Do you think that, over all, people are becoming more spiritual as they become less religious?

Question

Little Fluffball of Doom: If you really need to ask, the answer will probably do you no good.

Night Nurse: Why didn't the nurses look like that when I was working in surgery? lol

Answer 1

aye. i used to be a catholic and had no real spiritual beliefs i only had dogma (well i had the same view of it as a nordic viking who was converted) then i became an atheist and am now rather spiritual. i know many people who become more spiritual as they lose religion.

Answer 2

Again with so many things in life, it depends upon the person. I think the less a person occupies him or herself with dogma, the better. Some ritual is good because for some people the element of the spiritual is there. I have felt very spiritual taking communion, but then again, I felt very spiritual last summer as I lay under the stars, contemplating the vastness of it all. I'd have to say it depends on the person, but freeing oneself from completely following dogma helps.

Answer 3

Not on YA they're not. If anything those who disbelieve in religion appear to be getting more intolerant, hateful, condescending, and down right venomous when interacting with people of faith.

There is a seperation between spirituality and religiousness though. You're right. You need both, however. If all you have is religion with no spirituality then you become one of these sad little, bitter people running around spouting biblical legalisms all the time. Without the love that spiritual connectedness to God brings out, they reduce the worship of God to nothing more than a list of stodgy rules.

If all you have is spirituality then you might be connected and open to the devine, but you have no solid foundation by which to arrive at moral determinations apart from your own personal judgement. This can vary wildly among individuals and "spritual but not religious" people usually end up justifying whatever it is they want to justify based on the assertion it "feels right" or "feels good".

It's an extreme example, but Charles Manson, Jim Jones, and David Koresh were all very spiritual, but without religious guidance about the way they ought to behave, they ultimately used that "spirituality", they're own warped view of what seemed right and good to they themselves alone, to justify the abuse and ultimately the deaths of many people, either their own followers or people they had some obsequious grievance with.

Answer 4

Yes. I think that will lead to a better world. The more religious some people are, the more locked in to a dogmatic way of thinking they become. Better to be spiritual than religious, I think anyway.

Answer 5

Of course.

As we let go of the absolution involved with being a Christian/Jew/Muslim, we begin to search for the answers to all the questions that remain blank, since the answer is no longer "God".

We begin to see ourselves as luminous beings rather than just children of God. It's quite remarkable, actually, the amount a person can grow in spirituality once they have abandoned God.

Answer 6

For the sake of my Spirituality I refuse to engage myself to any religion.



It is said, to be in the world, but not part of it and religion is most certainly part of this world and are the opinions of men passed off as truth.

Answer 7

People call me spiritual I really don't know why. But nobody ever said that about me while I was "religious"
I never thought of it ..

Answer 8

absolutely
I have definitely seen a rise in spiritual beliefs as opposed to religious

Answer 9

No, the two generally go hand in hand. The trend in America has been towards more extremes, strong non theism and strong theism.

Answer 10

If they are becoming less religious how is that possible?