Since the time
when spirituality has been contrasted with religion more and more
persons have opted to be spiritual without religion. They want a
spirituality without religion. In a recent survey in the United
States 33 percent said that they were spiritual but not religious. So
the question many people ask now is: Can a person have a
spirituality without religion?
Before I give
my answer to that question there is a need for me to clarify these
two terms, spirituality and religion.
Spirituality is
a quality of life wherein the invisible realities take the priority.
These invisible realities include the source of everything there is,
the working out of this source in our life and in the world around
us, the conflict between the good and evil around us, the desires of
all created and uncreated realities.
Religion is a
system of doctrine, morality and rituals by which human beings try to
make meaning out of life.
The system of
doctrine is expressed in a creed or in a summary of basic teachings,
such as the Apostles’ Creed for Christians or the Four Basic Truths
for Buddhists. Its system of morality is in a list of laws to govern
one’s conduct, written or unwritten, such as the Ten Commandments
for the Jews and Christians, or the Eightfold Path for Buddhists.
Its rituals are prescribed actions by which people may have contact
with God like sacrifices and prayers, such as the sacraments for
Christians or meditations for Buddhists.
When we ask
therefore whether a person can have spirituality without religion we
want to know whether a person can give priority to the invisible
realities of life without having a system of doctrine, morality and
rituals.
The answer is a
big “Yes”. A person can live on a spiritual level without the
crutches of religion.
An Example
According to
Robert Putnam and David Campbell in their book AMERICAN GRACE, HOW
RELIGION DIVIDES AND UNITES US, the sudden rise of persons who are
spiritual without religion is the most significant trend in the US
religious landscape in the last 50 years. These persons are labeled
Nones (for persons who want to have “none” of the religious
trappings). A most typcial example of a None is the singer Sahffi
Lynne. She never affiliated with a church, in fact never went to a
church on her own. She never learned a code of conduct. She never
went through a series of actions to reach God. And yet she is
spiritual. Her music is a testimony to her spirituality.
The fact that
more and more people are becoming less religious and more spiritual,
that is, that we have more and more Nones in our society, is proof
enough that a person can have a spirituality without religion.
Many books have
already been written about this phenomenon, such as SPIRITUAL BUT NOT
RELIGIOUS: UNDERSTANDING UNCHURCHED AMERICA by Robert C. Fuller, and
SPIRITUAL BUT NOT RELIGIOUS: A CALL TO RELIGIOUS REVOLUTION IN
AMERICA by Sven E. Erlandson.
A
Clarification
There have been
studies purporting to prove that to be spiritual without religion
leads to mental imbalance. An instance of these studies is the one
published in the British Journal of Psychiatry by Michael King of the
University College London and his colleagues.
These studies
confuse spirituality with spiritualism, a system of spiritual beliefs
and practices trying to contact and manipulate spirits, such as in
seances.
Genuine
spirituality has nothing to do with spiritualism. Spiritualism can
indeed lead to mental imbalance, seeing things that are not there,
imposing one's views on others. True spirituality leads to an
integral life, one that balances the activities of the body, mind and
spirit. Those studies by Michael King are on spiritualism, not
spirituality. A person can really have spirituality without religion.
for your
spiritual growth
for your health
for learning
about the new trends around us
for earning
some income from the Internet
Here
are your links to download the e-books for FREE. To download a copy
of A NEW CHRIST by Wallace D. Wattles click this website
http://bit.ly/anewchrist.
To download a free copy of A NEW EARTH by Eckhart Tolle click this
website http://bit.ly/ebookanewearth.
I hope that you enjoy reading these free e-books and profit much
from them, as I have also profited greatly from them.
