Spiritual or Religious?

One of the common confessions of folks these days in discussing their life of faith is that "I am spiritual, but not religious." Somehow, these folks must believe there is something inherently wrong with any religious group and something inherently superior to having mostly undefined opinions about faith.

In the Spring 2009 issue of C21 Resources, a publication of Boston College, the lead article addresses this very issue. From the article is this quote,

Claims for being “spiritual” but “not religious” deserve probing. Without doubt, religious institutions, ever human, need to engage in more substantive dialogue, self-critique, renewal, and reform. And yes, more attention must be placed on spiritual practices as central to the “content” of the faith handed down. But one ought not conclude that spirituality is a substitute for religion.

A spirituality that is disconnected from religion is bereft of both community and tradition; it has no recourse to the benefits of a larger body of discourse and practice, and it lacks accountability. Such spirituality quickly becomes privatistic and rootless, something directly opposite to the Christian understanding of “life in the Spirit.”

How do you respond to that perspective?

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This will be my last post for a week. Our church does a camp for 4th through 9th graders at a small Methodist campground above Coalville Utah. So, I will be "unconnected" until next weekend.

This would be a good opportunity for some of you to think about some of the questions I have posed and respond to them.