is a spiritual person necessarily a religious one?

Question

i'm not a religious person at all, but i've often been told that i'm quite a spiritual person and i'm not really sure what that means. anybody know?

Answer 1

I assume not, for if I say that this car is very mechanical then I might get laughed at, because the fact is too obvious. The mechanical quality is so common to a car that it needs not to be mentioned in an adjective as if it were special. It would like saying that this water is very wet or even air is windy. Similarly we cannot, in real sense, call ourselves spiritual because this is what we essential are - a person cannot be without his or her spirit or soul.

But we do need to identify certain traits, practices, attitudes and people as spiritual in life. The reason for this is that the aspects that constitute human mind are wide in range: we have material side of our mind that recognises and appreciate things with logic and reason - perhaps this where you say is the ‘disgusting mess’. The higher aspect of our mind however is transcendental. This aspect is able to recognise and appreciate things of the world that are abstract in nature. This aspect generate our needs that are at the top of the hierarchy of our need i.e. the need for self-actualisation, therefore the question – who am I? When we transcend material for the sake of abstract i.e. justice, wisdom, beauty and harmony, we become spiritual, or realise ourselves as spiritual.

One therefore does not necessarily have to be religious to be spiritual. One can realise himself or herself as a spiritual person any time through certain lifestyle, practices and attitudes. But the world or abstract realities is the world that we do not see with our material eyes and do not hear with our material ears. The insight and the intuition that is required for this can be interrupted very easily by what we see and hear all around us in our material world. The journey is perilous and a person has only so much time as his or her lifespan. Religion provides the sound and secure template for this purpose that is usually followed by many people together. It is usually safe and very time friendly.

Answer 2

The two are completely different. A priest who abuses children is religious because he has chosen a "religious" path but he is NOT spiritual! A spiritual person is one who sees the pain of others and can empathise. In the Old Testament, the Sadducees demanded that the religious rules were followed but they forgot to see the suffering of the people around them. A religion usually requires allegiance to a god/person/rules. Spirituality doesn't.

Answer 3

That "spiritual" thing is something we hear mentioned a lot these days. But I seriously doubt if there is a single standard definition of what it means, because each individual seems to have his own idea about its meaning..... or, like some of us... not much of an idea at all LOL> Mostly when people talk about "Religion" what they really mean is Theism.... belief in a mysterious invisible superbeing who is omnicient, and omnipresent and rewards obedience and has a very nasty punishment for all "offenders" when they leave this life. On the other hand, Spirituality... I come to think, is more about a person having some kind of belief that somewhere, somehow, there must be some kind of guiding, controlling "force" keeping the Cosmos in orderly balance. And that in some way that is still beyond our ability to fully comprehend, if we put ourselves into a certain special meditative state - that has to reflect the right purity of thought; simplicity of spirit, sincerity of purpose - we might just manage to "connect" with this "force" and draw into ourselves from it, the courage, or ability, or strength that we need to fulfill some endeavor.
The person who wants to think of himself as "spiritual" doesn't really need to have a mental picture of a specific being (possibly humanlike), with humanlike emotions, and reactions - and give that Being a name like "God. This "spiritforce" isn't a he, or a she, but an "it", and as long as you get your "mind right" so to speak, you may be fortunate enough to connect with "it" in your particular time of need.
One thing I can say is that I have personally never heard anyone who described himself as "spiritual"ever casting any insults at, or putting down people who profess alliegance to any particular theistic religion Regretfully all I do seem to hear these days is a constant barage of insults and condemnation being hurled by members of one religious group at members of another. If it is their contention that this behaviour is "OK" with the God they believe in, that entity must be a pretty malicious "god"

Answer 4

I don't think you have to be religious to be spiritual. I think to be spiritual you can see the wonders of the world and take pleasure in the simpler things in life. If you are spiritual you believe in the forces of nature that we cannot see, or belive that there is another level of existance (The Spirit world) I always think that spiritual people are interested in alternative healing methods and have a calming nature. You don't have to be religious to believe in a higher force.

Answer 5

No, you can be spiritual and not religious. Spirituality is something different from religion, I think people sometimes assume that spirituality is related to religion in some form because it is usually associated with R.E lessons or God and that. But in fact, they are separate and the answer to your question is no! xxx

Answer 6

You can not be a spiritual person if u don't think it at least consciously. A spiritual person doesnt have to be religious I agree but he must be a full hart believer of God or Gods. They tend to focus on where they came from and going since existence, seeing life as a meaningful journey.

Answer 7

No I believe you can be a spiritual person with out having a religion.. Spirituality is completely different from religion.

Answer 8

A Spiritual person is someone who is in tune with GOD or spiritual things. A religious person is someone who subscribes to certain belief system.
GOD wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

May GOD richly bless you.

Answer 9

No religion is man made, and that's a fact that can not be denied, being a spiritual person, is being more in line in having faith in yourself, and God, without the lies of man kind

Answer 10

simply; you dont believe in the one true god, you prefer something more earthy or techno...and you have a connection to it... youre basically an old hippy, or technophobe...and you believe in something other than a badly edited folk story...

im the old hippy technophobe, and teh wife is the old hippy earth mother I shall of course deny i ever said this...if she asks..

but thats about it. spiritualism is about acceptance, and understanding, mainly ourselves as people... religion is accepting what someone else tells you, and expects you to accept it at face value with no proof or evidence to supprt their (unproven) claims. they say we cant belive because we have no faith..no, we have something far more deadly. logical process, understanding and intelligence... which lets face have no place in modern religion.

to be spiritual is to be free from constraints. free thought. i think, just because i can. someone or something designed and fitted us out..and they did such a good job were stil teh top of the range models.. evolution is not what darwin thought it was.

are we all gods creation? i dont know, but a lot sdepends on who or what we think god is.

answers on an Email please.