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{"id":382,"date":"2010-07-29T23:09:00","date_gmt":"2010-07-29T23:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/07\/spiritual-but-not-religious\/"},"modified":"2010-07-29T23:09:00","modified_gmt":"2010-07-29T23:09:00","slug":"spiritual-but-not-religious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/johnbeckett\/2010\/07\/spiritual-but-not-religious.html","title":{"rendered":"Spiritual But Not Religious?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I thought I was done with blogging until after the Gorsedd, but then a Facebook friend pointed me toward this column by Rev. Christy Thomas<\/a>, pastor of First United Methodist Church of Krum, Texas. It\u2019s part of a series she\u2019s doing rebutting the excuses people give for not going to church (or, to be more generic and inclusive, for avoiding religious community).<\/span>
<\/span>
In this column, Rev. Thomas blasts the \u201cspiritual but not religious\u201d crowd for their ignorance of religious foundations, traditions, thoughts, and practices. She says such people are essentially saying \u201cMy feelings about God, however vague and unformed, do not need the discipline of examination, study and exposure to different ideas to develop and grow healthily.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She\u2019s right.<\/span><\/p>\n

A lot of folks in UU churches call themselves \u201cspiritual but not religious.\u201d Amy Martin\u2019s Earth Rhythms<\/a> seasonal celebrations are filled with them. And I know and have known many. Most of them are good people. A few of them are genuine seekers: people who\u2019ve figured out that the religion of their childhood doesn\u2019t work for them but who haven\u2019t yet found their true path. <\/span><\/p>\n

But those who are genuinely seeking are also reading, studying, praying, meditating, and visiting various houses of worship. They haven\u2019t yet found what they want to dive deeply into, but at least they\u2019re working at it \u2013 they\u2019re trying stuff on to see what fits. Calling yourself \u201cspiritual but not religious\u201d is all too frequently an excuse for spiritual laziness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spiritual growth requires work. Much of that work is done alone, in daily practice. But there is a limit to how far you can grow on your own. You need someone or someones to bounce ideas off, someone to help you figure out if what you\u2019re thinking\/feeling\/believing really makes sense. You need someone to be accountable to \u2013 someone you know will ask if you sat in meditation this week or if you read the book you said you were going to read. <\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond that, you need a community to provide a place to put your faith into action. Religion and spirituality are great, but they\u2019re not just about walking with God or drawing down the Moon. They\u2019re also about making a tangible difference in the material world. Alone, we can\u2019t do much.<\/span><\/p>\n

Together\u2026 that\u2019s another matter entirely.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"