How can one be spiritual without being religious ?.

hmmm good ?n i know i always say i em religious however i do not believe in religion

I am just that and to me specifically religion is a defined creed. Spirituality is more like a meandering path that can change often but will still fill you deeply with goodness and love. This is very general of course but it's a very deep topic as well.

According to Webster's

Definition of Spiritual

Function: adjective
1: of, relating to, consisting of, or affecting the spirit : incorporeal <spiritual needs>
2 a: of or relating to sacred matters <spiritual songs> b: ecclesiastical rather than lay or temporal <spiritual authority> <lords spiritual>
3: concerned with religious values
4: related or joined in spirit <our spiritual home> <his spiritual heir>
5 a: of or relating to supernatural beings or phenomena b: of, relating to, or involving spiritualism : spiritualistic
Function: Noun
1plural : things of a spiritual, ecclesiastical, or religious nature
2: a religious song usually of a deeply emotional character that was developed especially among blacks in the southern United States
3capitalized : any of a party of 13th and 14th century Franciscans advocating strict observance of a rule of poverty for their order

Definition of Religious

Function: adjective
1: relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity <a religious person> <religious attitudes>
2: of, relating to, or devoted to religious beliefs or observances <joined a religious order>
3 a: scrupulously and conscientiously faithful b: fervent, zealous

Function: Noun
: a member of a religious order under monastic vows

I've tended to hear that remark from people that believe in a God of some sort, but do not go to church and/or care to follow the teaching of modern religious leaders in a formalized structure.

Religion is for people who are afraid of going to Hell...

Spirituality is for those who have already been there.

well said...give the lady a cup of coffee

Unfortunately this answer means nothing to me .

That basically comes down to your own semantics of the words I would think.

For me, being 'religious' means to believe in some precise doctrine or 'ritual practice', or possibly even a diety of some sorts a "godhead".

However, a person can believe that our true essence is 'spiritual' in nature rather than physical without having any need for any of those concepts.

I certainly believe that the true nature of reality is spiritual. That doesn't imply that there needs to be a 'godhead' that needs to be worshiped. It doesn't even imply that there is any 'entity' involved in the process other than the entities that are actually experiencing the physical incarnation.

So in this sense I can say that I'm spiritual (meaning that I believe that our true nature is spiritual and not physical) whilst simultaneosly suggesting that there are no rituals that need to be observed or godheads that need to be appeased.

So when I say that I'm spiritual but not religious. That's what I mean. I wouldn't argue the point because, as I say, these are just words. We can argue semantics forever and all we'd be doing then is arguing for dictionary definitions for words.

In the meantime, I've already explained my position and what I mean by it. Who cares about the labels after that?

Words are just to convey ideas. When they fail to do that we should bypass them and try to explain our ideas using other words and/or methods of commuication.

Yes, I basically agree with Coquibella. A person can entertain their true nature without turning to a specific 'religious' view or ideology.

It doesn't need to be well-defined. Although people who are locked into a box of a specific religion will claim that because a spiritual person has not well-defined their beliefs that this somehow lessens the value of their beliefs. But that's totally without merit.

Just because a person locks themsleves in a rigid box doesn't give their belief any more merit. Its illusion of 'stability' is brought about by their own refusal to look outside of their own religious box. Just because a person refuses to consider other thigns doesn't make their beliefs anymore 'stable'. That's just a delusion that they create for themselves.

No 'organized' religion need apply!!!

Especially today, in 2008!!!

Unless you insist that ours are still totally out of control BARBARIC TIMES (don't go there! I could easily be swayed!)

The genetic, social, cutural, legal, academic, linguistic, phylosophical legacies of our ancestors contain such massive volumes of (genetic and hard) material of ETHICAL AND MORAL nature, that to find a human being that isn't born into an already structured 'moral' and 'ethical' context, is near impossible!!!

Personal responsibility and discipline, inside of an existing social-legal-cultural contexts suffice amply.

Absolutely NO NEED TO ASSOCIATE SPIRITUAL AND (organized) RELIGIONS.

You can if that makes you feel good, BUT THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO NEED FOR IT!!!

Spirit...or Source, or Oneness...has nothing to do with ordered, or recognised religion.

It is only a label attached to what another doesn't understand.

You feel the joy of life, and gratitude, and love. You know that you are more than just a body. You believe in life beyond this one.

You don't feel you have to go to church or join a cult.

You make your own rules and choose your own authority figures, if any, to follow or respect.

You have faith without having to know every detail.

JB

Sorry to hear that...guess you had to "be" there.

the same wisdom shall change the world..........

spirituality............to believe in the unseen world that creates all things in the physical world.........

religion.....to deem anything less equal or worthy

to be religious is to follow the laws set forth by a God
to be spiritual is to play God

which means you can be spiritual and not be religious as long as you judge nothing in life as being right or wrong ..the moment you do judge you at that point in time have set forth laws and have become religious

this means that no one can be spiritual without being religious ...being spiritual is more of a 'New Age" term for those that wish to follow a God but not a religion ..but as you see it's impossible to have a God or be spiritual without a religion ..they go hand in hand .. one can not survive without the other

Being spiritual is to have your own relationship with the Highest authority...being religious causes confusion and conformaty and often times war and self righteouseness and cliches that don't allow people in because they do not follow certain rules...religion is twisted into many different forms but spirituality is based on following one God...

The order we seek in our lives comes from a basic understanding of religion but mostly that relationship we hold in our hearts.

if you use the basics of religion to seek order then that means you are religious