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In an attempt to understand what the question of “religion vs. spirituality” is all about, I went to beliefnet.com, probably the foremost internet site on things spiritual. According to their test “What’s your spiritual type?”, I am a “spiritual straddler”. The only explanation for that strange term is that supposedly I have “One foot in traditional religion, one foot in free-form spirituality.”
I’m not jumping up and down with joy about receiving this label although, come to think of it, it’s at least not inaccurate.
The obvious truth is that it’s not easy to talk about spirituality. It is easier to talk about religion. I can immediately think of all kinds of things to say about religion. That it has created great problems, how it’s connected to politics, how it is often a source of comfort, how similar the so-called “great religions” are, etc. It’s a topic that everyone has much to say about.
Let’s compare that to spirituality. In a way, it is a word like “fog” – you can recognize it but you can’t catch it.
Robert C. Fuller says this:
A large number of Americans identify themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” It is likely that perhaps one in every five persons (roughly half of all the unchurched) could describe themselves in this way. This phrase probably means different things to different people. The confusion stems from the fact that the words “spiritual” and “religious” are really synonyms. Both connote belief in a Higher Power of some kind. Both also imply a desire to connect, or enter into a more intense relationship, with this Higher Power. And, finally, both connote interest in rituals, practices, and daily moral behaviors that foster such a connection or relationship.
These are interesting ideas, although I would not agree with all of them, or with the conviction with which Fuller says them.
For example, I think one can be spiritual without that emphasis on a higher power. While I personally have grown accustomed to that term, I think there are other ways to look at the guiding good principles that are important to people who are spiritual.
These principles do not necessarily need to be “higher” and they do not have to be a “power”. Also, this emphasis would leave out many Buddhists. While there are numerous forms of Buddhism that allow for the idea of a higher power – Pure Land Buddhism, for example – there are also many, Zen Buddhists among them, who reject the idea of a higher power. Are they not spiritual?
It also seems to me that some atheists are spiritual, in a certain way. If being spiritual means following good, life-affirming principles, then any atheist would be a spiritual person who passionately believes in, and lives, a life that includes helping others, being honest, and sharing oneself. I am thinking of a few university professors I had who were outspokenly and openly atheist and yet lived just such a life.
A higher power, a god, a supreme being, is just not everyone’s cup of tea. I also remember a pastor I once knew who was a fervent human rights and social activist and who had a really hard time talking about more esoteric matters such as prayer, life after death, etc. Maybe at heart he was a spiritual atheist, too – who knows.
Let’s see what else Mr. Fuller has to say:
A group of social scientists studied 346 people representing a wide range of religious backgrounds in an attempt to clarify what is implied when individuals describe themselves as “spiritual, but not religious.” Religiousness, they found, was associated with higher levels of interest in church attendance and commitment to orthodox beliefs. Spirituality, in contrast, was associated with higher levels of interest in mysticism, experimentation with unorthodox beliefs and practices, and negative feelings toward both clergy and churches. Most respondents in the study tried to integrate elements of religiousness and spirituality. Yet 19 percent of their sample constituted a separate category best described as “spiritual, not religious.” Compared with those who connected interest in private spirituality with membership in a public religious group, the “spiritual, but not religious” group was less likely to
- evaluate religiousness positively
- engage in traditional forms of worship such as church attendance and prayer
- engage in group experiences related to spiritual growthand more likely to
- be agnostic
- characterize religiousness and spirituality as different and non-overlapping concepts
- hold nontraditional beliefs
- have had mystical experiences.Those who see themselves as “spiritual, but not religious” reject traditional organized religion as the sole — or even the most valuable — means of furthering their spiritual growth. Many have had negative experiences with churches or church leaders.
For example, they may have perceived church leaders as more concerned with building an organization than promoting spirituality, as hypocritical, or as narrow-minded. Some may have experienced various forms of emotional or even sexual abuse.
It looks like I am in the company of at least 346 people who do not like spirituality to be equated with religion. What about you?
And if you find that spirituality is a foggy concept to you, what do you do about it? I personally have struggled with this for many years, going through a number of – should I say it: “incarnations”. Today I feel relatively comfortable, walking a path that is informed by my liberal Lutheran roots, Christian Mysticism, the Buddhism I have been drawn to since I was a teenager, Pagan approaches, the principles inherent in the 12 steps – and all this mixed in with a healthy dose of the skepticism. For today, this works for me.
I have been able to help a number of people sort through some of the questions in their spiritual quest. Let me know if I can help you with that, too.
Isabella Mori
moritherapy
Counselling in Vancouver
11 responses so far ↓
1 Tejvan Pettinger // Nov 29, 2007 at 11:16 pm
I think there is a difference between spirituality and religion. Religion tends to place greater emphasis on outer forms and religious texts. Spirituality tends to place greater emphasis on inner spiritual practice like meditation. I wrote an article on religions vs spirituality here:
http://www.biographyonline.net/spiritual/articles/religion_vs_spirituality.html
2 Marc Olmsted // Jan 8, 2008 at 2:21 pm
For me, spritituality is when you have faith; religion is when you have faith IN something.
I consider myself a spiritual person because I am willing for there to be a God or not–there’s a humility in “I don’t know” that for me is divine. Relgious people seem much more preoccupied with certainty. that want hard and firm answers. For me, that slides rather easily into dogmatism, which ends up being the antithesis of spirituality.
3 isabella mori // Jan 8, 2008 at 2:43 pm
that is beautiful: the humility of “i don’t know” as a divine experience.
thank you.
4 Lee Down // Jan 18, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Hi Isabella
Thanks for stopping by my blog today. I quite agree - it is rather poetic and inspiring.
I was delighted to drop by and see what you are doing also. Naturally, with my irked search of years into the topics of spirituality and religion, I was very pleased and encouraged to see you tackling some of this heady subject matter too.
Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone just learnt what Love really is in all its’ encompassing nature, nuances, and contradictions. That, to me, is far closer to Spiritual than anything.
So much more I’d like to express and explore with you but time is a crunch at the moment. Glad to stop by and connect with another like-minded spirit.
Best wishes, Lee
Lee Down’s last blog post..Freedom Promotes Growth | Boundaries Accelerate Focus
5 Debbie Cannatella // Jan 27, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Could it be that some who say they are spiritual but not religious reject aspects of a creedal faith with a set of beleifs? For me, spirituality is about a “personal”, individual experience of the heart and senses and mind, something I cannot often put words to. Religion is about my “communal” experience, the coming together with a similar purpose. The overwhelming percentage of ‘one type’ of religion in America should not be allowed to dictate the very nature of what religion is. Many non-Christian are religious as well, though some hesitate to define themselves as religious in order to separate from the conformity of a dogma or a closed system of beliefs.
6 Lee Down // Jan 27, 2008 at 4:07 pm
I saw your comment come to my Inbox Debbie and I had to come for a visit to reply.
I love the inclusiveness that your analysis brings to your point-of-view. I couldn’t agree with you more. No matter how we slice and dice it, people are doing the best they can with what they got amidst a bunch of bits of pieces of information, culture, conflict, and so on. So really, as you said, we’re all doing the same thing in different ways.
Lee Down’s last blog post..IMG_4966 [Flickr]
7 isabella mori // Jan 29, 2008 at 10:24 am
lee - sorry it took me a while to reply to this.
what you said reminded me a bit of what i explored in this post, i don’t believe in god. maybe what i call “goodness” there is similar to love?
debbie, thanks for coming to visit here! i wholeheartedly agree with what you’re saying here:
“the overwhelming percentage of ‘one type’ of religion in america should not be allowed to dictate the very nature of what religion is.”
it shouldn’t dictate what religion is, and it shouldn’t dictate what christianity is.
i also think that the communal experience of spirituality is very important, and it’s a real challenge in our times, for so many reasons. perhaps something to write a post about one day …
8 P. J. // Feb 16, 2008 at 11:55 pm
For me, Fuller’s comments were dead on when he said, “Many have had negative experiences with churches…” Even as a teenager attending church–at my parents insistence–there seemed to be something very “wrong with that picture” and I couldn’t understand why all the adults couldn’t see the hypocrisy that was present.
As soon as I left home and got out on my own, I also left the church. Then after having several spontaneous experiences of precognition, the exploration into the phenomenon behind them lead me to my present beliefs. Now I’m very comfortable when I tell people that I’m “spiritual but not religious” and am a strong proponent of “live and let live.”
Wish more people were.
9 garry // Mar 6, 2008 at 8:11 pm
I am so glad I discovered this Blog! My life has been a spiritual journey from unthinking protestantism (through my parents’ insistence) to perplexed catholicism (converted when I got married) to bewildered spirituality!
I’m a retired college teacher who is creating a website about healing “toxic energy”. One of my series of pages will discuss “toxic spiritual energy”, and a major point will be that organized religion is too often a toxic energy source for people.
Interestingly enough, the energy-based healing system I practise seems to be able to address the trauma of toxic religiosity even though I (the supposed healer) am not terribly clear or congruent on religion and spirituality. These and similar posts, plus the work of Bishop John Spong are helping me clarify my thinking around this dilemma.
I’ll return to this Blog and this thread often to see if I can clarify my thinking on the matter of bewildered spirituality. Then I’ll try to reflect my newfound “intelligence” in my webpages.
Garry Worger from
toxic-energy-healing-therapy.com
10 Wanda // Mar 28, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Religion is God explained, varies teachings - which are mind things, outward signs and practices - such as rituals, and create diveristy and prejudice among people. Now spirituality on the other hand is God experienced, a feeling - a heart thing, the presence of inner peace and grace, and it creates simplicity and harmony in ones life.
11 Larry L. McFall // Jun 6, 2008 at 3:02 am
The subject of being Spiritual or Religious can be mind boggling. I feel to be Spiritual you believe that there is in-deed a supreme being and forces that not only created life as we know it but, play a part in our daily activities. In relation to Spiritual belief, you can be religious if you systematical worship that supreme being and truely believe that you will get eternal results. Being Spiritual usally does not give you the same results in inner peace or satisfaction as being religious where as, you believe that your religion provides the path and/or the answer to eternal life. Spirituality is the belief that there is a higher power and being Religious is to connect with that higher power.
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