Why is there so much controversy over the
cliché “spiritual but not religious?”
There are wonderful people I admire and respect
who aren’t affiliated with a church. It’s not that they don’t believe in God.
They simply don’t want to be identified with the term “religious.”
Unfortunately, it has left a bad taste in their mouth. Therefore, they have rejected
traditional organized religion. They see themselves as being spiritual but not
religious.
I understand this cliché “spiritual but not
religious.” I’ve walked this road, and it does hold some merit.
A few years ago, I was at a crossroad. Organized
religion had imprisoned me. I felt boxed in: the dos and don’ts, the who’s in
and who’s out, what we were against rather than what we were for, it all lead
to exclusion. The line in the sand where Jesus was portraying the need for unity
had become one of division between “us” and “them,” especially toward the LGBT
community. These distractions left me questioning my faith. So, I left the
church.
I didn’t, however, leave my faith. I, instead, found spirituality. In others words, I
went inward. I returned to the person God created me to be. I went on a mission
to discover who I was as a child of the light, not what others thought I should
be.
Through this mission of enlightenment, I’ve
returned to church, with both spirituality and religion interwoven in my
faith. Both have helped me unlock my truest self, to think outside the box
unobstructed by the constraints some leaders of organized religion can impose
on us.
But, I
would have to say, it’s my spirituality that keeps me grounded, that allows me to
look at our humanity with an open mind and an open heart.
Because, at the end of the day, we are all
flawed human beings, searching for guidance that, in my opinion, can ultimately
be found by awakening the divine Spirit, which is planted within all of us.
Be who you were created to be. Seek the Devine
within. When you do, you will look beyond the bonds of human limitations and find
the beauty of Grace, a place where spirituality and religion are united.
