What exactly does it mean to be "spiritual" but not religious?

[Arch]

Just as the subject line says. I'm really only looking for agnostic/atheist/nonreligious/areligious responses. But if you're religious and have a conception of spirituality that does not intersect with your religious beliefs--if that's possible?--by all means chime in.

[Hauser]

errm...in order to explain my take on it, i have to ask a question first.

How familiar are you with Daoist philosophy?

[Arch]

Only a little, so explain away.

[tekla]

You go to nature, not to a church.

[Hauser]

there's a passage in the Dao that (loosely..all chinese to english translations are loose) goes

"if you mold a cup, you must make a hollow: it is the emptiness within it that makes it useful"

which could be interpreted a number of ways.  but to me i see an ideal of being passive in one's sense of greater things. it is a refusal to define what is too great to be defined that shows a proper respect for it.

that's a sort of...understatement of the century way to explain it..but the essence of my non religious spirituality lies in there being no definitions or names for "..........." that is beyond human capacity.

It stems from my position of empiricism. I need hard evidence to believe something. However i cannot deny certain feelings i have. so i simply accept them.

that's it. i accept. there's nothing i can reliably place belief in. the question of belief in a specific definition of deity or even just a general idea of something greater...without the capability to empirically define it..is imo disrespectful to the potential of higher....something.

[Constance]

You go to nature, not to a church.

This.

[Bombi]

I think spirituality is part of your reaction to the world vs self. Spirituality is in you, a communication between your brain and your heart in effort to make things real and help to create an understanding of your life and life in general that seems as logical and understandable in relation to you, your space and your interaction with the physical world. I develop and explore spiritual feeling through nature, meditation,and occasionally emotion. It is kind of like going inside and seeing what is really there and dealing with it, for me. A lot of acid in my younger years had an effect on my spirituality. My mind is way more useful when it's empty.
Does this make any sense? No more acid just meditation, now.

Religion is buying into a program, usually with rigid parameters that one must believe in and follow. Sort of a faith based suspension of reality with some vague promise of a reward of sorts, upon termination of life.

[Jamie-o]

"Spiritual, but not religious" is the designation I usually use because, although I do believe in a higher power, I'm not convinced of any particular religion's definition of that power.  Is it a God or a Goddess? Or a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses?  Is it an energy force?  Or an untapped portion of the human mind?  I don't pretend to know.  My suspicion is that it is all of those things, and yet none of them.  That it is something beyond human comprehension, or at least beyond the ability of language to describe.

[Arch]

People's definitions of spirituality seem to be all over the map.

Keep 'em coming...

[glendagladwitch]

spiritual but not religious = crazy but indecisive

[Arch]

spiritual but not religious = crazy but indecisive

Post Merge: June 17, 2010, 12:21:09 AM

You go to nature, not to a church.

So instead of feeling a god calling to you, you feel a call of nature?

[Miniar]

Dictionary to the rescue!!

spir·i·tu·al    (spĭr'ĭ-chōō-əl)   
adj.

   1.      Of, relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; not tangible or material. See Synonyms at immaterial.
   2.      Of, concerned with, or affecting the soul.
   3.      Of, from, or relating to God; deific.
   4.      Of or belonging to a church or religion; sacred.
   5.      Relating to or having the nature of spirits or a spirit; supernatural.


re·li·gion
   /rɪˈlɪdʒən/ Show Spelled[ri-lij-uhn] Show IPA
–noun
1.   a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.
2.   a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.

Underlining the specific things that people "tend" to refer to when they call themselves spiritual but not religious and there you go.

"roughly"
A spiritual person has personal beliefs concerning the "non-physical" such as a soul/spirit, gods, "metaphysical energy" and etc, etc.
A religious person has a specific "manual for life" that originate withing their religion which they haven't created for themselves and observes rituals pertaining to those/that.

Most religious folk are spiritual and most spiritual folk are at least a little religious.
When people say they are spiritual but not religious they refer to not belonging to an organization, having their own manual for life though it may be inspired by a religious one, and/or not being invested in anyone else's rituals.

[Arch]

Most religious folk are spiritual and most spiritual folk are at least a little religious.
When people say they are spiritual but not religious they refer to not belonging to an organization, having their own manual for life though it may be inspired by a religious one, and/or not being invested in anyone else's rituals.

My main reason for asking is a conversation I had quite some time ago. I was reminded of it by recent discussions here in the Atheism forum. In my town, we have a trans/intersex group that focuses on spiritual/religious stuff. Someone asked me if I was going to start going, and I said that I was in no way religious; she responded that it was a spiritual group and I didn't have to be religious to be spiritual; I said that I didn't consider myself to be spiritual, either, and that pretty much ended that conversation.

The thing is, the name of the group says nothing about religion or Christianity--just spirituality--whereas the capsule description is manifestly Christian. The capsule starts off with a statement that the group exists to help people "grow in [their] spirituality," but then it later talks about God's love and our being "one in Christ." Furthermore, the group meets at a church that is nondenominational but distinctly Christian. What am I supposed to think? I think it's a nondenominational Christian group for trans and intersex people.

I have to admit that even if it isn't, I'm not interested. But now I am trying to tease out the notion of nonreligious spirituality and get a better grasp of it.

[Miniar]

Well, it's fairly common for a highly religious group, or even person, to call itself "spiritual" and not religious as a way to say "You don't have to go to church" (or in some way attempt to distance themselves from the negative connotations of religion), even if the group is actually quite specifically religious. Like you described.

[lightvi]

Yup I'm SBNR, because I think most organized religion is full of bs rules and all they really care about how is good they look though I'm sure there are exeptions so no offense to anyone ^ ^

There's a facebook page on it
http://www.facebook.com/SBNR.org

[Crow]

"Spiritual, but not religious" is the designation I usually use because, although I do believe in a higher power, I'm not convinced of any particular religion's definition of that power.  Is it a God or a Goddess? Or a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses?  Is it an energy force?  Or an untapped portion of the human mind?  I don't pretend to know.  My suspicion is that it is all of those things, and yet none of them.  That it is something beyond human comprehension, or at least beyond the ability of language to describe.

This.

That being said, I find many religious gathering places/events/practices to be wonderful venues for both spirituality and culture, therefore I'm entirely open to attending such things because it tends to be both enjoyable and eye-opening. I don't participate in religious events because they make me feel closer to god(s) or to fulfill some kind of religious expectation-- I do so because it helps me to understand how other people experience their own spiritualities. Although I do occassionally go to churches/temples/etc. and participate in religious holidays/festivals, I don't really claim any given religion.

Mostly I just feel like there's something wonderful enough about the universe to be in awe of how it all works, regardless of whether it's the universe in and of itself or some deit(ies) or force(s) that created it... or any combination thereof.

[Arch]

I think I'm starting to get more of a feel for this...thanks for the responses so far.

I don't have much experience with churches. When I was about four, my family went to church and I went to Sunday school. I have vague memories of enjoying the activities and the stories. Then, when I was five, my mother got sick. I guess that's when we stopped going. At that age, I started feeling smug about my "beliefs." One day, another kid on the block came home from church or Sunday school and was sharing a sort of indoctrination booklet...you know, a sort of softcover book with pictures on every page and lots of true-to-life-style moral lessons about how Johnny learned to share his toys or Janey learned that God is watching over all of us.

I remember flipping through that book and thinking something like, "Yeah, right." I guess that's when I really understood what church was about. At the same time, I didn't feel any kind of pull toward religion; quite the opposite. I felt contempt for my friend and contempt for the storiettes and contempt for Sunday school...

I used to correct my parents' grammar and punctuation, too, although that started a year or two later. I suppose I was an intolerable prig.

When I was six or seven, we went to church for a few months, and my parents sat me down with my brother and asked us if we would like to continue. We both said, "No," and that was that. With the exception of a few weeks in junior high, when I tried really hard (but unsuccessfully) to believe, well, no more religion for Arch. It was the right choice for me.

When I was ten or eleven, I was riding out in the countryside, feeling as if my horse and I were one entity, and enjoying the open sky and the breeze on my face. Maybe it was a spiritual moment. Or the closest I have ever come to one.

[Nicky]

Mmm, I would say I am spiritual but not religious.

I don't believe in any religion. They are just a human creations, I was raised catholic and it just seemed so weird to me - the ritualistic canibilism, people saying how good they were when I knew they were not, sharing herpes with a cup of wine. I did believe in the christian god untill I was about 12. I liked wearing the alter boy 'dresses', I liked the singing.

But I do feel I have a spirituality - being able to get in touch with something that is not flesh. Not that I really know, it is just a feeling. Like an orgasim that leaves you blind for a time, or watching a sunset on your own on top of a mountain, or eating something so heavenly you feel uplifted by it. I do think there is also a kind of power in faith, regardless of what it is in. It can drive you to do things you would not otherwise do.

[FairyGirl]

I don't get making a distinction between spiritual and secular. Religion is just the trappings as vexing pointed out. I tell people I am a pantheist universalist Taoist animist fairy pagan (which just about sums it all up) but I don't really believe in a deity as such. Does that make me an atheist? I see no difference between spiritual and anything else, as it's basically all spiritual. Religion seems to be missing the whole point somehow.

I strive hard to follow my heart in all things. Heart, soul, spirit, whatever you want to call it. Being in touch and getting in touch with your inner self by whatever means works for you is what I think of as spiritual. I don't need religion to give me a moral compass, my moral compass works just fine without the big fat magnet of religion to throw it to hell and gone. Religious folk tend to be too obsessed with worrying about my morals. Those who are truly spiritual seem to be more concerned with worrying about their own.

[glendagladwitch]

So instead of feeling a god calling to you, you feel a call of nature?

nice one

in soviet russia, horse sees man about you