There is an increasing segment of the population today who identify as spiritual but not religious. While religion usually implies adherence to an established set of beliefs and practices, spirituality is more individualized and open-ended. Those who consider themselves spiritual but not religious do not necessarily want to commit to a particular religious dogma or institution. They want the freedom to construct a worldview that feels personally meaningful, without limiting themselves to one tradition or community.
For a spiritual-but-not-religious person, cultivating a connection with the divine or transcendent may be the driving force behind their spirituality. This connection might be cultivated through practices like prayer, meditation, spending time in nature, or serving others. How each person nurtures their spiritual life varies widely, as there are no set guidelines or requirements.
Some common themes among the spiritual but not religious include:
- A desire for a direct relationship with God or a higher power, without the mediation of religious authorities or institutions.
- An emphasis on inner spiritual experience over outer religious dogma.
- A commitment to continue growing and deepening spiritually throughout life, rather than sticking to one static set of beliefs.
- An integrative worldview that draws from multiple religious/wisdom traditions, rather than following just one.
- A focus on cultivating acceptance, compassion, service to others.
- A belief that one’s relationship with the divine can be cultivated in a diversity of ways, not just through one religion.
For those who grew up in a formal religious tradition but no longer feel at home there, identifying as spiritual but not religious can feel liberating. It allows them to maintain a sense of the sacred and transcendent in life without adhering to beliefs or practices that no longer fit for them. Many who take this route feel disillusioned by perceived corruption, hypocrisy, or rigid dogmatism within specific religious institutions. Rather than abandoning faith altogether, they seek a more holistic spirituality that allows them to find their own way.
However, some argue against drawing too firm a dichotomy between religion and spirituality. Religion does not have to be devoid of transcendence, transformation, and genuine spiritual encounter. And even within theological traditions that posit God as wholly “other” from humanity, there have always been mystics and contemplatives seeking unity with the divine. Throughout history, men and women have cultivated profound spiritual lives in diverse religious contexts. Often the firmest adherents to a religious tradition exhibit the most intense spiritual devotion within their particular worldview and community. So religion and spirituality need not be entirely separable categories.
What guidance does the Bible offer regarding this contemporary “spiritual but not religious” phenomenon? There are a few relevant angles to consider.
1. Religion without spirituality is empty
The Bible warns against approaching religion simply as a matter of outward observance or cultural identity, rather than inward submission of the heart and spirit. Jesus strongly critiques religious leaders who use external considerations like status or public image to bolster their own egos. Check your motives, he cautions. What matters most to God is the orientation of your heart (Luke 11:39-52). Going through religious motions while inwardly resisting God gets you nowhere.
“These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” (Isaiah 29:13)
The prophets voice similar critiques, railing against those just “going through the motions” of sacrifices and rituals without embodying justice, mercy and sincerity of heart (Isaiah 1:10-20, Amos 5:21-24). So the Bible definitely resonates with frustration toward dry, empty, hypocritical religion devoid of spiritual vitality. If your faith does not meaningfully connect with the deepest parts of you – your values, worldview, character and life purpose – it is rather worthless.
2. Spirituality without truth risks going astray
At the same time, the Bible makes clear that spirituality disconnected from revealed truth can court danger. Our hearts without proper guidance are prone to “deceitfulness above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9). When people craft an idiosyncratic spirituality based on personal whims, cultural trends, or mystical experiences without testing it against God’s revelation, they often end up drifting into falsehood and confusion.
The apostle Paul, encountering the cultural smorgasbord of Athenian religion, compliments their evident hunger for spiritual experience and meaning. But he urges them toward a surer foundation – the revelation of the one true God in Christ (Acts 17:16-34). Spiritual openness and seeking are commendable to an extent. But if wholly detached from special revelation, they provide shaky ground for constructing an enduring faith.
“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)
In a similar vein, John warns against automatically believing every spiritual experience or inner prompting without discernment, for false prophets abound (1 John 4:1-6). Paul commends the Bereans as “noble” for not accepting even his own teaching without first examining the Scriptures (Acts 17:11). Biblical precedent warns us to be discerning about every impulse or experience that presents itself as divine guidance.
So while a solely formal, outward religiosity is deadening, an inward spirituality severed from the orienting guidelines of truth can easily stray in dangerous directions. Biblically speaking, spirituality works best when anchored to the special revelation of God in Jesus Christ and the Scriptures.
3. Religion and spirituality overlap significantly in Bible teaching
Making religion and spirituality out to be completely separate spheres is somewhat foreign to the world of the Bible. In biblical language, the words often used today to connote “spirituality” – like “fear of the Lord”, “walking in the Spirit”, “repentance”, “prayer”, “worship”, “reverence” – are intertwined with outward religious observance and community. They assume a grounding in the concrete stories, commands and rituals by which God makes Himself known. Deep spirituality expresses itself communally and practically, through habits like sabbath rest, ethical behavior, liturgical prayer, and service. And religious practices are geared toward spiritual formation.
This interconnectedness comes through clearly in biblical metaphors for the life of faith. Images like walking in light (1 John 1:5-7), a cultivated olive tree (Jeremiah 11:16-17), the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), and the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-27) all integrate the personal/spiritual and corporate/formal dimensions of religious belonging. You cannot easily extract one component without diminishing the whole.
Certainly this integral weaving of spirituality and religion partly reflects the historical context in which the Bible emerged, where specific rituals and community identity were integral to worship of the God of Israel. Some scholars also note that “spirituality” only emerged as a separate concept in reaction to overly formal, cerebral religious environments beginning in medieval Christianity. So separating spirituality entirely from lived religion would ring discordant with the biblical context.
The books of Psalms and Proverbs contain prayers and instructions covering every dimension of human life – agriculture, politics, economics, family, emotions – all held together by love for God’s law. “In all your ways acknowledge Him,” the wisdom literature urges, “and He will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:6) Biblical spirituality does not remain interior, but permeates outward behavior.
So in the worldview of the Bible, caring for one’s inner spiritual life could hardly be divorced from practical obedience to God’s commands, participation in religious rituals and festivals, and shared spiritual language, symbols, stories and ethics within a community. Healthy spirituality expresses itself communally, through religious forms. And religious forms nurture spirituality. The two work best in tandem.
4. Balance tradition and innovation under guidance of the Spirit
Given this interweaving, those feeling disillusioned with “organized religion” may still find the best home within their religious family – with patience, wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit. The prophets and wisdom literature consistently urge repairing and redeeming religion, rather than abandoning it. John exhorts Christians to remain within the fellowship, while guided by the Spirit toward what is true and good (1 John 2:24-27).
Jesus and Paul, for their part, seek to redeem Judaism from within. They controversy provoke heated debates within Jewish communities about how to observe the Law and Temple rituals in light of the new revelation in Christ. But their goal is to fulfill the Law, not abolish it (Matthew 5:17). Reform and spiritual vitality are possible within religious traditions through discerning, Spirit-led innovation. Maintaining communion and dialogue from within may bear more fruit than leaving entirely.
At times, sincerely following the Spirit’s guidance will lead toward change or conflict within religious institutions regarding beliefs and practices. But working for sensitive reform from within is often preferable to abandoning the shared landmarks of tradition and community altogether. Religious forms may need refining over time in response to new understandings, but they still shape identity and provide continuity with the past. So according to the biblical template, carefully guided evolution within established structures is advisable.
As an example, while Paul adamantly opposed Christians getting circumcised as a requirement for justification, he saw value in Timothy being circumcised for the sake of effective ministry within the Jewish community (Acts 16:3). Tradition is not static. Change can come through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, while still demonstrating respect for inherited practices and maintaining bonds of unity.
5. Focus on love, which transcends divisions
Finally, the Bible consistently elevates love as the supreme virtue that transcends religious divisions and arguments. “If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2)
When faced with Christians bickering over doctrinal differences in Romans 14, Paul does not settle the argument definitively one way or the other. Rather, he calls for unity in Christ by looking past secondary issues to the common ground of faith. Focusing on love and conscience, rather than dogma, as the guide for gray areas of practice.
“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God…Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” (Romans 14:10, 13)
When love predominates, minor differences in spiritual practice or theology need not divide. The ultimate truth that matters is love for God and neighbor. If that foundation is firm, Christians have grace to come to differing conclusions around the periphery issues. Debates about correct doctrine or practice are fairly common in the New Testament letters. But the overriding advice is to avoid quarrels that undermine love, which forms the core.
“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions… Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (Romans 14:1, 4)
“Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.” (Romans 14:1)
This aligns with Jesus’ reminder that the greatest commandments are to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind” and to “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39). Teachings or practices that undermine love are spiritually dangerous, while those that build love are beneficial – even if some of the finer theological details differ from your own perspective.
With this compass of love in place, Christians remain open to learning from and being challenged by spiritual wisdom from outside their tradition. Common ground and civil dialogue around core values become possible, even amidst theological diversity. With Christ as the firm center, Christians have freedom to engage and learn from the practices and insights of other faiths or emerging spiritualities. The boundary lines can remain permeable when love is the guide.
In conclusion, the dichotomy between “religion” and “spirituality” can be overdrawn. At its best, biblical faith integrates spiritual devotion with practical obedience and participation in a worshiping community. Sincere faith seeks understanding and balance between the Word and the Spirit. With love as the orienting guide, diverse expressions and experiences of spirituality can cohere.