Early on in the semester Kip made a few comments that aroused my intellect. He said that the term "spiritual", that gets thrown around so often, is really a misnomer because it creates a separation from the word "religion" that doesn't actually exist. Since this was a while ago I cannot remember the full extent of his argument, or even the circumstances in which this topic came up, but it is something that I've done a lot of thinking about.
As more people have become uncomfortable with organized religion this term "spiritual" has taken on a greater role. By defining him or herself as spiritual, an individual can express their interest in religious things without actually ascribing themselves to a particular institution. I disagree with Kip's suggesting that this term is meaningless. Religion is by definition organized or institutionalized in some sense. Images, symbols, locations, etc. all go in to creating a structure so that a group of people can develop a religious identity. Without all these pieces there can be no religion. So when someone describes themselves as spiritual, they are merely saying that their interest in personal and has nothing to do with an outside structure.
I don't know what other people's responses would be, but I thought it was an interesting comparison to think about.
Monday, December 8, 2008
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