Spiritual but Not Religious

If we really want to understand our world and ourselves we need to move on. Science, spirituality, common sense and philosophy need to work together and not against one another.

In the words of the Psalm, knowing God is the fence, the protective barrier, that allows us to be still.

Jefferson Bethke's video, "Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus," has been viewed by more than 18 million people. But when he seems to jump from this devastating critique to the dismissal of organized religion altogether he has gone too far.

You've seen it by now, surely you have: By the time I finish writing this post, I'll bet Jeff Bethke's viral YouTube phenomenon "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus" has likely garnered 12 million views.

This isn't always an easy position to hold. If religious leaders are unhappy about how many people identify as SBNR, perhaps a new category of religious/spiritual experience is necessary.

Being privately spiritual but not religious just doesn't interest me. There is nothing challenging about having deep thoughts all by oneself.

I get why people would create the dichotomy between spirituality and religiosity. But, as a Christian, it is by living with both the beauty and the brokenness of humanity that we discover who we are.

The fastest growing category of American religion, particularly among young adults, is "spiritual but not religious." That the land of the free gave birth to such a designation makes perfect sense.

Thirty-four million Americans have given up on organized religion, according to the most recent American Religious Identification Survey. Yet for many of these dropouts, spirituality is still a vital part of their lives.

When people begin to understand religious language, art, and symbols as metaphor, and God as an experience, we can begin to put much of the nonsense that fobs itself as religion behind us.

By expanding and deepening the way we frame the subject of religion, we can examine religious institutions and spiritual phenomena in a more productive way. Here's a model I find useful.

Maybe it's time to walk outside and start asking. Maybe the best way to learn more about spirituality is to find out what it means to individuals.