11.2.3 Working definition of philosophy of life

The concept of philosophy of life in the broad sense is often used as an umbrella term for both religious and secular views on life, including spirituality, but in my study, I have limited this concept to the secular subcategories. This concept of 'philosophy of life' in the narrow sense is a residual category that distinguishes it from religion and spirituality. This residual category includes all world views, visions of life, opinions and beliefs that do not belong to religion and spirituality and in which the meaning and significance of human existence is central. I include here, for example, the Western variant of Buddhism, Freemasonry and Humanism. Occasionally, I have used the term 'philosophy of life' as an umbrella term. Where this is the case, I have explicitly mentioned that.