The problem is that ideals are not absolutes and a referent is an ideal. A locus of attention.

Truth, beauty, platonic forms are ideals. The core codes, creeds, heroes, narratives at the gravitational center of every culture are ideals.

The universal, on the other hand, is the elemental. So a spiritual absolute would be the essence of sentience, from which we rise, not an ideal of wisdom and judgement, from which we fell. The light shining through the film, than the stories playing out on it.

Morality is not absolute, as it couldn't be transgressed if it were. Like a temperature below absolute zero.

Morals are the ideals, the codes, behaviors, cultures, beliefs, etc. that enable a healthy society.

Ideals are the points of light between the absolute and the infinite.

https://medium.com/@johnbrodixmerrymanjr/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-western-mind-906dc73cffe2