Can a person be "spiritual" but not "religious"?
Many people label themselves "Spiritual" while rejecting religion. What does this mean, and can a person be truly "spiritual" without a religious identity?
Posted By Swryght on October 21, 2007
Define Religion. Because religion usually states that a person must act...
Posted By eastwind on October 26, 2007
Say a man is born without ANY religious influence. Is it possible for h...
Posted By Radkhat on October 26, 2007
Spirituality is possible without religion, but it's much more difficult ...
Posted By Swryght on November 6, 2007
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Yes, you can be spiritual but not religious
Spirituality is possible without religion, but it's much more difficult than most assume.
-- Posted By Swryght on November 6, 2007You have to come to terms with who you are first, and be able of separating good from bad. This is a faculty that is developed over time through a person's life. A person may be spiritual without religion, but only when they have transcended religion.
Define Religion. Because religion usually states that a person must act in a certain way.
-- Posted By eastwind on October 26, 2007However a person who is aware of things beyond the physical can be called a spiritual person. This can happen without any uniform worship of a god (religion). Religion is a thing of "action". Spirituality is an awareness with or without action. .
Say a man is born without ANY religious influence. Is it possible for him to be a spiritual person?
-- Posted By Radkhat on October 26, 2007I would say yes. There are experiences with the Divine that have nothing to do with any one organized religion. There are many religions that have obvious truth and obvious falsity, but one can know the divine in a spiritual way without religion.
I consider myself very spiritual but not religious. I have seen too many people hide behind religion to justify their actions. You can't go to church one day and then do what you want with no fear of consequences just because you go to church! My spirituality allows me to question things the church can't/won't answer for me. I don't feel comfortable having to go to church to be a good person or to believe in God or whoever it may be. I don't want to feel like I have to go to church or I am damned. I can go to church to enhance my spirituality but I go when I want. My journey never ends.
It can be very difficult to be "spiritual" when one is not "religious". In my own experience, I have tried to become more spiritual even while my religious beliefs have become more agnostic (almost atheistic). It is truly difficult.
One of the most difficult things is trying to define what it means to be spiritual outside of the context of religion. Our society has so tightly linked these two concepts together that we tend to reject any uncoupling. I am still struggling with this now.
Speaking from a personal stand point, I say yes you can be. To be spiritual one has to be completely happy with one's self. Not only that, but be able to define what is 'good' and what is 'bad'. Also you have to be open to the fact that people have religion so they themselves can understand life and themselves. And need to be accepting to the fact that people are going to discriminate against them, and they need to be able to live with that, and not be dragged down because people don't like you.
I am a very spiritual person. i believe in the power of prayer. i believe in healing, angles, demons, ghost, etc. I believe in the soul. bottem line is i believe in all kinds of spirits and I experiance them every day. I am a very spiritual person and i am in no way religious.
Of course. Religion just makes it easier because a person doesn't have to think for themselves. Spiritual followers don't want to hear anything but what they've been taught or told. Look, now they are controlling spirituality. Saying who can or can't be spiritual. Get a life. I've been spiritual all my life and still am but it is no blind spirituality. It is a spirituality with both eyes and my mind open. I have studied Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism and nature worshiping religions and societies. It's what you would call a will for knowledge I guess but most "religious" people are probably denied the right of have such an attribute. How unfortunate that by reading other opinions the very (all powerful) faith they stand on (actually live on) could be destroyed. All educated people know the reasons for banning books and practicing any type of censorship. Open discussion is always looked down on by institutions of religion or government. In an egg shell, I am in support.
Now, you seem to have suggested that it is the religious who are "saying who can or can't be spiritual". You've got me wrong. I am just like you. What you seem to be doing is defining me as the enemy by imagining that there must be significant differences in our worldview. I suspect we would agree on most things. What I am trying to point out by initiating this discussion is that in my many years of spiritual searching, I have realized that my original religion (Catholicism) has colored the way I look at all other religions. I continue to be influenced by western culture, which is steeped in a monotheistic-Platonic metaphysical paradigm.
I have come to the realization that you need more than your mind to be spiritual. Pure rationality is not the answer. In its way it is JUST as dogmatic as pure religious faith. I happen to be conducting psychological research along those lines now, and have recently found empirical data that supports the notion that both highly rational and highly faithful people are equally dogmatic and closed-minded in their approach to religion.
No, you can't be spiritual without religion
Spiritual development is a process, of which religion is an integral part.
-- Posted By Swryght on October 23, 2007Religion is something that we all have, whether or not we are capable of identifying it's presence in our lives or admitting to it. The religious views that we are exposed to in our earliest years color the way we look at the world fundamentally.
For example, being raised in a predominantly Christian culture by parents who were raised by Chrisitans, I find that I can't help but look at the world in terms of "Good" and "Bad." .
While this distinction between good and bad is central to Christian ideology (If you are good you will find God, etc.), in Eastern religions there is no "Good" or "Bad" because everything is God, no matter what its qualities are.
In my pursuit of God, I can not help but view the world in the ways that my culture's values impressed on me. Even though I can understand Eastern views theoretically, I can not see them practically yet.
Furthermore, even though I might see some things that are wrong with the religion that has been given to me via culture, this doesn't mean that I can distinguish what is true and what is not in all cases.
And while I could reject my religion totally and embrace pure rationality, I would be ignoring a major part of human experience and that which feels true to me, and would eventually have to return to spirituality.
If I claim to be spiritual but not religious, I am ignoring the fact that my religion influences my thoughts and behavior whether I want it to or not. .
While there are certainly problems in my religion, It is not until I confront these from both a rational and intuitive direction that I can claim to be acting spirituality. Only then will I have sorted the truth from the fluff of my religion.
You disempower yourself and give up your responsibility to your own views to a higher power, your parents, your upbringing and your god in this case.
How do you know you cant change your view of the world if you dont try?
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About Swryght
College student studying Psychology and Philosophy. I am particularly interested in the application of these fields to religion, morality, and personal development.