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Religious But NOT Spiritual...

5/13/2021

8 Comments

 
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​From what I’ve heard and sensed from the many people I know who self-identify as “spiritual but not religious” (including what seems like most, if not all, Western contemporary yoga practitioners) it seems to come down to one of the following three positions:

“We define spirituality as an active identification with things greater than one’s self that give meaning and purpose. In this context, friendship, trust, loyalty, affirmation, and respect are spiritual values.” --- Glenn & Nelson, Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World

Glenn and Nelson’s definition of spirituality succinctly summarizes what most of those who consider themselves “spiritual but not religious” seem to mean when they assert this about themselves. From a little survey of friends and students who identify themselves in this way, I have also received statements such as:

It means that I am beyond myself in this world. I have no vision of a higher being; it is the universe of beings that explains spirituality.
 
One correspondent wrote:
Spirituality is the pursuit of Truth. Religion is the organization of Truth. Spiritual but not religious is the pursuit of Truth outside of organization.
 
Noticing that he had capitalized “Truth” I asked why he had done so. “What is the “Truth” that spirituality is engaged with?” In his response he wrote:
“I capitalize Truth because ‘truth’ is somewhat subjective and contextual… I’m not referring to relative truth but that ineffable, absolute… you could call it ‘Tao’ or ‘the Divine’ but anything you call it will carry baggage… it has countless names but they all point to the same thing, the so-called ‘Golden Thread’”
 
Interestingly, he added: “Truth is just a placeholder word for that which is beyond intellectualism and is entirely experiential.” I find this an interesting comment, as well as being somewhat contradictory, in light of his previously distinguishing “Truth” from “truth” by calling the latter “subjective and contextual.” Contradictory because, by definition, if something is “experiential” it IS subjective! SomeONE is experiencing it, after all. And doing so "contextually" in some place and time and in relation to some specific circumstances.

Finally, one correspondent wrote in to me:
“…since reading his book, Spirituality for the Skeptic, I love Robert C. Solomon’s definition of a naturalistic spirituality as ‘The thoughtful love of life.’ Can it really be said any better and more succinctly than that? No bullshit. Just, ‘the thoughtful love of life!’ Imagine if all beings could live up to this kind of creed.”

In researching this topic, I found this from Wikipedia:
"Spiritual but not religious" (SBNR), also known as "Spiritual but not affiliated" (SBNA), is a popular phrase and initialism used to self-identify a life-stance of spirituality that does not regard organized religion as the sole or most valuable means of furthering spiritual growth. Historically, the words religious and spiritual have been used synonymously to describe all the various aspects of the concept of religion, but in contemporary usage spirituality has often become associated with the interior life of the individual, placing an emphasis upon the well-being of the ‘mind-body-spirit’ while religion refers to organizational or communal dimensions.”
 
The article goes on to mention that although:
“Historically, the words religious and spiritual have been used synonymously to describe all the various aspects of the concept of religion, religion is a highly contested term with scholars such as Russell McCutheon arguing that the term "religion" is used as a way to name a "seemingly distinct domain of diverse items of human activity and production". The field of religious studies cannot even agree on one definition for religion and since spirituality overlaps with it in many ways it is difficult to reach a consensus for a definition for spirituality as well.”
 
I think in many ways, this last statement truly gets to the heart of the matter. Maybe as “terms” so broadly defined and described, we have no fucking idea what we’re talking about!
 
And that certainly isn’t going to stop me from entering into the breach!

​From what I’ve heard and sensed from the many people I know who self-identify as “spiritual but not religious” (including what seems like most, if not all, Western contemporary yoga practitioners) it seems to come down to one of the following three positions:

1. As in the definition from Glenn & Nelson that opened this essay, what is being referred to as “spiritual” could just as well be referred to as secular ethical/moral values. Qualities such as “friendship, trust, loyalty, affirmation, and respect” are simply human values and as such, are purely naturalistic. To my mind, there’s no real justification to label such qualities as “spiritual.” Key to their definition is also the notion that one experience “an active identification with things greater than one’s self that give meaning and purpose.” For them, there is nothing inherently supernatural about this as “things greater than one’s self that give meaning and purpose” can be anything from parenting and teaching to political activism.

2. As my correspondent above who referred to some “ineffable absolute” there are those who, in speaking of “the spiritual” are referring to a felt sense of some “force transcendent.” For some, this is equated with the supernatural, but it need not be conceptualized as such. That is to say, the Tao can, and is often thought of as simply being of a “natural” order, but still an “absolute Truth” beyond the relative understanding of humanity. From this position, identification with something “greater than one’s self” most likely carries a supernatural – or at the very least – extraordinary transcendent connotation. 

3. Finally, I believe the Wiki article points to a very important aspect of this self-identity: “in contemporary usage spirituality has often become associated with the interior life of the individual, placing an emphasis upon the well-being of the ‘mind-body-spirit’ while religion refers to organizational or communal dimensions.” Notice there’s no mention of “identification with something greater than one’s self” and “well-being” seems to be the raison d'être of spirituality, the locus of meaning and purpose!  

This last point helps make clear why so many contemporary Westerners have moved to such an identification: it perfectly colludes with the neo-liberal ideology that hypervalorizes the individual over community that has so permeated the contemporary yoga and wellness communities. We’ve seen it in the proliferation of conspirituality throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, with so many yogis and wellness practitioners spouting Q-Anon dogma about “individual sovereignty” and “subjective truth” over scientific evidence in a similar way we also see “lived experience” overemphasized and centered over and against data.
 
A typical response when you Google “the difference between religion and spirituality” is something like: “Religion is a specific set of organized beliefs and practices, usually shared by a community or group. Spirituality is more of an individual practice and has to do with having a sense of peace and purpose.” I’ve noticed that many in the yoga and wellness communities avow some belief in “Oneness” that transcends the self, but identification with such an abstraction rarely is seen to carry over into actual human relationship or any communitarianism. Of course, when it does, it often takes on a cultish, in-group/out-group orientation; something else we’ve seen during the pandemic.

When we look at the etymology of the words “religion” and “religious” we see that the Latin religio is an action, a discipline. It comes from the word ligare which means “to join, or link” which to my ears sounds a lot like what the Sanskrit word yoga means! The word “yoga” comes from yuj, meaning “to join,” “to unite” or “to yoke”. Yoking is specifically the action of restraint, a binding. A typical simile of the binding of mind to body (or the individual to divinity) was the ox yoked to the cart. In yoga, it is often the breath that is the yoke, yoking mind and body. Interestingly, religio was often used agriculturally to describe binding a branch of a tree or bush to shape it to a specific form. That “religion” became associated with creeds and organizations is understandable, but it’s helpful to remember that the religious act is one of self-directed action.
 
When one actually looks up the definition of “spirituality” the first definition that comes up is: “the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.” And, when you look up the definition of the word “spirit” we find: “the nonphysical part of a person which is the seat of emotions and character; the soul.”
 
It is for all these reasons:
  1. That the word “spirit” literally refers to some alleged “nonphysical part of a person” such as a “soul”
  2. That the word “religion” refers to the act of uniting, binding, and containing… basically disciplined action toward a communal sense of wholeness
  3. That qualities such as friendship, trust, loyalty, affirmation, and respect are simply human values and as such, are purely naturalistic; AND that the search and creation of meaning and purpose are also human concerns and thus completely naturalistic
that I identify as RELIGIOUS BUT NOT SPIRITUAL.
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The ONLY spirits I KNOW to exist....

T
I am not a “Secular Buddhist” as generally understood because the Secular Buddhist movement has, for the most part, jettisoned ceremony and ritual, as well as most expressions of community. I am certainly not a “Traditionalist” either because I am firmly rooted in philosophical naturalism and rather than grounding my understanding in dogma and doctrine, I base my positions upon a naturalistic, scientific, rational, and empirical search for “truth”. I fully accept that we can only have truths in a provisional sense and welcome the ever-evolving understanding such truths bring. I call this approach, which embraces traditional forms of practice (including prostrations, chanting, meditation, ceremony, and ritual etc.) while remaining fully rooted in naturalism, Zen Naturalism.

Zen Naturalism is a form of practice and understanding that rejects dependence on the ‘supernatural’ and, as a path of inquiry, emphasizes the orientation of non-attachment from dogmatic fundamentalist views through the practice of meditation, as well as through the techniques of science and the scientific method, embodying the expression of appropriate and skillful means.
 
Zen Naturalism does not accept the systematic, and often hierarchical, polemical arrangements of the Buddhist teachings proposed or endorsed by any school of Buddhism. Zen Naturalism sees itself as a 'new' form of Buddhism reflective of a contemporary understanding of the world, the cosmos, and life itself. Zen Naturalism is open to truths garnered through study and practice of Buddhist texts from the various schools, as well as from texts written by non-Buddhist philosophers and  scientists. It recognizes that it too will change as new understandings replace old understandings. Keeping the "Don't Know Mind" is essential in keeping this open-ended inquiry from solidifying into a rigid, dogmatic creed of beliefs.
 
This spirit* of inquiry, this spirit* of commitment to all forms of action that can sustain questioning, insight, and compassion, is considered to be more important that any Buddhist institution or tradition.
 
Zen Naturalism is, and can be considered to be, a kind of ‘secular religion;’ a form or method of yoga (disciplined action and inquiry) as its aim is freedom and the awakening life. As a naturalistic-based practice, freedom is understood not supernaturally, but as the progressive liberation from our conditioned reactivity and false identifications. It is not the world-wary attempt to leave the world altogether that is found in early traditional Buddhism. But also, as a contemporary movement, and one that does not reject the world, it is a ‘communal religion’ that celebrates life in community and society. As such, it calls for active engagement to better life and the world for all beings. Rituals of celebration are designed to create meaningful relations among the various beings and experiences of the world. They make visible the more subtle and invisible relations that exist amongst all beings.
 
In conclusion, Zen Naturalism does not need to seek meaning and validity in any transcendent realm. While rooted in certain forms of traditional zen practice, it is this naturalist perspective that is guiding orientation of the Empty Mountain Sangha.  At present, most of our sangha's activities are online via Facebook and Zoom. Feel free to look us up!

* Hopefully, from the context it is clear I have no issue with the secondary definitions of the word "spirit" and it is in this way that I use the word here.

​Those qualities regarded as forming the definitive or typical elements in the character of a person, nation, or group or in the thought and attitudes of a particular period.
"the university is a symbol of the nation's egalitarian spirit"
Similar:
ethos, prevailing tendency, motivating force, animating principle, dominating characteristic, mood, feeling, temper, tenor, attitudes, principles, standards
  • a person identified with their most prominent mental or moral characteristics or with their role in a group or movement.
    "he was a leading spirit in the conference"
  • a specified emotion or mood, especially one prevailing at a particular time.
    "I hope the team will build on this spirit of confidence"
  • a person's mood.
    "as I sat alone in that corridor my spirits were low"
  • the attitude or intentions with which someone undertakes or regards something.
    "he confessed in a spirit of self-respect, not defiance"
    Similar:
    point of view, outlook
  • the quality of courage, energy, and determination or assertiveness.
    "his visitors admired his spirit and good temper"
    Similar:
    firmness of purpose, resolution, resoluteness, resolve
  • the real meaning or the intention behind something as opposed to its strict verbal interpretation.
    "the rule had been broken in spirit if not in letter"
8 Comments
Rhoda Miriam
5/16/2021 07:29:07 am

Thanks for this. Seems to mesh, for me, with two additional truth seekers I am currently following: Robert Saltzman and Sean Carroll

Reply
Frank Jude link
5/16/2021 02:41:25 pm

Thanks for your comment!
Sean Carroll is a favorite of mine; his "Poetic Naturalism" jibes well with Zen Naturalism.

Reply
Richard Parker
7/5/2021 10:02:23 am

This is quite interesting. I especially like the notion that "truth" is provisional, a work in progress and subject to change with the introduction of new evidence. I also think you are spot on with your critique of neo-liberalism and how the culture of the individual (my words to follow) is destroying the planet and keeping us from reaching the type of "union" in America that our ideals espouse.

This is obviously a very short piece where you attempt to find a working definition of "religion." Maybe you did not have the space, but it seems to me that you have missed the central part of an understanding of "religion,"if you would include Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam and sadly more recently Buddhism. The pithy punchline is that religions are all about POWER for the elite and subjugation for everyone else. All the world religions in practice will fall into this category with the Hindu caste system and how it rewards in the next life the most overt example.

Religions are about POWER for the elite; spirituality (where world views are focused on personal growth not political control) is about power for the individual.

Check out John Lash's heavily researched book, "Not in His Image."

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Frank Jude Boccio link
7/5/2021 11:37:36 am

Richard, thank you for your comment. I accept your criticism (if that's the correct word for it) regarding the power dynamic of institutionalized religion. And frankly, it's not just recently regarding Buddhism: it has all too often aligned itself with political governments (as in China and Korea) that have often been quite authoritarian to boot.

In my "defense" note that I am emphasizing "religious" as both an outlook and PRACTICE because it is not inherently about supernaturalism (theism etc) whereas spirituality has been and I would argue still is -- outside of those who use the term for what I argue are simply naturalistic, human qualities.

Then the question becomes, can religious practice and a worldview be communalized without falling into power-over dynamics? I would argue that it can through anarcho-consensus structures. See "Resisting Illegitimate Authority" by Bruce E Levine for some ideas about this.

And thanks for the book suggestion. I'll have to check it out!

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Ruth Henriquez
8/30/2021 03:38:22 pm

I have been skeptical of the "spiritual not religious" label for some time. I feel that the phrase is glib and functionally meaningless. To find out what people mean by "spiritual," I ask them what their spiritual practice is. And I don't assume it necessarily has to involve "the supernatural."

For me, spirituality the work of honing one's consciousness using both "inner" techniques (meditation, yoga, dreamwork, etc.) and outer work (being in service). I don't think there is anything supernatural about it, and as a half-Jewish person with one foot in Judaism, I would say that nothing in the cosmos is supernatural (even alternate dimensions, and angelic beings, which I have experienced), so I don't see a divide between "natural" and "supernatural." All the inter-enfolded dimensions are right here, now, and they are entirely natural, that is, their existence is predicated upon the same quantum fields as that of a rock, the Hope Diamond, or a Ford Suburban.

But, as Einstein pointed out, those with Vision can see that everything is indeed a miracle. Living in full awareness of the miracle, and living with reverence for the miracle, is a spiritual practice.

A rabbi wrote a book once called "God is a Verb." In the same vein I would say that spirituality is a verb. It's about how you direct your energies, not about what you believe or think.

The neo-liberal idea that we're here to manipulate "dead" (i.e. non-miraculous) matter for our personal advantage is anti-spiritual and irreverent. Or maybe I should say instead, it's not a well I want to drink from.

Reply
Frank Jude link
8/30/2021 04:07:20 pm

Thank you for your comment, Ruth. I've a few thoughts, but first, I wish to reiterate that my post is not inherently critical of others, but putting forth my own position and reasons why I prefer to think of myself as religious and not spiritual.

Second, and to the point of my criticism where it does fall, it is indisputable that many people who think of themselves as "spiritual but not religious," when asked what THEY mean by "spiritual" only offer examples of simple, basic HUMAN values! To my mind, thinking of these human values as "spiritual" tends to de-humanize them. There is a lot of research that shows atheists and other forms of non-believers embody these values even more than many self-identified as "spiritual" OR "religious." For one example:
https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2021/08/30/the-world-gets-more-secular-as-it-gets-better-data-continue-to-show-that-religion-is-unnecessary-and-inimical-to-healthy-and-moral-societies/

Next, in your second paragraph you allude to "angelic beings" that you have experienced. By definition, if evidence of thsese beings cannot be shown, they are supernatural. This is what is meant by "methodological naturalism" which is the guiding foundation of science as embodied in the famous quote from Carl Sagan: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."

Finally, there is no evidence for Einstein saying anything about "people of vision" seeing everything as a miracle. What you'll find is a quote all over the internet asserting that he said: "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.” But, as this post points out, not only is there no evidence for him actually saying this, it doesn't even sound like Einstein as he was not a "black and white" thinker and logic dictates that this statement is a "false dichotomy." You can easily imagine a position where one thinks SOME things are miraculous and others are not.

Reply
Frank Jude link
8/30/2021 04:08:07 pm

Oops! Forgot to include this link:
https://fakebuddhaquotes.com/debunking-fake-albert-einstein-quotes/

Reply
Ruth Henriquez
8/31/2021 08:26:17 am

Thank you for the Einstein correction. However, the fact that anything exists at all is mind-blowing, at least to me. So I uphold the statement, and I am happy to claim it without Einstein's imprimitur attached.

Also, in regards to this: "By definition, if evidence of these beings cannot be shown, they are supernatural." I have heard this argument. And I would point out that indirect evidence of bacteria and fungi working upon matter used to be ascribed to supernatural causes. Now people can see and measure microbes, and the "magic" they work is well understood.

I apply this principle to other phenomena that people currently cannot measure, such as anomolous events that do not fit into the Newtonian framework of our consensus reality. They may seem supernatural, but that does not mean they are indeed intrusions from some other metaphysical realm into this one. To say so would be like a color-blind person in a mostly color-blind society saying that color vision was a supernatural power, when in reality it would be an expansion of a natural ability.

Again, there is no need for supernatural explanations of anything, as anything that exists (whether we are perceiving it "correctly" or not) is part of existence, and therefore natural. I agree with much of what you have written in your essay, but I do find it curious that you seem very focused on peoples' claims about supernature.

The idea of supernature is a distraction from the fact that things happen here that we can't yet (and may never) explain. The fact that some people believe in "the supernatural" doesn't bother me -- I simply see it as language for natural events that as of yet don't have a place in our scientific knowledge base.

And yes, belief in the supernatural can lead to bad thinking with bad outcomes, but so can scientific reductionism carried to extremes. Having a sense of humility about all we don't know is necessary (although not sufficient) for our ability to take utmost care in how we wield ideas and words.

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    Poepsa Frank Jude Boccio is a yoga teacher and zen buddhist dharma teacher living in Tucson, AZ.

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