There’s been a recent phenomenon among younger generations identifying as “spiritual but not religious.” It is part of a broader cultural dissatisfaction with organized religion, particularly with Christianity.
Religions are typically based on oral or written traditions or stories that carry life lessons. They are repetitive, ritualistic and leave their practitioners with the feeling of belonging to something greater than themselves. Their purpose is to teach and unite. In other words, a religion is a grouping of similar outlooks on the metaphysical. The “metaphysical” is beyond what the human eye can perceive and has been the subject of much speculation. The study of the metaphysical is motivated by a need to organize the world into more digestible parts. In that same spirit (pun intended), spirituality is simply the belief in the existence of something metaphysical, or the Beyond.
The declining popularity of organized religion has left a hole in the spiritual and communal needs of young Americans. Religion is meant to provide structure and a guide on how to live. It is also very useful in developing a bond with a trustworthy community. Religion creates social and financial safety nets. Religion is supposed to provide its practitioners a group of people to rely on in times of crisis. It is a way to feel less alone in such a large universe and is a necessary comfort for many people.
Organized religion’s recent failing is in the thing that defines it: organization. When there is too much structure in spirituality (which is the basis of religion), the hand that once felt guiding is suddenly looming. It becomes something impersonal and stiff — less of a frame of mind and more of a stringent set of rules.
With the rise of social media, individualism is at an all-time high. There is a constant struggle to balance the loneliness and need for connection and community with the need for personalization. This push-and-pull has negatively impacted many young Americans’ views on organized religion.
The more vague and malleable “spirituality” has comfortably slotted into the power vacuum that organized religion has left behind. But is it really just a recent trend to be spiritual but not religious?
Being “spiritual but not religious” is a rebranding of pluralism. Pluralism is a philosophical framework that promotes the understanding of different religions. It seeks to see the usefulness and purpose of each religion. It is a movement that goes beyond simple coexistence between religions. Pluralism is a way to swap out the lens that you view the world through.
Pluralism has been around since the birth of religion. The Renaissance was a product of Greco-Roman paganism colliding with Christianity in an explosion of philosophy and art. Religions have always branched off from and borrowed from each other. Humans have always cherry-picked which aspects of religion seemed appealing to them. The more general idea of spirituality just gives a name to this phenomenon.
It is natural to combine spiritual traditions. The decline of a singular uniting name for a religion does not mean that humanity is losing its faith. The modern idea of individualism has just caused the lines drawn between faiths to dissipate. One singular uniting state-sponsored religion is not enough for a multi-cultural world. With the rise of social media, young Americans are being exposed to all different kinds of ideas on the meaning of the metaphysical. In turn, they have become more open-minded and pluralist in recent years. But these ideas are not new, they are just more accessible.
Children will continue to try to summon “Bloody Mary,” “Charlie-Charlie” or the next ghost that is brought into the collective consciousness. Ouija boards were a popular Christmas gift for a reason. Speaking of Christmas, the origin of the holiday itself is pluralist. What we think of as “Christmas” was a merging of the pagan holiday “Yule” and early Christian celebrations. The blurring of lines between spiritual ideas is a time-honored tradition.
So cherry-pick away; it’s in your bones. If a spiritual idea is particularly inspiring, don’t be afraid to absorb it into one of your pluralist worldviews. It is a natural progression of the human tendency to want to make the vastness of reality make sense. Just be sure to give credit to where the ideas came from.