416Are you Spiritual or Religious?
posted by Jeffrey on June 22nd, 2008
What’s the difference in religion and spirituality?
Unfortunately, as with all language and words, these things will mean something different to each individual.
What do they mean to you?
Here in the south people seem to have a harder time differentiating between the two.
Just last Sunday one of our customers called the house and illustrated this fact. Being a new customer and not having any previous personal connection to us, one would think that no assumptions would be made.
One would be wrong.
At the very first part of the message (before she said what she was calling for), this person did 2 things:
- assumed we were “at church” and not at home
- explained why she was NOT “at church” and hence leaving the message
One of my new clients at the gym (who is from California) had a similar experience. The very first day at her new job here in Nashville nearly everyone in her office asked her, “so where do you go to church?”.
When she responded, “no where, I’m more spiritual than religious”, they looked at her with bewilderment and then tried to “sell her on their church”, as she put it.
Do you assume someone goes to church when you meet them?
How would you respond to someone who says their spiritual, not religious?
Technorati Tags: God, religion, spirituality
001: newscoma,
June 22nd, 2008 at 1:49 pmI would have to go with Spiritual.
I don’t go to church, but I haven’t found one that I feel comfortable (or safe) in.
When I lived in Nashville, I went to the Unitarian Church and had a positive experience there. (Grew up Presbyterian.)
But I keep searching.
002: Chelsie,
June 28th, 2008 at 7:10 amI’ve had to explain this difference to my husband, too– thinking about spiritual things does not merit religion. Religion is where doctrine dominates spiritual thought. With those terms clarified, we have a lot more productive discussions. 
In addressing the mysteries of life, I leave doctrine out-not that certain areas aren’t intriguing, even helpful to conceptualize mankind’s existence, but mostly I just don’t get into it; one might say I’ve eaten so much that nausea followed.
I think people generally (in the South, at least) respond to a label of “spiritual” with skepticism and avoidance, assuming a “new age”, Eastern, or witch-on-crack line of thought that surely carries folks to hell in a handbasket. I get it…I’ve been there. But it wears on ya a bit until you realize it’s not going to change by explanation. Even posing questions doesn’t work…I usually get the “oh, you’re one of THOSE people” response.
Annoying as it is, the souls who braved the escape from religion, or who’ve always lived without it, have to soften ourselves toward the folks who are comforted by their familiar doctrine, and live lightly the Love/Peace/Freedom we wish them to know. 
Chelsie’s last blog post..balance
2 Responses