Upon its release, Jonathan Livingston Seagull soared to the top of bestseller lists, capturing the imagination of a generation. Despite its commercial triumph, however, the novel failed to attract significant scholarly attention, a situation that persists to this day. The book's decline in critical regard is not simply due to its overwhelming popularity but also stems from its entanglement with a specific cultural moment in late twentieth-century America. This era, reaching its zenith in the early 1970s, was characterized by a blending of Eastern philosophical ideas with Western religious traditions, aiming to forge a more universal understanding of spirituality.

The themes of Jonathan Livingston Seagull resonate with this cultural backdrop, echoing a quest for personal enlightenment and transcendence that was prevalent during that time. The novel’s exploration of self-discovery and spiritual growth aligns it with other influential works of the period, such as Robert M. Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974). Pirsig's book delves into the reconciliation of conflicting parts of one's psyche, mirroring the era's introspective and integrative spiritual pursuits.

While the 1980s saw a waning of this particular spiritual quest, it was not entirely extinguished. The themes continued to surface in later works like Benjamin Hoff’s The Tao of Pooh (1982) and The Te of Piglet (1992), which carried forward the legacy of blending Eastern and Western spiritual ideologies. These works suggest that while the cultural movement may have diminished, its impact lingers in contemporary spiritual discourse.

Richard Bach, the author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, further explored similar spiritual and philosophical themes in subsequent works, including Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977) and Running from Safety (1994). These books delve into the journey towards personal wisdom and the importance of imparting such insights to others, continuing the dialogue on the nature of enlightenment and the pursuit of deeper understanding.