This is a phrase we hear often these days. The growing tendency to seek spirituality outside of traditional religion is reflected in a 2003 survey of British adults conducted by Ipsos MORI for the BBC: 24% indicated that they are ‘…spiritually inclined but don’t really “belong” to an organised religion.’ This should hardly be surprising given the need that so many of us feel for more meaning and connection in our lives and the very low proportion (5-10%) of the population that actually attend any kind of regular religious events.
‘No, you cannot worship God just as well by yourself. And there is no such thing as an individual spirituality.” Because since we are the body of Christ, and individually members of it, we are called to actually, physically gather together as the church.’
With all due respect, I think he is missing the point by a mile. The “spiritual but not religious” segment of our society is not rejecting community – it is rejecting dogma. Thompson tells us ‘…we should be clear: it is the church that tells us who God is.’ Bah! Are billions of Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, and others simply wrong? How can we imagine that free-thinking spiritual people today will willingly submit to such parochial thinking? Matthew Fox speaks of spirituality in terms of ‘
And so, sadly, many simply abandon spirituality altogether. Often, they try to fill their spiritual need with material things – only to find that the material ‘fix’ lasts only so long. Others – the lucky ones – stumble upon meaningful non-dogmatic spiritual communities. They might find this kind of supportive and open-minded environment in a Unitarian, or Quaker congregation or perhaps in a Buddhist sangha. There, they are able to grow spiritually in a community that allows their individual spirit and reason to lead them toward wholeness.
I mostly agree with you Andrew. Religions have mostly not kept up with the times. You seem a bit dismissive of solitary spirituality though. My most holy experiences have happened when I have been alone with nature.
I think one can have a truly spiritual moment in nature, with art or music, etc., which can be a solitary pursuit.
I do believe that being totally present for another human being is something most sacred. I for one cannot do that on my own.
The ’spiritual not religious’ conversation could almost seem cliche, but in light of recent publications, it is probably one of the most relevant dialogues we can have. Thanks for introducing this, Andy. I’m referring to the books by Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens who decry religion as the basis for much of what is wrong in the world today. What they are talking about is religion in the institutional sense and I believe that in many ways they are right. However, spirituality it seems to me is something totally different. It is not institutional at all. It is deeply personal and unique to each individual. It is part and parcel of the choices each of us make to be whole people i.e. how we choose to caretake our bodies, develop our minds and embrace and extend our spirit.
I’m curious what other people think.
Judy
Having spent more than 80% of my life outside of religous/spiritual community and having spent some of that being spiritual alone or with friends I think that religious community is the boldest way to go. In choosing to gather with strangers and then choosing to commit oneself to a community we are led into less familiar places where we may find we have no security blanket.
Over time I have grown to love and respect people that I would not normally meet let alone speak with. I have chosen to learn from others and open my world up to the possibilities of change: change of perception and change of meaning.
I believe that when we are spiritual alone, unless we are very special, we are much more likely to work to confirm our own beliefs and reinforce our own comfort zone. I believe that a religious life has the possiblity to be more daring.
I think that is absolutely true Louise. Being part of a community is important because it challenges you in a way that causes you to grow spiritually. It’s not good for anyone to be totally alone. We do need our own sacred space too though and the difficulty lies in getting the balance between these two aspects.
I personally feel the need to become part of a community that is accepting of and values the individual rather than conformity. But community without conformity is very hard to find - I’m not even sure if it’s possible. Carl Jung in his book ‘The Undiscovered Self’ didn’t think so. There must be some more recent work on the individual vs society. Can anyone recommend any reading on this?
Louise has the best idea. Try it, you might like it.
I and my fiancee - also named Louise - are both practicing members of our religions (as well as spiritualists who have personal experience of what is Beyond) and though we are a bit hermit-like at the moment (we are working hard on political research) find being able to be in church or synagogue - I am a Jew, she is, in her own words, “the nearest thing the Anglicans have to a witch” - among ordinary people with ordinary faiths one of the most spiritual things I can find.
As someone who has to have one eye on the media, I don’t think you should take this survey at face value. There is some propaganda element in it designed to sideline mainstream religion in favour of “junk-food spirituality”, which has in my opinion cut the spirituality community loose from any semblance of logic, moral foundations or ethical considerations. Spirituality should for the most part be active in engaging with the world as it is, not hoping for a world that “can be” full of sweetness and light and the denial that people are tempted by evil every day. Opening our eyes as well as our hearts will be necessary to create a goodly world, and the current trend towards the isolation of spiritual believers worries me profoundly that we are letting the bulk of humanity down by neglecting the good and feeding the evil.
I think that there is another twist to this … and that is religions that are passing themselves off a being “spiritual”. I am thinking of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University, who seem to be lost in a tangle of different fronts, desperate to hide the fact that they are a religion … and a pretty extreme one at that; no sex, no touching, imminent and desirable End of the World through nuclear holocaust with death of 6 Billion to make way for a heaven on earth for 900,000 of their faithful followers.
I think it is also necessary to separate ’spiritual’ from ’spiritist’ or ’spiritualist’. Note, I am not judging or condemning, I just think that folks should get what it says on the label. The Brahma Kumaris are heavily into mediumship and channelling which are spiritist or spiritualistic.
Their practise basically opens one up to their guiding spirit entity who they … of course … claim is God or the supreme spirit. Although they work very hard to hide the mediumistic messages this ‘god’ channels, it is clear that followers are being opened up so that it and others within the organization can ‘work through’ them. This is surely occult or psychicism not ’spirituality’.
Perhaps it is about time that all the interested parties sat down and clearly defined all this stuff? I don’t think the terminology is entirely interchangeable.
In my experience, whereas I would agree that spirituality should be bound by morals and ethics, it should be the application of those. Whilst not denying its existence, all too often I find the occult and psychicism laden with amorality, unaccountability and deception.
Is deception, e.g. followers being strung along on false predictions, not the first sign that one is dealing with a lower level of psychicism?
Dear all,
I saw the London Spirituality Network advertised in Green Events.
I’ve been in three different religious systems in my lifetime, and in recent years I’ve been engaging with what is called “New Spirituality”, which seeks to examine our thought systems in order to allow new revelations to emerge. Among its core principles are: firstly, we are all one. Secondly, this is not the only way, this is just another way. Thirdly, God has never stopped speaking to us, and She (every so often I use the feminine pronoun to denote God) continues to do so today. There are quite a few more. Hopefully this has stimulated your curiosity somewhat.
The idea isn’t to invalidate any belief system or to create a new one. It is rather to encourage existing belief systems to rethink. We are all aware that the world is not working. That is not because anything is wrong: there is no such thing as right and wrong. We make up what is right and wrong for ourselves. It is rather that our beliefs are causing us to live non-functional lives.
All of us have an idea of the highest good. Ask yourself, what are you going to be to bring it about? Note, I didn’t say, what are you going to do. The state of being comes first. That gives rise to the action.
I’m looking to get together with anyone who is interested in living in accordance with his/her highest good. As some of your contributors have already said, it’s best done in company. You can get me at http://spiritualityandthestandard.blogspot.com or at simchay@yahoo.co.uk.
Whoever you are, have a great 2008. Lots of love to all.