What does it mean to be “Spiritual”?

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We’ve all heard people say, “I’m not religious but I’m spiritual,” or “So-and-so is a very spiritual person.”

I’ve been pondering what is meant by the word “spiritual” in this context. I’m not ready to share my ponderings quite yet, in part because I don’t want to assemble (in Lilek’s phrase) a “clone army of strawmen”. So I’m asking for a little help from my readers.

When you hear someone say that they are “spiritual”, what does that convey to you? And if you have ever said something like, “I’m not religious but I’m spiritual,” what did you mean by it?

I’m genuinely curious.

Part II

7 thoughts on “What does it mean to be “Spiritual”?”

  1. I used to often call myself “spiritual but not religious.” It meant that I believed in things other than this material world, including deities, non-human spirits, and souls of dead humans. I also believed that I had a great inner, spiritual power.

    But I was never beholden to anything or anybody, including deities. I had no special love or devotion to any of them. That would have been “religion,” and I just saw as an unnecessary restriction. I just wanted to do my own thing.

    Of course, I was greatly deceived. I was doing the will of a false deity all along–Satan. And I’m so fortunate that the Judeo-Christian “version of god” I despised so much never gave up on me. As soon as I came to know Him, I fell in love with Him and stopped seeing religion as a burden. Rather, it became a sort of hunger for me! And it has opened up a spirituality that makes my former “spirituality” pale in comparison!

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  2. My impression is that “I’m not religious, but I’m spiritual” means, “I act as if I were an atheist, but I still have the comfort of believing I’ll live forever.”

    Not that different from a lot of Christians, actually….

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  3. I don’t think I’ve ever run into anyone who actually used that phrase, but if I did hear it, I’d take it to mean: I believe in powers/supernatural phenomena that don’t put any demands on me I don’t want to do.

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  4. I always think that this means that someone is aware of God and feel connected to Him, but that they are not willing to be obedient to the actions that are called for by the Bible. I think of it as passive. I also think that it comes from viewing religiosity as a negative thing, rather than a positive thing.

    I do also think that people can be religious (be doing right actions) without being spiritual (connected to God), and that a life such as this is quite empty. A state that I’m afraid many practicing Catholics can be found, unfortunately.

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  5. Thadeus brings up an excellent point. We need to be both connected to God through a personal walk(spiritual) and connected to His people through regular gatherings and rituals that we perform in rememberance of Him (religious). The Bible requires both.

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  6. Pingback: The View From The Foothills » What does it mean to be “Spiritual”, Part II

  7. Pingback: The View From The Foothills » What does it mean to be “Spiritual”, Part IV

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