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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Funny how everyone uses "spiritual" these days, rather than "religious."  It's almost as if people are embarrassed to say they're religious.[/quote]

Spiritually and religion are two different things. [/quote]

Correct, but the thread is "If you are religious and were non-religious before."  So why do so many people say they are "spiritual?"  As you say, they're two different things.[/quote]

DP. In our church, the word “spirituality” is used all the time and [b]it’s a compliment to say someone is “spiritual.”[/b] I don’t know pp’s background, but Christians have been talking about spirituality for hundreds, maybe even 2,000, years. [/quote]

[b]But what does it mean[/b]?[/quote]

Very great question.  It sounds like vague enough to be very cool, but not "religious" which isn't seen as cool.[/quote]

I am a non-religious poster married to someone who was also non-religious and has become very religious over the course of the last 5-10 years.

To me, the distinction is largely related to "religion" being a specific thing. People are not generally "just religious" - they belong to some religious community that is united in a group of beliefs that are distinct in some way from the beliefs of other spiritual groups. It feels more organized and more like there is probably behavior associated with it - going to church, attending religious study groups, etc. as well as whatever behaviors are dictated by the religion they're part of (e.g., rules about food, rules about intimacy, etc.).

Someone who identifies as purely spiritual seems like someone who believes in some sort of divinity and broader purpose (for lack of a better phrasing) but maybe does not belong to any particular religion. I myself would also describe someone who is really involved with their religious beliefs as spiritual. My husband, for example, is an extremely spiritual person who is actually new to being part of a religious community - he is a Buddhist who got there by meditating sporadically and independently for many years but then due to some crises of faith and difficulties in his life, he sought deeper involvement and now works with a teacher within a specific lineage. There are a lot of people who do religious things and describe themselves as religious while maybe not having a deep intellectual involvement with spiritual beliefs.

I have never posted on this forum before to my recollection (though I've been reading DCUM for like 10 years so who knows) and I opened this thread because at times, my non-religiousness frustrates me because it would be a really lovely way for DH and I to connect and relate to each other and I just do not believe the things that he believes. I don't know that I would say that they are "wrong" or "incorrect" because a lot of them are things that cannot demonstrably be proven to be correct or incorrect, but I don't believe the things he believes and am not affected emotionally by those things. I don't find them comforting or validating as he does, and [b]I sometimes worry that my non-belief will create a rift between us[/b]. His religion isn't aggressive about conversion which is helpful, but interpersonally, I think it may at some point be hard for him to reconcile the strengths of his beliefs with my lack of belief. I was hoping to get some insight into what other people's experiences were and am disappointed that a couple of jerks decided to take it upon themselves to make it unpleasant, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised.[/quote]

Ask him.  It sounds like he doesn't care, and would want you - or anyone - to do want seemed right to them[/quote]

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