How can one be spiritual WITHOUT being religious?

Answer 1

Spirituality is it's own thing...religion just uses it.

Answer 2

Being spiritual is simply being in touch with your own feelings and your heart. Your passion, and your purpose here, etc etc. That is all it ever is - an overall awareness and understanding about life, etc etc.

Religion is about this - the above being organised and group fed, with a church or institution involved.
Sadly - generally - it turns into something it is not. It loses it's true purpose, and starts teaching incorrect teachings, etc. Because the insitution or church becomes centreplace, and the most important aspect - for that church/institution to survive - that is why new members/recurits are always needed. And so, what original spiritual teachings it did have, gets turned into dogma and rhetoric - brainwashing propaganda to convert people with.
Quite often this happens at the time of the setting up of the church/insitution.
It is easy to see that most of them have lost touch with reality - and care only about themselves.

Answer 3

It's going to depend upon your definition, or the applied definition of religion.

Spirituality is something experienced ( I can say from experience ) , and remembered typically. It would be as memorable as as racing a car, and sometimes about as exhilarating.

So spirituality is sometimes referred to as 'the expressions of the spirit'.

While religious is often a practice that may be considered 'carnal', it may be seen by anyone looking, and it may include things which are not a thing to do with God.

See what I mean?

religious
adjective
1. concerned with sacred matters or religion or the church; "religious texts"; "a member of a religious order"; "lords temporal and spiritual"; "spiritual leaders"; "spiritual songs"
2. having or showing belief in and reverence for a deity; "a religious man"; "religious attitude" [ant: irreligious]
3. of or relating to clergy bound by monastic vows; "the religious or regular clergy conducts the service" [ant: secular]
4. extremely scrupulous and conscientious; "religious in observing the rules of health"

noun
1. a member of a religious order who is bound by vows of poverty and chastity and obedience

The thing that comes to my mind is with the fourth meaning, it could mean a person going to baseball practice every Thursday, and things like that.

Answer 4

Many people consider themselves spiritual but not religious. Spirituality is the freedom to explore all of creation and to accept or reject philosophies as one desires; there are no limiting concepts related to spirituality, no prohibitions. One does not necessarily need to believe in a creative deity to be spiritual; spirituality is simply the idea that there might be more to existence than we can perceive with our physical senses. Religions, conversely, tend to be the opposite of spirituality, demanding obeisance from their subjects and a conformation to a strict set of beliefs with a reward and punishment system of control.

Answer 5

Very easily.
I've been "spiritual" all my life. I've always leaned toward Christianity though- even during my non-religious years.
It's a feeling... a oneness with the earth and nature... it's feeling the pulse of all things but being aware of a darkness. At least, that's how it's always been for me. Being spiritual without religion is giving into the carnal and succumbing to spiritism.

Now I'm one of Jehovah's Witnesses and I try to be one with God and doing his will instead of my own.

Answer 6

Spirituality is awareness of your connection to the Universe which is the living Goddess.

Religion too often refers to patriarchal systems of control that discourage spirituality rather than encourage it. Most people in this culture don't know about Goddess religions, so they think they have to avoid religion altogether because they don't like the hateful controlling Abrahamic ones.

It's sad - if they listed everything they hate about religion, I guarantee none of them would be true about my religion.

Answer 7

To be religious simply means to do what ever is required to be part of a particular church denomination ...anyone can do that..

But to spiritual... means ( in a sense) to be able to touch the face of God and to know him.
Kind of like standing on a very high mountain top on a clear day.... and be in total awe of the beauty before you.... That's the best way I can describe that.

Answer 8

For me it means I don't listen to dogma or follow the rules of particular religion, or go to church, etc.
I believe in a spiritual plane beyond this one, and that God is really "out there" or rather, within us. I feel God is too big to box up in one religion. So I have a personal, private relationship with God that works very well, thank you.

Answer 9

In brief, spirituality is the same as religion. And without religion you can't possibly know what spirituality is. If you utilize your own intellect to define what you believe is spiritual then you're spirituality is only what you remember or feel that day like doing. One day you might feel spiritual and another day you might hear someone influence you to fell another way.

Answer 10

religion to me is just a man made meathod to express a spiritual nature. All religions were made by men. Not one is made by jesus or by God, Allah, etc.

Spiritual nature is natural as our skin. We are 95% spiritual and 5% physical.

so it is natural to be spiritual ....but unnnatural to be religious.