S.B.N.R.(Spiritual But Not Religious)

Someone who is spiritual but not religious is someone that I might call a "Pragmatic Spirit." That is, a SBNR person is one whose belief system is open to experiences, traditions, and practices that are linked with the divine, supernatural, or otherworldly - however, they do not practice a religion. The reason that this appeals to so may people is that it involves spiritual experiences and practices that are accessible regardless of one's personal faith, and usually do not involve any kind of indoctrination or esoteric knowledge.

For most people who identify as SBNR, they were raised in one of the popular religions. I owe my personal journey along that road to three things: 1) Catholicism, 2) a humanities class in high school, and 3) Mahatma Gandhi. (My college minor in religion helped, but came later). Despite phrases like "recovering Catholic," Catholicism was good to me. It was one of the things that made me curious and open to the divine from a young age, and gave a common language to that end that my family could share. I even met a very dear friend in catechism, and our humorous curiosity about the divine and the metaphysical led to the unfolding of that friendship over the years. As I got a little older that curiosity spread to other world religions. It was in the humanities class that I learned about Mahatma Gandhi. When I understood a little about the non-violent practices that he used, and how he positively changed the world, I was awestruck. I became fascinated with Hinduism. I am not sure when it happened, but there was a discrete moment when it occurred to me that according to my religion, this wonderful human being would not go to heaven (I want to mention that more recent popes have created a little more room in Catholicism for non-Catholics to go to heaven). So, there it was - the beginning of my non-religious spirituality. So many people I speak to have expanded their worldview beyond their religion and into a more SBNR mindset after learning about other faiths, as well as spiritual traditions that do not fit into major religions, or any religion at all. Some examples include meditation, yoga, nature communing, nature-based spirituality, and shamanic journeying - none of which require adherence to a religion. That said, many people who practice a religion also use practices like this to enhance their religious experience.

SBNR is about direct experience. Sometimes I wonder if it is a scaled back adaptation of mysticism. A second ago I mentioned "spiritual traditions that do not fit into major religions, or any religion at all." Spirituality that is not necessarily religious is not just something that got popular around Y2K. In fact, it is much more likely that it was the antecedent to any and all religions! Let's break that down.

• Consider some major religions: Judaism, Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism (the latter is arguably a philosophy instead of a religion - but let's save that for another time). Each of them started with people having a direct experience with the divine. The institutionalized religions, with their practices and rules, came later. Some examples of this include Moses' experience with the burning bush, Muhammed's interactions with angels, Jesus' interactions with God, and Siddhartha Gautama's profound enlightenment whilst sitting in meditation.

• Direct experience like this is referred to as mystical experience.

• Thus, non-religious yet very spiritual and profound experiences were the impetus of these religions. There are numerous other examples. Many of these religions have particular sects that practice a form of mysticism where there are specific ways to have a direct experience with god. The image of the whirling dervishes is a portrayal of this from some of the Sufi sects of Islam. There are Christian and Jewish mystics as well.

Today, those who are spiritual but not religious are focused more on direct exploration of the divine rather than the institutionalized practices of a religion. While they may or may not have mystical experiences or practice a specific form of mysticism, they are at the very least looking for god, no matter how subtly. If you are someone like this, and you also think that mystical experiences, or even miniature experiences of something greater and universal are accessible to anyone, then you might also call yourself a "Pragmatic Spirit."