Let’s talk about “spiritual but not religious.” Sure, you’re free to call yourself that, but for me, this classification comes with some red flags. For example, in the world of social media memes, there is a large subgenre that I have come to call “religion drool, spirituality rules,” which asserts the superiority of spirituality over religion. According to the meme, spiritual people are smarter, more open-minded, more inclusive, more caring, more virtuous, and perhaps even better-looking than religious people. Well, well, it might not look good. But definitely everything else.
I say these memes are classic examples of logical fallacies. Over the years, I’ve known many traditionally religious people as well as people who devote themselves to spiritual pursuits, but I can’t say which group is more or less. anything than other groups. Many religious people are honest, inclusive, open-minded, and have other positive traits. And the freelancers I know seem to be more or less susceptible to self-delusion, tribalism, and frivolous attitudes just like everyone else.
Spirituality, not religion: Why is this happening?
religion It’s a wide variety of things. When I dig into the objections that SBNR people have to religion, most of the time those objections apply to certain parts of modern Christianity, and perhaps even parts of Judaism and Islam. It’s true, but it’s not really a religion. itself. In my experience, people in SBNR tend to have limited experience with religions other than the religions they were raised with or the religions they have seen on TV. In fact, the world’s traditions that are classified as religions are so diverse that the academic field of religious studies is unable to settle on a definition of what religion is. See “Defining Religion and Why It’s Difficult.” Although the English dictionary defines religion as belief in and worship of God or other supernatural powers, many Asian traditions (Buddhism being a prime example) do not fit that definition. not.
The rise of “spiritual but not religious” people appears to be paralleling the rise of “nonreligious people,” a rapidly growing number of people in the United States who have no religious affiliation. A 1972 poll found that about 90 percent of the American people were Christian. According to Pew Research, about 63 percent of Americans now identify as Christian. Not all non-religious people describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious,” but many do. It’s possible that what we’re seeing here is increasing alienation from Christian institutions, but we need more data than I’ve seen so far to determine that. Collection and other research will be required. And there may be other social and cultural factors that we are unaware of. But let’s talk about red flags.
Spiritual but not religious: Take this meme
There are endless types of “religion drool, spirituality rules” memes, including images showing fish in a fishbowl (religion) and fish in the sea (spirituality). The meme claims that religion is based on fear and restriction, but spirituality is based on love and freedom. Religion teaches people to fear hell, but spirituality teaches people to create heaven on earth. Religion divides people. Spirituality unites them. Really? But this week, something particularly egregious emerged on social media. It says, “Religious people do what they are told, no matter what is right. Spiritual people, on the other hand, do what is right no matter what they are told.” I was there. This received many likes and supportive comments.
Hogwash. Who told Martin Luther King Jr. to lead a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge? Who told Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor in Nazi Germany, to stand up to Hitler? And what exactly does it mean to “unite” people by claiming that one group is superior to another? Moreover, all human atrocities in history probably began with the idea:my people are better than other people” Those who pride themselves on being one of the cool spiritual kids are falling into the same divisiveness and exclusivity that makes religion “evil.” So much for superiority.
Of course, it is true that some religious people are assholes, and religious groups are just as susceptible to corruption as any other group. Most of the world’s religions have been around for centuries, if not thousands of years. They have a long and troubled history, filled with both darkness and light, wisdom and ignorance. The concept of “spiritual but not religious” has not been around long enough to be proven. It may turn out to be a positive thing. But first we need to clarify what it is.
Definition of terms
Until relatively recently, this word religion and spirituality are nearly synonymous and are often used interchangeably with the same meaning. I’ve been trying to track exactly when the two terms began to diverge. I don’t know if anyone knows, but many people point to his 1960s counterculture. Given the counterculture’s antipathy toward all “establishments,” this is quite possible.
Academic papers discussing “spiritual but not religious” almost always cite a 1997 anthropopolitical study entitled “Religion and Spirituality: Clarifying the Ambiguities.” There is. Religious Science Research Journal, 36, 549-564. Brian J. Zinnbauer, Kenneth I. Pargament, Brenda Cole, Mark S. Rye, Eric M. Buffer, Timothy G. Beravich, Kathleen Hipp, Allie B. Scott, Jill L. Written by Kader. You can download the PDF from the link on this page. It’s worth reading if you’re interested in this subject.
“Historically, spirituality was not distinct from religiosity until the rise of secularism in this century,” the authors say. “However, as spirituality has become distinct from religiosity, it has incorporated some of the elements formally included within religiosity. In particular, spirituality is now associated with “the personal experience of the transcendent,” and religion is seen as a hindrance to such experience. And my suspicion is that this speaks to something missing in our modern religious systems.
Some things cannot be separated
As I wrote in a previous post about definitions, religionone of the Latin roots of religion, religion, refers to conscience, loyalty, and sincerity. It was more about actions and actions than beliefs. Some scholars say the word religion has another Latin root. religion, This means bondage, especially of something separated, such as a human being from a transcendent being.words spirituality It is of Latin origin Spiritusmeaning breathing. Spirituality is about life. It is also spirit. It makes sense to associate spirituality with transcendental experiences.
My concern is that religion and spirituality need each other. Religion without spirituality is a kind of strange intellectual exercise with lots of rules. But spirituality without the direction provided by some doctrinal background or tradition can easily become an empty search for a transcendental “fix.” I say this as someone who has studied Zen Buddhism for many years. Zen Buddhism is not about faith, but about direct experience. This path is full of dead ends and rabbit holes, but you can also look to the guidance of those who have gone before you.
But let’s see. This is a big topic that probably needs to be revisited.
