I'm Not Religious, I'm Spiritual

"I'm not religious, I'm spiritual."

What do people mean when they say this? Surfing for an answer, I came across this explanation from cccasional TRA commentor Christopher Rhoades Dÿkema:

The most charitable interpretation of this popular mantra is that it means the speaker feels a disposition towards masochistic submission of the sort that used to find expression in systematic religious faith, but that he or she doesn't really believe in what you have to accept to be religious, and is too vapid to grapple with the issue. The new age sections of bookstores like Barnes and Noble testify to the prevalence of this phenomenon.

"Stolen from a random blog"

 

Well there you go.

 

Utter crap......

While I'll say I may have a tendency towards masochistic submission, I'm far from vapid.

 

:applause:

 

I dunno. I've never said it. I'm a spiritual person - and still practice some form of religious practice. I'm of the belief that spiritualism is a form of religion though, so maybe I don't `fit' the outer view of what spiritualists are to some. No doubt that will create huge sniffs of displeasure from some sectors of this forum, but I can live with that .

 

I don't KNOW what most people mean by saying this; but I take it to mean, "I don't follow any particular formal religion's codes, but I have a personal spiritual belief system & practice. I'm not a 'nonbeliever'."

 

i think it's generally a recognition that "religion" is an institution and "spirituality" is personal. people who use the phrase are basically people who don't buy into the insitutional religions of the world but believe in some concept of a "spiritual" existance. it certainly does connote a personalized grab-bag religious belief system.

guess that's pretty much what kitten said...

 

Superflu just summed up my take on it with far less pretentious words than I would have used.