"Spiritual But Not Religious?" 

 

There is a new phenomenon in our culture that is evident when you walk into a bookstore.  Right alongside the religion section is another, a new and separate section on spirituality.  Often it dwarfs the old religion section.  This separation of spirituality and religion reflects a cultural shift that has been taking place over the last several decades.  Those who claim they are "spiritual but not religious" are often simply claiming a religion de-institutionalized.   Individuals and groups have appropriated traditional practices and have combined them in new ways while rejecting communal commitments.  A spiritual identity that is self-referential and without communal obligation is a novel development where you can claim to be a spiritual person without professing loyalty to a particular doctrine or even understanding it.  People do hunger for the transcendent, they long for some sense of ultimate meaning, but this spiritual quest has become increasingly privatized.  It is no longer assumed that the pursuit of the spiritual life requires an affiliation with a formal religious tradition or a Christian community. The consequences of a spiritual quest untethered from long-standing ecclesial traditions are serious. The problem is that so much of today's spirituality is personal and private.  This private spirituality has become a code word for vague, tenuous, noncommittal religion, an evasive term that may refer to little more than a warm, fuzzy feeling in the heart. But for Jews and Christians, there is no such thing as a private spirituality. Christianity can be intensely personal, but never private.  The process of growing a soul, of developing a rich spiritual life, is within the community of faith; it is an exploration into God with other people.  Authentic religion is a journey together into God. The French scholar Emile Durkheim, learned that the primary purpose of religion in early societies was not only to put individuals in touch with God, but to put them in touch with each other. Religion root word means ligament. Religion's essential meaning is "to bind." That is what a church should be about.  Yes, it's a place of beliefs about God and Christ and humanity.  But it is preeminently a community of people through whom we learn how to be human, how to share and love and forgive.  We are bound together.  So a private spirituality lacks something that is essential for the growing of a soul.  It is vital that a spiritual life remain tethered to participation in Christian community.  That is why coming together is important because it keep us grounded in our faith passed on to us through