Sunday, June 6, 2010

"Not Religious"

There's an interesting article in the news this week on the growing trend of "spiritual, not religious." The phrase rang a bell with me and it occurred to me that I had read "I am not religious" over and over on MckMama's blog before I saw the light.

Anyhow, here's a link to the article and just a few of the things I thought could relate to it.

Are there dangers in being 'spiritual but not religious'?
"I'm spiritual but not religious."

It's a trendy phrase people often use to describe their belief that they don't need organized religion to live a life of faith.

But for Jesuit priest James Martin, the phrase also hints at something else: egotism.

"Being spiritual but not religious can lead to complacency and self-centeredness," says Martin, an editor at America, a national Catholic magazine based in New York City.

Here are just a few places MckMama references not being religious (most are live links, so quoting the meat):

From Peace:
What I am about to give is not some blithe request or statement to pass time….really, from the bottom of my heart, I beseech you to pray for Stellan!!!

Pass along our request to your small group, post it on your blog, start it on the prayer chain at your church, put it in the bulletin, and just pray!! And, if you do not consider yourself “religious” (then, for one, you are in good company because I am not “religious,” either...I just have a radical, personal relationship with the Living Christ!!) and praying does not come naturally for you, then just be alone in a room and be quiet before God. He wants to know you and He wants to change your life!!!!

From Good Friday:
I am not religious at all!

No, I mean, seriously. I’m not. I do not follow a religion but rather a Person. I follow Jesus Christ.

Last (but definitely not least), there's Gospel. Truth. Again. This is the cached version, so feel free to go ahead and help yourself to reading this one. It's the long explanation on why church, etc, doesn't matter much in the big picture to MckMama. In true MckMama fashion, there's too much there to copy over here.