Rhetoric Race and Religion
I’m a Christian and as such I consider myself as being both spiritual and religious but these quotes do seem to be potent and convey something worth pondering.
Over the past few years, there’s been a notable rise in the percent of the young adult population who identify themselves as being either “spiritual but not religious” or as“none of the above” – entirely unaffiliated spiritually.
I suppose this may be related to a tendency for young adults to register as “independent” instead of as either Democrat or Republican politically. Seems we don’t like to be “defined” or “labeled.” And yet, being unaffiliated is its own label – and people still define us.
In the same way that non-denominational churches have effectively become a denomination of their own, a case can be made that “spiritual but not religious” have become their own tribe (denomination).
Some will read that and resist saying, “but we’re not like a religion or something.” Indeed. And that’s the problem.
Too many of the growing crowd of those who are spiritual free agents are doing plenty of things to improve themselves. They’re growing to some extent as self-helpers. They’re meditating, doing yoga, lighting incense, wearing patchouli, toking mary jane, and re-posting all sorts of pretty pictures on Facebook with cool quotes or feel good aphorisms. They’re “doing their work” – exploring (some of) their shadows, “circling,” and otherwise learning how to divorce themselves from their elders and traditions and become their “authentic selves.”
Good for them.
The trouble is, for too many of these spiritual unaffiliateds, their spirituality begins and ends – with them. In other words, what’s good for them, isn’t good for us. The collective us. The community. You know, the other 7 billion people on the planet.
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