Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Looking Closer

Home
Religious Music & Entertainment
Spiritual, Not Religious?

Spiritual, Not Religious?

Last updated on: September 30, 2012 at 9:55 pm by Jeffrey Overstreet

Spiritual, Not Religious? 2012-09-30T21:55:26-06:00 Jeffrey Overstreet

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

It occurred to me this morning, when I heard somebody answer a question with words I’ve heard a thousand times: To say “I’m spiritual but not religious” is like saying…

… “I speak, but I don’t stoop to using any… you know… language.”

And to say that, of course, would be a self-contradiction, because you just said something. In a language.

If you have any assumptions about spiritual matters, those are religious beliefs. Beliefs cannot be shapeless. They have definition. Some might have more definition than others. But if you believe it, it has a shape. It might be a strange shape. It might be sloppy and stuck together with Scotch tape. But it has some kind of outline.

Try it. Try to express something without any definition, without any limitation, without any character.

When people tell me that they’re “spiritual but not religious,” I think that many of them are saying they know that what they are and what they do have spiritual significance. They know that they are spiritual beings. But they are afraid of investigating these matters. Because if the spirit and the body have anything to do with one another, things get complicated.

If you face up to your assumptions about spiritual matters — where the universe comes from, why we exist, whether or not we have freewill, matters of right and wrong, the meaning (or meaninglessness) of life — then you might realize that these assumptions have implications for your life. If you believe in freewill, for example, then that means you have some control over your life, and your life is not being determined by somebody else. If you believe in right and wrong, then you have some responsibility to make good choices. If you don’t believe in right and wrong, you have no right to complain about anybody else… ever… at all.

When I hear “I’m spiritual, but not religious,” I often hear anxiety and fear. And that makes sense. People don’t want to be branded or boxed in. They don’t want us to make assumptions about them.

Me, I’m a believer in Jesus Christ, but I get uncomfortable when strangers learn that I’m a Christian because I wonder what they will assume about me. Will they think that they know how I vote? Will they think I’m judgmental?

Still, I refuse to make my faith private. And I’m saddened when I hear, as I so often here when I’m interviewing artists, “I’m spiritual, but my spirituality is very private. I don’t talk about it.” That’s like saying “I do have clothes, but I don’t actually, you know… wear the clothes. They’re private.”

If you have spiritual convictions… if you truly believe something… it will be evident in the shape of your life, the decisions you make, the way you engage with the world around you. If you have beliefs, they have a shape and a form, and you behave accordingly… to some degree.

And that is religion. It may be entirely your own, but it is religion.

Why would you have a policy of keeping secret what is arguably the most important and fundamental aspect of your life? Again, I could be wrong, but I think such a policy suggests fear.

And fear about such things probably comes from a fear of being judged.

I hope that I’m not the kind of person who would make anyone feel afraid to talk about their beliefs. I don’t want to be judgmental. But I do have a desire to get to know my neighbors. To hear about their suspicions, questions, convictions, and passions. I do want to have conversations with people as we all fumble our way toward the Truth.

I’m saddened when people say they’re “spiritual” but not “religious” because that sounds so Gnostic to me: it suggests that spirituality is just a notion that has no real connection to the world. That’s insulting to the physical world. It suggests that creation is meaningless, that the material world is empty. But everything we say and do suggests otherwise. As human beings, we are people who make things incarnate. I believe it is one of the ways we know we’re children of God: we’re creators. We embody things. We make words flesh. Our ideas are inseparable from the language that allows us to share them. To express mysterious things, we talk about material things. Our beliefs are inseparable from the actions we take, because we act based on assumptions. We take steps of faith.

All of us are living in faith, and in religious behavior, from the most insistent atheist to the most tentative Christian. It takes a lot of faith to believe that the universe is meaningless. It takes a lot of faith to believe that things are accidental. It takes a lot of faith to believe that there is a God, and that he loves us.

At least, it seems that way to me.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could discuss the most important things in life without fear of being judged?

And wouldn’t it be great if folks like me, who like to ramble on and hold forth, were as eager to listen as we were to preach and rant and blog?

Blog

"Spiritual But Not Religious"

Christianity

Religion

Previous Post

September 2, 2011

Over the Rhine will orchestrate the sunset in Seattle on Monday

Next Post

September 6, 2011 Monday Night is Malick Night!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Bloggers on "Through a Screen Darkly" Browser Coming Soon Endorsements Fiction Books Film Forum Film Reviews Inspirations Interviews Journal Kindlings Muse Movie buzz Music Reviews Non-Fiction Books radio Reviewers on "Through a Screen Darkly" The Auralia Thread Through a Screen Darkly Through a Screen Darkly - Bonus Materials Top 10 (or 20 or 100) lists Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 July 2003 May 2003 March 2003 September 1999

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What did Satan claim was the reason for Job’s faithfulness?

Select your answer to see how you score.

That Job had personally seen God That Job was unaware of suffering That Job was a prophet That God had blessed him with wealth and protection