About a quarter of U.S. adults (27%) now say they think of
themselves as spiritual but not religious, up 8 percentage points in five
years, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted between April 25 and
June 4 of this year. This growth has been broad-based: It has occurred among
men and women; whites, blacks and Hispanics; people of many different ages and
education levels; and among Republicans and Democrats. For instance, the share
of whites who identify as spiritual but not religious has grown by 8 percentage
points in the past five years. (pewresearch.org)
Claiming to be spiritual is relatively easy. Such a claim
costs no pledge the church, no Sunday morning prayer and hymns, no service in
the nursery, or on the Board of Deacons, or the Vestry. You don’t have to serve
on committees. You can just sit on your porch on nice days and be grateful for
the beautiful world God has made for us. Or do your spirituality while golfing,
boating, hunting in the beautiful fall woods, or basking on the beach. Without
a doubt, most of us can claim to be spiritual.
But how many of us claim to be religious? According to the
Pew Research Center, and to the declining membership of churches across the
nation, fewer and fewer all the time. What exactly qualifies one as “religious”?
There are hundreds of definitions skirting around the word “religion.”
Faith, creed, service, system of beliefs, spirituality, practices, and more.
There are, perhaps, as many definitions as there are people.
But when you look at a more exact meaning of the word “religion,”
you get a different view. From Latin, “religion” comes from religare, a verb meaning “to bind.” Also
from Latin, religio, a noun meaning “obligation,
bond, or reverence.” Or even ligare,
from Latin meaning “tie, or band.” From these root words, religion has a very
specific meaning, a meaning that requires more
than one person to participate. (cf. Kilian, J. 10/29/17) No room for the “God
and me in nature” spirituality here.
Religion is that action that binds human beings together in
common love and service to one another. It is not an individual activity, but
one that binds us as a family of sinners who care about one another and seek
forgiveness together. As a religious person, you are assured that there is a
family—not necessarily your family of birth—that will celebrate your childrens’
births, your parents’ deaths, your accomplishments in the community, and your
activity in the church. As a religious person, bound to a religious family,
there are people to bring you food when you have a broken leg, people to drive
you to the doctor or hospital, people to sit with you before and after surgery,
and people to answer the questions that growing up and growing older bring.
Some of us are lucky enough to have people in our lives that
take care of us. But today, more and more people are “bowling alone.” The
number of adults living alone in the U.S. has grown 42 percent in the past
decade. (pewresearch.org) It’s no wonder that many church members are singles
with no families nearby. They need the support a religious family offers.
So are you spiritual or are you religious? Will you become
religious as you age? To be religious, you need to be willing to share your
time, your talents, and your treasure to support a church family. Can you do
that? Lots of questions.
What are your answers?
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