"Spiritual, but not religious."

[Kafir]

This phrase has hundreds of thousands of google hits (even in quotes). Apparently something like a third of the U.S. population identifies themselves in those terms (depending on the phrasing of the poll.) I have no idea what it means. Does anyone?

[Grog]

"I'm a good person and I want to feel nice" ?

I think a large component of it is the expectation that normal people believe in a higher power. The other part of it is that having a higher authority shifts responsibility for bad things onto someone else's shoulders.

[nathan]

I actually heard someone say that at work the other day, and my wife had several coworkers who espoused it.

I think maybe people don't like church.

[changa]

A person who joins a church, attends and tithes is religious.

A person who believes in supernatural things is spiritual.

Why not either without the other?

[ggeezz]

A person who believes in supernatural things is spiritual.

But can't you be spiritual and a naturalist at the same time. Or is that a different meaning of spiritual?

[changa]

A person who believes in supernatural things is spiritual.

But can't you be spiritual and a naturalist at the same time. Or is that a different meaning of spiritual?

You cannot be both.

...unless you define spirits as mind, and mind as brain activity. And then acknowledge brain activity as important because as humans, it matters to us. Spirituality reconciled with naturalism. Ta da!

If that works for you, I suspect you are not spiritualist by any classic definition. You might be humanist.


I think this is what people mean to say with "spiritual but not religious". I suspect they mean, "religious without spirituality." Obedient to the form, for form's sake.

[ggeezz]

A person who believes in supernatural things is spiritual.

But can't you be spiritual and a naturalist at the same time. Or is that a different meaning of spiritual?

You cannot be both.

...unless you define spirits as mind, and mind as brain activity. And then acknowledge brain activity as important because as humans, it matters to us. Spirituality reconciled with naturalism. Ta da!

If that works for you, I suspect you are not spiritualist by any classic definition. You might be humanist.


I think this is what people mean to say with "spiritual but not religious". I suspect they mean, "religious without spirituality." Obedient to the form, for form's sake.

I think some people see the term humanist as too Richard Dawkins. They care more about spirit/mind/brain activity than they do about science and they would rather abstract spirit from brain activity, but if you pressed for details they'd be monist (no soul).