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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here. I was intrigued by this question in the other post, but wanted to get away from the guy who thought spiritually was supplanting religion because religion is "uncool."
To answer my own question, I am religious and spiritual. I am a member of a religion and believe that theology. Religion is an organized group thing with defined beliefs. Spirituality is personal and more of a feeling, less defined. I can feel spiritual (close to God or one with God's creation) through prayer (personal or communal), hiking/being in nature, meditating, seeing a beautiful work of art, just enjoying a quiet cup of tea before the rest of my house wakes up, or in many other big and small ways.[/quote]

^ this makes complete sense, but what do you make of the reply above from someone who said they are religious but not spiritual?  If one believes in gods (which all religions have) then believe in the divine and supernatural - which is both religious and spiritual.  And if someone believes in the Holy Spirit, that per se is spiritual by definition. [/quote]
At 01/29/2022 20:14 [b]PP defined "religious but not spiritual" as adhering to religious traditions and practices while also being agnostic, because the traditions are comforting, even if she isn't sure about faith/belief in God/etc. [/b]That makes sense to me. I think there are plenty of people who celebrate Christmas and Easter or keep Passover and fast on Yom Kippur because it connects them to their family and the rituals are filled with memories of love and home, even if the spiritual connection to God isn't there for them.

[b]Being religious can still be meaningful by being part of a community that will be there for you, who practice the same rituals and celebrate the same holidays.[/b][/quote]

This is beautiful. Thank you.  Because it is what I hear all the time from acquaintances who shop around for a church that is just right, not too religious, doesn't emphasize God too much, but fits their needs for community and fellowship. :wink:

So maybe the religious/spiritual dichotomy is too over-simplistic.  What I really see, and read on this forum all the time, are people who want religion-lite, you know, something emphasizing love your fellow man, forgiveness, etc. -- but not the other "heavy stuff" like the virgin birth or bodily ascent to heaven, and they don't agree you need to believe in a certain religious figure to get into heaven.[/quote]
OP here. The "This is beautiful" comment was a response to me. I'm the one who said "Being religious can still be meaningful by being part of a community that will be there for you, who practice the same rituals and celebrate the same holidays." That's the last comment I made here.

Not sure why there are a handful of people on this thread obsessing over why I'm not responding every 2 seconds. I have a life and thought this question would be an interesting conversation for the board.

As to "cites"/"receipts" I know a lot of people in real life (because I'm a real person with real relationships and not just a message board lurker) who are agnostic about God, but belong to a religious community and consider themselves "religious," because they are active in their community, celebrate holidays, attend services, and fulfill other aspects of their religion without necessarily believing in God. Plus, there have been a couple people on this post who identified as religious agnostics.

FWIW, I am religious, believe in God, and find personal spiritual meaning in religious acts and individual reflection. I'm at services weekly. But I also have friends in my community who are agnostic. They join religious communities to make friends who have similar values and because they enjoy the rituals. They might also join/make friends through their kid's school or their own hobbies. The two things are not mutually exclusive.

I have friends who are spiritual but not religious and there are people on this post who have identified as such. They identify as spiritual because they believe in a higher power, but don't believe in any particular organized religion. It has nothing to do with religion being "uncool" and as far as I can tell the poster from the other post making that claim hasn't posted here.[/quote]

I'm still skeptical how anyone who doesn't believes the question of whether God exists can't be answered one way or the other (an agnostic) can ever be described as "religious."  I know people "join religious communities to make friends who have similar values and because they enjoy the rituals" - but those are just agnostics who attend church, they're not really "religious since they don't believe in the supernatural.  Anyway, it is a good thread.  And I learned a new term "religious agnostics."[/quote]
OP here. I'm not sure, since I'm not a religious agnostic, but I've known many of them in real life and they don't seem to see it as a contradiction, even if you and I do. They explain it as [b]having a community and sense of belonging through the holidays and rituals that they grew up with.[/b][/quote]

There are a lot of them in the Episcopal church.[/quote]

Cite? Other evidence from your wide-ranging personal experience?[/quote]
OP/DP. What's your problem with personal experience? If it can't be cited from DCUM it doesn't count?[/quote]

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