The phenomena of people calling themselves “spiritual but not religious” is not new but it is a growing reality. It is tempting for those who consider religion important to dismiss people who use this descriptor for themselves as somehow being less committed or “wishy washy”. My experience is that this is simply not the case.
Those who have taken on this descriptor have something important to teach us. Listening to those who call themselves “spiritual but not religious” what you often find are people who are deeply committed to spiritual practice but with no interest in the dogma that comes along with traditional religion.
Truth be told I see a great deal of wisdom in the distinction that they are making. Though I see great value in the shared history and guidance that religion can offer us, we must recognize that the heart of religion is in spiritual practice. We can go to worship all we want and hear stories about being compassionate, be told we need to be more loving, and sing songs about being a more just world but if we do not cultivate these attitudes within ourselves and in our daily lives than that worship is hollow.
It is exactly this talk without action that those who have taken on the “spiritual but not religious “ moniker are reacting against. The tricky thing about being a spiritual person is the more you learn, the less you realize you know. If we are to be compassionate people we must spend time cultivating compassion in ourselves everyday. If we are going to loving people we must meditate on love all the time. If we are going to act with justice we must incorporate justice into the fiber of our being.
It is this that faith is about, not about simply believing something but practicing to make the values mentioned above a part of our deepest being. We need to fight less about doctrine and focus more on cultivating those values that are at the heart of the religion that we practice. Maybe it would be smart for all of us to be more spiritual and less religious.
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