One of the high-profile mantras of contemporary culture is
to be “spiritual but not religious.” This announcement is delivered with
serious humility and meekness, assuring the hearer that there will be no
invitation, not even a subtle suggestion, to join in the quest. The speaker
righteously disavows any intent to proselytize, choosing to leave everyone else
to his own search for meaning, deliberately explaining that there is no “right
or wrong” in anyone’s choices. This speaker is not like those religious
fanatics who love God and invite everyone else to love Him, too. This speaker
is no threat to anyone’s status quo.
“Spiritual but not religious” is not as righteous as it sounds
Christians are taken aback by such a concept. It is hard to
argue with someone about an idea so malleable. The discussion is a lot like
trying to nail Jell-O to the wall. There is no core belief to dispute, no
fundamental truth to refute. There is no substance to such an avowal.
Christians think that the person who takes this step might
be on a quest for something meaningful, but to believe that “spiritual but not
religious” is a quest for meaning would be a big mistake. To choose to be
“spiritual but not religious” is to choose deliberately to avoid the
complications of meaning or truth. This choice is, rather, a choice not to
allow meaning or truth to interfere with self-worship. In other words, someone
who is “spiritual but not religious” is engaged in a chiffon-like secularism.
Its very softness confuses Christians who expect secularists to be hardened defenders
of reason alone. This “spiritual” quest is the same thing as the secular search
for truth; you know you have found it if it makes you feel good. It is Satan’s
way of providing something for everyone.
Satan’s strategy is always to pander to the human ego. All
the temptations to which human beings succumb are about choosing self over
anything else. The temptations Christ is reported to have defused were all
about self. I’m hungry—I’ll turn rocks into food. I want attention – I’ll jump
off a tower without a parachute and float to the ground. I love power – I’ll do
what it takes, even make a deal with the devil, to become the most powerful
human being on earth. The temptation to become “spiritual but not religious” is
no different.
How, you ask wonderingly, is it egotistical and self-serving
to be “spiritual” when you are choosing not to be “religious” with all the
ritual and hierarchy associated with religion?
The answer is that this choice is not about God or gods at
all; it is entirely about personal gratification.
Every religion is a way of life
Those who choose “spirituality” alone most commonly reject
Christianity. Often they are actually drawn to religions like Buddhism and
Hinduism. (I know, I know. Buddhists claim it is a way of life, not a religion.
Well, every religion either shapes a way of life or it is worthless. The
rejection of Christianity is about rejecting the way a Christian is taught to
live.) They act as if to be vaguely
“spiritual” is much more mature and sophisticated than to be soiled by
participating in the life of the church. They cast aspersions on the whole idea
that people who put their faith in Christ gather in groups, engage in shared
worship, depend on the Bible, and organize in work and service. Most of all,
they join in the secular outrage at Christians who believe that every moment of
their lives is to be lived in submission to Christ. The idea of a relationship
that permeates and transcends every moment of life is alien, and the idea of
submission in that relationship is repugnant to those who want their own feelings
to be more important than anything else. They cannot imagine deep happiness
that is not about personal gratification.
Of course, the rejection of Christianity is justified by
pointing to people who claim the name of Christ and live in complete denial of
everything Christ taught. The rejection of Christ is excused because there are
plenty of Christians who are not very Christ-like. Those who choose to be
“spiritual but not religious” claim that they want purity, not hypocrisy, and
they don’t want to associate with any hypocrites as part of their pure
spiritual quest. The rejection of Christianity, or of any “religiousness”
whatsoever is not rejection of anything that any religion actually stands for.
It is rejection of people who don’t live up to their religious claims.
“Spiritual but not religious” translates to secular self-worship
It sounds almost righteous to say, “I’m spiritual but not
religious.” The problem is that being
“spiritual but not religious” is simply another way to be completely
secular. It sets up a life with “sacred”
elements and “secular” elements. It makes for an interesting cultural
phenomenon. A secularist completely scorns the idea of Christianity, because
the secularist rejects anything not measurable in time and space. Which means,
of course, that the secularist equally scorns the “spiritual but not
religious.” He will, however, tolerate the “spiritual” ones more comfortably
than the Christians, because the “spiritual but not religious” are completely
willing to keep their spirituality in the spiritual part of their lives while keeping
a high barrier between the sacred and the secular. Secular thinkers have no
problem with someone who worships himself or herself, because the secular
thinker understands that world view. The “spiritual but not religious” are more
comfortable with secular thinkers than with Christians for the same reason.
Both worship self, and both believe that spirituality is a private matter.
Christians are viewed like sand in the cultural cogs,
because they bring their spirituality into everything. Why? A Christian is
actually a little temple of the Holy Spirit, walking around carrying eternity
and infinity wherever he goes. A Christian lives at the intersection of time
and eternity, space and infinity. For the Christian, the notion of being
“spiritual but not religious” has no meaning, because a Christian is the same
in all settings. (Of course I know that we are all sinful saints as well as
saintly sinners. So this statement must be understood as the teaching, not as a
perfect reality. It is this teaching that drives Christians to assert that a
business is only one of many ways the Christian serves Christ.) The standard
for Christian behavior is set by eternal and infinite standards, not by how the
Christian feels about something. This is why a Christian engaged in commerce is
not engaged in secular activity; such a thing is impossible for him. The
Christian is a completely spiritual being.
Those who reject religion and claim to be “spiritual”
without any real focus other than themselves are fooling only themselves. It is
an empty enterprise to attempt to connect with something that is ultimately
only oneself. To be spiritual without any spiritual identity is destructive,
even if it does make someone feel good for a while. Incense, candles, and
sacred rocks will be cold company when Satan unleashes evil in someone’s life.
Long ago in a comic strip now defunct, a swamp possum named Pogo saw through
the fakery of this kind of thinking. He said, “We have met the enemy, and it is
us.”
By Katherine Harms, author of Oceans of Love, available at Amazon . You can
learn more about Katherine at Living on Tilt . If you are
an author who is looking for an editor, visit Katherine
Harms, Editor, and learn how to she can help you prepare
your manuscript for publication.
