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"Only a real risk tests the reality of a belief."
— C.S. Lewis
About The Editor: Greetings! My name is Jeff and I'm one of your regular editors for the official Spiritual Newsletter! I've been a member of Writing.com since 2003, and have edited more than 400 newsletters across the site during that time. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me via email or the handy feedback field at the bottom of this newsletter! 
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Spiritual But Not Religious
One of the most popular phrases in modern theology is the category of "spiritual but not religious" (often abbreviated into the initialism "SBNR" and sometimes modified to "spiritual but not affiliated" (SBNA) or even "more spiritual than religious"). While previously generations often used the words spiritual and religious synonymously, it's much more common these days for people to identify "spirituality" as one's individual inner theology, and "religion" as one's external experience of faith (often in an organized setting).
Those elements will likely align for those who consider themselves a member of an organized religion. For example, a Christian might use the words "spirituality" and "religion" synonymously to describe their faith, or they might make a distinction between the two terms while acknowledging both align with traditional Christian values and expectations. It's becoming increasingly more common these days, however, for individuals to separate the two. For example, there are many people who believe the general tenets of Christianity, but don't adhere to any specific doctrine (Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, etc.) and/or don't attend regular church services, separating out their theological beliefs from their religious practices.
There are even those who go "forum shopping" (i.e, choosing something that has the most favorable rules or beliefs for a position that one already believes, like finding a church that is more accepting of alternative lifestyles if that's something that's already a part of your belief system), not just for a particular place of worship, but among theological concepts and doctrine. For example, someone might believe in the Christian ideals of love and forgiveness, combine them with the Buddhist concept of karma, and combine that with the tenets of reincarnation as found in Jainism. Some manufacture an entire system of spirituality based on a patchwork of ideals pulled from other sources, often selecting the parts that reinforce their own beliefs or their own ideals.
What's alluring about a bifurcated belief system (either separating out spiritual belief from religious practice, or assembling one's own belief system) is that it's made-to-order. You can keep the stuff that you like and that works for you, and toss out the rest. For someone like me, who doesn't agree with everything the Christian faith has to say, it's an easy way out. A way to reconcile the parts that I agree with against the parts that I don't.
The problem with that approach is that it trains us to expect everything to be catered to our preferences, and a big part of a lot of religious doctrine is the concept of struggle. The idea behind Judaism and Christianity and other religions is that you're supposed to spend your life trying to better understand that which can never be fully understood. The idea behind Buddhism and Hinduism is that, over the course of many lifetimes, you trend in the right direction toward enlightenment. Those things don't happen in a circumstance where you don't wrestle with anything because you're only picking up the bits and pieces that you already agree with.
The C.S. Lewis quote that has adorned the top of my Spiritual Newsletters for the past couple of years comes to mind here. "Only a real risk tests the reality of a belief." How real can a belief system be if it's never tested? How authentic is a faith journey if it constantly changes to suit an individual's tastes and preferences, never challenging and never inviting a deeper understanding?
"Spiritual but not religious" is an apt descriptor for a lot of people, especially those that are deconstructing their faith or otherwise actively exploring their beliefs and seeking to make a distinction between theology and practice. But it can also be a place for people to hide and never really challenge themselves on what their faith means to them. For people in that latter category, if SBNA really means "I like some of the ideas, but reserve the right to ignore the parts I don't like," I'd really encourage a closer examination of religious doctrine in one's particular faith tradition. So much of the good stuff is found when you wrestle with the things you don't necessarily agree with but have to figure out how to reconcile.
Theologian Tim Keller has this great quote that goes, "If your God never disagrees with you, you might just be worshipping an idealized version of yourself."
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"New & Noteworthy Things" | "Blogocentric Formulations"
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EXCERPT: Eddie and Joel, classmates at St. Anthony's Elementary School in Brooklyn's Greenpoint during the 1930s, followed different paths in life. Eddie dedicated himself to the priesthood and missionary work, while Joel entered the military and later became a psychotherapist. Reunited in 2020, they reflect on their life's contributions and societal values.
EXCERPT: I woke up and realized that I wasn’t in Earth time anymore. The last I remembered I was watching my human, Janey, walking into the rehab after finally deciding to stop her madness and get sober. I must have been recalled because I was back in infinity and no longer had the instinct to save Janey. Oh no, I failed! I must have gotten pulled out because of Janey going to rehab but I thought that would have been a good thing. I was fully awake now and looked around. There were other Guardian Angels, we knew each other because of the mark, sitting around but some were smoking and several had tattoos. The mark was a G in a circle that was not visible to the humans. Many of the angels choose to get tattoos and it was allowed so they could blend in, but I never thought they would stay on us after returning to infinity.
EXCERPT: It was a cold, crystal-clear winter morning. The sun was so high that it made the African sky look like a vast blue sea that stretched out forever and for a day. It must have been the ice cold crisp fresh air that caused my head to flip in the direction of my heart or maybe it was the other way around, my heart to flip in the direction of my heart, all I know is that suddenly I found myself looking at a derelict villa in the middle of nowhere through a lens of rose-tinted glasses. From this perspective, I heard my inner child squeal in delight.
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Feedback from "Spiritual Newsletter (August 7, 2024)" about low-hanging fruit:
Forgiveness is a test! It helps build ones faith, while increasing the ability of our souls to reflect the attributes of God.
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Spiritual: September 04, 2024 Issue [#12730]
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