Spiritual But Not Religious
Spiritual But Not Religious
by The Rev. George Anne Boyle
In the wake of the New Age, and the ever-growing love affair our culture has with
all things spiritual, a new mantra has emerged: I’m spiritual, not religious! It
is the mantra of ex-Catholics and once-in-awhile Protestants and others on the spiritual
path. This emerging mantra has grown up in response to religion that looks more
like a museum, religion that says you practice THIS way or you aren’t one of us,
religion that isn’t relevant to the life I lead, religion that tells us to believe
12 impossible things before breakfast and leaves no place open for questions or
doubt.
And there’s this longing and maybe even a presence of energy in life. Perhaps if
you are on the spiritual journey, you have felt this. Energy that gives life and
joy — whether it’s looking at Rainer at sunrise, or playing music with others, or
sitting with someone in a time of sorrow. That energy is what the Christian people
call the presence of the Holy Spirit. The followers of this Jesus know this longing
and energy only too well.
What is this longing? It is the longing to live in community with others from all
walks of life — a community that is present in sadness and joy, a group of people
searching and questioning and doubting and finding more questions about that presence
together.
It's not about having answers as much as it is about engaging a story. It is about
your story and how your story connects to an ancient story of desert wanderers that,
in time, came to see that humanity and this energy they called God mingled and existed
through Christ and thus, exists in all of humanity.
Is it possible to practice and grow your spirituality within an organized church?
Yes! The Episcopal Church holds many possibilities open for those on the spiritual
path looking for a diverse community of believers.
The beauty of the Episcopal tradition is that it is open to questions and new possibilities,
as well as ancient teachings. Imagine a spiritual practice that is both grounded
in tradition and open to new possibilities.
-- The Rev. George Anne Boyle is Associate for Christian Formation at Saint Thomas
Episcopal Church in Medina, Washington.
Millennium Development Goals
The MDGs represent a global partnership that has grown from the
commitments and targets established at the world summits of the 1990s. Responding to the world's
main development challenges and to the calls of civil society, the MDGs promote poverty reduction,
education, maternal health, gender equality, and aim at combating child mortality,
AIDS and other diseases.
