Nomads & Nones: Listening to the “Spiritual But Not Religious”
by Mike Clawson, New Story co-founder
Just a few weeks ago the Gallup organization reported an extremely significant statistic. For the first time ever, less than half of all Americans claim membership in a house of worship (specifically churches, synagogues or mosques).[i] At the same time, the number of Americans who identify as “spiritual but not religious” continues to rise at a rapid pace.
Occasionally I lead a workshop to help folks understand these trends better, entitled “Nomads & Nones: Listening to the ‘Spiritual but not Religious’.” We often open by playing a word association game with the terms religion and spirituality. Words like “rules,” “dogmas,” “traditionalism,” “judgment,” and “control” are typically shouted out in association with religion. Spirituality, on the other hand, usually evokes words like “vitality,” “personal experience,” “interconnectedness,” “life-giving,” and “wholeness.” Perhaps surprisingly, the people in these workshops are usually not among the spiritual but not religious themselves. Instead, they have been devout religious practitioners and professionals: lay leaders, seminarians, pastors, even professors of religion. Even among the religious, it seems, religion has a bad rap.
And yet, at the same time, when confronted by the views those who do consider themselves spiritual but not religious, religious practitioners can also sometimes tend towards the defensive and condescending. One popular author, not pulling any punches, has critiqued the spiritual but not religious phenomenon as boring, unoriginal, self-centered, narcissistic, and lacking in depth.[ii] Despite the ad hominem (and, in my opinion, unfair) nature of those particular accusations, defenders of religiosity do rightly point out that genuine community is vital for spiritual health and that a spiritual but not religious approach risks merely mimicking the kind of consumeristic individualism that currently plagues our society. And yet, in the rush to defend religion, I worry that religious folks like myself haven’t always paused long enough to listen to the important critiques and learn from the wise spiritual insights being offered by the spiritual but not religious. By simply assuming that everything such people have to say is “unoriginal,” we may be missing out on the important truths they have to offer – truths that, if my workshop responses are any indication, are resonant with many religious folks themselves.
The exodus of Americans from organized religion is a growing phenomenon. Those who claim no religious affiliation, the so-called “Nones,” have rapidly increased in recent years, from about 16% of American adults in 2007 to at least 26% by 2019, representing upwards of 68 million people. These Nones are not all purely secular, however. Almost two-thirds still believe in God. A third still say that religion is either somewhat or very important to them. And almost 40% of them, roughly 29 million people, self-identify as “spiritual but not religious” (out of over 60 million total American adults who do so).[iii]
These spiritual but not religious individuals are the spiritual nomads of the group, those who claim no institutional religious affiliation and yet continue to actively seek out meaningful spiritual experiences. They may even show up to church or synagogue on occasion, though without putting down firm roots, illustrating that, oppositions like “religion” versus “spirituality” are more rhetorical devices than hard and fast categories. By “religion,” the spiritual but not religious, much like my workshop attendees, primarily mean institutional religion, which they associate with prescribed dogmas, moral checklists, and external controls on the personal lives of individuals. “Spiritual” on the other hand has come to designate lively, self-directed, and personally meaningful experiences of faith, transcendence, inwardness, or interconnectedness. While such a distinction may not be entirely fair or accurate (scholars, for instance, tend to include both personal practices and institutional expressions within the overarching category of religion), it is more important to hear what the spiritual but not religious are looking for and not finding in institutionalized religion, than to quibble over semantics.
Fortunately, several studies have been published in recent years looking at the actual beliefs and values of those who identify as spiritual but not religious.[iv] There is, of course, much diversity among those who so identify, but, when looking at the trend in broad scope, several common characteristics emerge that can be instructive for those who hope to learn from them:
The spiritual but not religious reject religious exclusivism and instead embrace truth, beauty, and goodness wherever they find it.
Turned off by religious dogmatism, and having experienced the reality of pluralism first-hand, spiritual but not religious folks are unwilling to limit themselves to only one tradition. They instead take a syncretic approach to spirituality, borrowing ideas and practices from multiple sources. And while some may criticize this cafeteria-style spirituality as merely a symptom of our culture’s narcissistic consumerism, the spiritual but not religious would counter by asserting that they are simply remaining open to wisdom and helpful, life-giving spiritual practices wherever they may be found. To do otherwise would be to deny their own experiences of reality – to ignore or even reject the valuable resources they have already found in diverse places. Too often that is exactly what institutionalized religion seem to be asking them to do.
Those who are both spiritual and still religious have much to gain by not so quickly dismissing this syncretic approach. For example, from standpoint of own religious tradition, Christianity, this open posture can be an important reminder that, while Christians believe unique truths were revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, they do not have to claim that the Christian religion alone has the exclusive corner on all truth. Just as the Apostle Paul was able to affirm the value he found in Athenian religious practices in his discourse on Mars Hill (Acts 17:16ff.), so might Christians be able to follow the example of the spiritual but not religious to discover truth, beauty, and goodness in other faiths as well. Already many mainline clergy participate in fruitful interfaith conversations, but the spiritual but not religious phenomenon is significant in bringing this sort of cross-pollination down to the grassroots level of personal practice. Tapping into to this widespread openness toward multiple spiritualities could be a potential source of revitalization for many congregations, and those that create space to learn from the diverse insights and practices brought to them by those with such sensibilities may have more success appealing to these individuals.The spiritual but not religious seek to experience the transcendent in the ordinary experiences of life – through nature, art, music, relationships, etc.
They seek, especially, to cultivate those universal human experiences of awe and gratitude at the wonder and mystery of life. Perhaps this is why the Buddhist practice of mindfulness is especially appealing to the spiritual but not religious. In our harried and hurried world of twenty-first century technological society, we often need a reminder to stop for moment, look up from our screens, and be awed by the beauty already around us. In short, they are looking for ways to be more fully awake, aware, and alive. (In this they may resonate with the words of Jesus in John 10:10, “I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full!”)
Sadly, these kinds of experiences are not what people often find in churches and other religious institutions. Spiritual but not religious people report experiencing religious involvement as “life-draining” rather than life-giving: demanding of time, energy, and money without offering much of spiritual value in return.[v] In the words of one man, “My life is full without church; it seems kind of irrelevant. They don’t care about my questions… doubt, life, making the world a better place. They seem interested in things that don’t really matter. Church is disconnected from real life.”[vi]
This is not to say that there are no churches which can or do already offer such experiences. For example, people continue to be drawn both to Charismatic churches, which excel at leading people into emotionally intense and outwardly exuberant experiences of worship and wonder, and to more traditional churches that are reclaiming and reshaping ancient and contemplative practices of liturgy and spiritual reflection. These kinds of churches, along with the spiritual but not religious, share the common realization that people don’t just want to know abstractly about the divine, the transcendent, and the sacred, they want to experience the wonder of it for themselves. The spiritual but not religious have grasped that such experiences don’t only (or even typically) occur in the context of corporate worship but can be had simply by paying closer attention to the normal experiences of our everyday lives. Religious communities that want to learn from and be inclusive of the spiritual but not religious would do well, then, to expand the ways people experience God in their lives rather than restricting them.The spiritual but not religious emphasize the freedom and responsibility of individuals to shape their own spiritual path.
The flipside of their rejection of external, institutional religious authority is an insistence on the right and responsibility of each person to discover the spiritual path that is best for them. Spirituality that is prescribed or controlled by others feels inauthentic to the spiritual but not religious. The wisdom of others, including religious institutions and authorities, will be heard and respected, but they tend to believe that real spiritual growth only truly begins when people are in touch with their own inward reality and are honest with themselves about what is genuinely helpful and what is not. Too often they have seen religious people simply go through the motions of a seemingly dead ritualism or deny their own inner truth in order to conform to an externally determined set of expectations. For those who have been trapped by such inauthenticity, the move beyond externally-dictated religion can feel liberating and life-giving.
Of course, ritualistic practice need not be practiced in a deadening way and submitting to the spiritual wisdom of others at times is no vice. Nevertheless, religious leaders also need to listen closely when people say they are not finding encouragement or permission to be self-aware, authentic, or honest about their spiritual experiences within their communities. Perhaps the inspiration to do so can come from the historic roots of religious institutions themselves, many of which were originally founded by those who had the courage to question their own ecclesiastical authorities and received traditions. Can we imagine religious communities that offer their historic traditions as gifts (not prescriptions) to all while still remaining open to the free exploration of other meaningful and life-giving beliefs and practices? And as they offer those gifts, could they perhaps learn to trust the Spirit of God to guide individuals into the paths they need to go, without attempting to control or manipulate the outcomes?The spiritual but not religious believe in the innate goodness of humanity, leading to an attitude of universal compassion.
This move from an external to an internal locus of authority is based on the belief that people are basically good – that, as many spiritual but not religious folk might say, we all have that spark of divinity within us. Consequently, these folks are also slow to judge any actions as good or bad, instead erring on the side of empathy and compassion. Destructive, hurtful, or unhealthy behavior is rarely attributed to deliberately evil intentions, but rather assumed to be the result of poor choices often produced by personal trauma. The motto of the spiritual but not religious in this regard could be summed up by the (variously attributed) quote “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle you know nothing about.”
This message of compassion and affirmation of human goodness is an important reminder for those religious traditions that sometimes overemphasize sinful depravity and forget that the imago dei (a term functionally analogous to the “divine spark”) is, nevertheless, still more fundamental to human identity. It also sounds a note of hope for those who maintain a somewhat higher view of human abilities, and yet sometimes feel discouraged and disillusioned by the continued suffering and injustice in the world around us. By emphasizing the innate desire for goodness within every human being, the spiritual but not religious remind us that even the worst evils are the result of taking a wrong turn in the attempt to fulfill some legitimate desire. They remind us that even when we fail or get off track, most people really desire to do go, to be good. And recognizing that common human desire provides hope that goodness, in our lives and in the world, might still be possible yet – with the help of that divine spark of grace that is still at work within all of us.
Each of these characteristics of the spiritual but not religious contain insights that religious folks ought to hear and learn from. And ultimately, just stopping to listen –really listening, letting go of any need to argue or defend – is the best practice anyone from any tradition can start with. Whether you identify as “spiritual but not religious”, “spiritual and still religious,” or not religious or spiritual at all, try just sitting sit down with your family, friends, and neighbors, and ask them about their own spiritual journeys, about where they find meaning and value, about why they have either embraced or turned away from institutional religion, and how they would like to see religious communities grow, change, and improve. You may be surprised what you learn.
The New Story will be offering Mike Clawson’s Nomads & Nones workshop as an online course Thursday evenings in June (6/3, 6/10, 6/17, 6/24) from 7:30-9pm CDT. Click here for details and registration.
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[i] Jeffrey M. Jones, “U.S. Church Membership Falls Below Majority for First Time,” Gallup website, March 29, 2021, https://news.gallup.com/poll/341963/church-membership-falls-below-majority-first-time.aspx.
[ii] Lillian Daniel, When “Spiritual But Not Religious” Is Not Enough (New York: Jericho Books, 2013), 3-17. Jonathan Merritt, “Why Christians need the church: An interview with Lillian Daniel,” On Faith & Culture (blog), Religion News Service, August 13, 2013, http://jonathanmerritt.religionnews.com/2013/08/13/answering-the-spiritual-but-religious-an-interview-with-lillian-daniel/.
[iii] Pew Research Center, “The Religious Typology: A new way to categorize Americans by religion,” Religion & Public Life website, August 29, 2018, https://www.pewforum.org/2018/08/29/the-religious-typology/;
“In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace,” Religion & Public Life website, October 17, 2019, https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/.
[iv] Some of the most helpful studies include Courtney Bender, The New Metaphysicals: Spirituality and the Religious Imagination (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010); Robert C. Fuller, Spiritual But Not Religious: Understanding Unchurched America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001); Paul Heelas & Linda Woodhead, The Spiritual Revolution: Why Religion is Giving Way to Spirituality (Maldan, MA: Blackwell, 2005); Linda Mercadante, Belief Without Borders: Inside the Minds of the Spiritual but not Religious (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014); William B. Parsons, Ed., Being Spiritual but Not Religious: Past, Present, Future(s) (New York: Routledge, 2018).
[v] Mercadante, 163-64.
[vi] Diana Butler Bass, Christianity After Religion (New York: HarperOne, 2012), 40.
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Mike Clawson completed his PhD in Religion at Baylor University in 2017, studying how religion and spirituality have been evolving within our contemporary postmodern culture. A former pastor and church planter, he has taught courses for Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and The Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest, and currently sits on the board of Pathways, an online institute for progressive theological education. Co-founder and Producer of the New Story, he lives in Austin, Texas with his two children, where he engages with a wide diversity of faith groups and other community organizations, working to create transformative events at the intersection of spirituality and social change.