Spiritual but not Religious

That’s a common answer at places online -- like Facebook -- that have an information field for religious affiliation: spiritual but not religious. What does that mean, exactly? It always feels like a glimpse into that person’s dissatisfaction with their own religious experience. They seem to be saying that spirituality somehow succeeds where religion fails. That field on my Facebook page says: “I don’t like the word religious.” And I don’t because I don’t like the distinction between ‘religious’ and ‘not religious’ in everyday life. But I don’t like the word ‘spiritual’ for similar reasons. Spiritual as opposed to what? Physical? Religious affiliation: Physical but not Religious. Huh? Being human makes me spiritual. Getting out of bed in the morning makes me religious. So much so that just using the words ‘spiritual’ and ‘religious’ presents a distraction. Eating, working, running, writing, loving my wife: these are religious acts. Or they can be. It’s all a matter of intention. Spirituality without religion is a ghost. Religion without spirituality is a corpse. Put religion and spirituality together and what have you got? Life. Ever forward.

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