Spiritual But Not Religious​

 

Nearly one-third of adults in America report that they are non-religious. They tend to think of themselves as spiritual but have chosen not to pursue their spirituality through organized, establishment religion. The movement is large enough to qualify as a cultural phenomenon. “Spiritual but not religious,” as Liz Lemon might say, “is a thing.”

This trend will transform American culture; and yet, religion isn’t going anywhere. The major religions could vanish from the earth, but religion will be with us forever. This is so because “religion” is simply the social aspect of personal spirituality. Anytime people share their spirituality, that is religious expression. Not only will religion always be with us, but we need it to be because we are social animals.

It isn't this basic idea that people who are "spiritual but not religious" typically oppose – sharing experiences and comparing notes with others. Rather, it is the corruption that has crept into and, in too many cases, has come to characterize establishment religion that causes them to distance themselves.

The corruption of established religion in America was only a matter of time. History shows that everything humans build, regardless of the nobility of its founding principles, that is meant to occupy indefinitely a place in our so-called civilization eventually succumbs to the corrupting forces of social inertia. Eventually, the money left on the table seems too compelling to reject, the power and influence that could be wielded too irresistible to deny, the violent shortcuts that could be taken to accomplish desired ends too effective to scruple, or the existential threats that come against too fearsome to ignore. Eventually, it is all folded neatly into the way – the pattern, the organization, the establishment – of the world.

Establishment religion has become too darkened to salvage, and we recognize that at Spirit Collective. American Christianity, particularly, has become toxic in its blatant disregard of love in favor of wealth and power. It has become another cog in the machine that reinforces this dismal status quo, in league with other such influences. We will not condone or participate in this racket.

At Spirit Collective, we desire freedom from this present darkness, and, because of the movement of Light and Love that continues in the world, we shall have it. People are awakening to the truth that, because it is the only human faculty that can withstand the forces of social inertia, Love is the foundation upon which human life and spirituality must be built. Many of them call themselves “spiritual but not religious.” 

If that’s you, we want you to know: there is a community for you, too. 

 

Keep reading to learn about what we are building: Spirit Collective As a Love Coalition.