality. 

Sustainable Future and Spirituality

  • Analysis of existing theories and literature on sustainable development and spirituality. 
  • Identification of key spiritual values that can contribute to sustainable practices. 
  • Integration of spirituality into sustainable development. 
Spirituality in Education
  • The question of spirituality in education: education for spiritual development in a context of materialism and consumerism, and within a school system focused on measurable learning outcomes, particularly cognitive outcomes. 
  • Documents (ecclesial and secular). 
  • Religious education, spirituality (spiritual development and spiritual learning), and sustainable development and the future. 
  • Initial education and professional training of educators and teachers for promoting spiritual values and the spiritual development of children and young people. 
  • How to learn to be spiritual. 

Research Methods

Theoretical framework and literature analysis

  • Review and analysis of domestic and foreign literature on spirituality (religious and secular), sustainable development and their interdependence  
  • Comparative analysis of different spiritualities (Christian, secular, philosophical…) and their relationship to sustainability values  
  • Analysis of Catholic church documents, documents important for education and educational manuals, textbooks, teaching materials  

 

Quantitative Research – Survey Study

  • Design of questionnaires and their distribution among primary and secondary school teachers, as well as early childhood educators in preschool institutions. 
  • Processing and analysis of results. 

Qualitative Research – Semi-Structured Interviews and Focus Groups

  • Semi-structured interviews and focus groups: interviews focus on more narrowly defined topics and selected groups of participants chosen on the basis of the survey research. 
  • Interpretation of data. 

Implementation

Analysis of Results and Development of Recommendations

  • Summary presentation of findings from all research components. 
  • Development of concrete recommendations for sustainable development (future-oriented) policies grounded in spiritual values.