Spiritual But Not Religious
I’ve mentioned in previous articles that I grew up belonging to a Pentecostal church in New York. It was a large part of my tight-knit Indian community. During those years, most of my friends were from my church, and I also had a few friends who lived on my block in Queens. It was a multicultural block where people belonged to different races and backgrounds but mainly were of similar faith. They were either Catholics, Presbyterians, or from other Protestant traditions (and, of course, a few atheists, not adhering to any faith). I had some school friends but never saw them outside of school, so I never got to know them at a more personal level. Growing up in such an environment, I was surprised to learn later that some people believed in a spirituality apart from religion. They believed in the existence of an individual’s spirit, but they did not associate it with any religious beliefs. They believed in a spiritual essence that transcended the earth, but they didn’t necessarily have to believe in God (some give credit to the universe as the higher being). As a young adult, I found this confusing, and I couldn’t wrap my mind around how anyone could divorce their spiritual being in such a way. I believed that I was created by an almighty God and that my spiritual well-being was so connected with my faith in him.
Now, we could consider different questions this topic begins to raise. What’s the difference between a person’s soul and spirit? Are these just people who have given up on church, or is this its own belief? What are some of the practices of those who are spiritual but not religious? Is this practice of spirituality closer to mysticism or the New Age movement? What’s wrong with seeking spirituality without God or religion? All of these are good questions and can be answered in subsequent articles or by those who are more knowledgeable on the subject to provide insightful Biblical answers. I would like to focus more on the question of why.
In light of the religious and political movements in the last few years, there’s a growing trend in which Americans now say that they are spiritual but not religious (pewresearch.org). Whether they say this to avoid associating with a particular organized religion (they believe in God, but no longer through any religious group) or they say this to claim spirituality without God (they believe in spirituality through nature and the universe), this article will focus more on possible reasons why some may gravitate to this lifestyle over the truth that the Christian faith offers.
Dislike of Church And Its Rules
Growing up as a young boy in church, I believed that I would be a good Christian as long as I kept God’s rules. It seemed fine when I was young, and things were simple. But as I got older, life became complicated, and there would be days in which I felt a pang of crushing guilt for not keeping to God’s holy standards. Some Sundays, while listening to the sermon, I would feel that because of my sin and failure to follow the rules, I was a disappointment to my family, my church, and my God, and I felt unworthy to go to church that day. This may be the case with some people who see the church as a legalistic institution and want to avoid it altogether. Unfortunately, some churches lean heavily on legalism, and many outsiders view the church as the morality police, an enforcer of rules through which they promote godliness. Following the rules better will get one into an improved spiritual state with God. This is a great misunderstanding of what Church is to be for both believers and nonbelievers. A Church is the body of Christ, a family of believers that encourages each other, comes alongside each other through hardships, forgives each other’s messes, and loves each other, knowing full well that even with all our combined efforts, we could never keep all the rules. However, there is one that has already kept every rule for us. We are all made good through Christ. Our spiritual state has nothing to do with a list of rules we follow but depends on our continued relationship with God. I eventually learned this truth. Yet, some churches still choose rules over love, disheartening people and causing them to seek spirituality away from God.
Misunderstanding Mind (Soul) and Spirit
The main focus of most churches falls on the spiritual state of their members and community. They emphasize spiritual growth primarily through teaching (sermons), worship, prayer, meditation on God’s word, fellowship, and discipleship. The church does have additional services and programs that provide for the mind (through Bible studies, church groups, doctrinal disciplines, counseling) and the body (food and care resources for the poor, programs to help those struggling). There is a hope that Biblical principles will trickle down to a person who then can provide for his mind and body with the same care they do their spirit. But there’s a limit to what churches can do. The reality is that, as an individual, caring for yourself (body, mind/soul, and spirit) is up to your choices (participating in church, pursuing educational degrees, staying fit, having healthy social interactions, learning from life experiences). Some people find that churches fall short (or are conflicted on spending resources) on services or programs like nutrition, fitness, exercise, and physical wellness (to me, this seems like a first-world problem). Yet, the body, mind/soul, and spirit are all interconnected, and the Bible addresses each one, knowing that being unhealthy in one can affect the other two.
Unfortunately, churches either don’t want to devote resources to this or just don’t have the resources to address it well. This may be the reason why some people look elsewhere for a more “holistic” approach in caring for themselves. However, they mistake spirituality with an emotional high they get from certain activities (yoga, meditation, connecting with nature, etc.) and incorrectly believe they’re experiencing spirituality without religion or God. They confuse the mind (the soul - what makes you you) and the spirit (connection with God), thinking that both are just one and the same. They also lean toward celebrating nature and the universe, focusing on the created and leaving the creator far behind. These activities of stretching, positive thinking, exercising, and connecting with nature are not harmful in themselves, but like anything, we should be wary (and aware of red flags) if the activities slowly pull in the direction of humanism, mysticism, the new age movement, or direct our worship toward created things and away from our God and our savior, Jesus Christ.
Christian Hypocrisy
The number one reason people seek spirituality elsewhere is how the Church (the body of Christ) behaves sometimes. We forget that the world is watching us and measuring us to the standard we set for ourselves and others. I understand that though we follow Christ, we are still a flawed people, and we often make mistakes. However, denial of our mistakes because of self-righteousness or pride or our refusal to humble ourselves and repent, make us hypocrites of the faith we follow. Reflecting on this, I recall the faint voiceover that begins the dc Talk’s song “What if I Stumble?”: “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” It is a quote from Brennan Manning, a Christian author, and though he was talking about atheists and his view of Christians, it also applies to those who seek spirituality away from the Christian faith. This has been even more evident in the last few years in light of religion and politics in the news. Because of this apparent hypocrisy, there might be those who avoid church altogether or those that become so disheartened by what they witness that they leave their faith. Either way, we create stumbling blocks for unbelievers to come to Jesus or trip up those believers who struggle to remain standing in him.
I sometimes imagine what Jesus would say to me if he returned right now. Would he say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23)? Or would he call me a “whitewashed tomb” (like he did the Pharisees in Matthew 23:27) because I remembered only the greatest commandment, to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” but completely forgot the second greatest commandment, “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:34-40). This thought always keeps me in check, keeps me humble, and reminds me that what I do to the least of these people, I do unto Him.
Of course, there might be other reasons why people gravitate away from church for their spirituality, and everything cannot be covered here. Maybe they believe their spirituality is private, existing in a vacuum of their creation, and don’t understand that it cannot be separated from God. Whether it’s legalism, or lack of care, or hypocrisy, both the body of Christ (the Church) and all its individual members can benefit from self-scrutiny, looking for areas in our lives where we may have become a stumbling block for others or may have failed to love our neighbor. Otherwise, we are much like those who say they’re spiritual but not religious or are spiritual without God, lacking depth in what we believe or how we live.