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October 2nd, 2012
04:04 PM ET
Your Take: Author who calls 'spiritual but not religious' a cop-out responds to comments
Editor’s note: Alan Miller is director of The New York Salon and co-founder of London's Old Truman Brewery. He is speaking at The Battle of Ideas at London's Barbican in October. By Alan Miller, Special to CNN I wrote a Belief Blog piece on Sunday called "My Take: 'I'm spiritual but not religious' is a cop-out," which has received more than 8,000 comments, many taking up key points I raised. My assessment is that the wider disorientation of Western society, the decreasing respect for many institutions and the disdain for humans alongside what Christopher Lasch has termed a "culture of narcissism" has played out both among the "spiritual but not religious" identifiers as well as among many "new atheists." Lots of the comments bear that out. Some commenters accused me of outdated and dangerous dogmatism in sticking up for traditional religion. A commenter whose handle is spectraprism spoke to this view:
I don't happen to believe in a religious "one true way" and in fact am not religious myself. My comments and observations are based on an increasingly common phenomenon in the past 20 years. Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter It is telling, though, that this and many other comments converge on dogmatism and extremism and juxtapose them with the notion that an individual choice is immune to any of that. These comments speak to my point that not wanting to be held accountable to any set of ideas or principles is a very popular position among the “spiritual but not religious." In recent decades, the demise of the notion that there can be universal truths and the ascendancy of relativism and the new preaching of "many truths" and the idea that "all truths are equally valid" has clearly had significant impact on that identity. The disenchantment with belief and a commitment to some wider authority has also had an impact on the self-described new atheists, who are furious that anyone could have the audacity to believe in something bigger than themselves. The end of the big ideas of liberalism and socialism left a vacuum in society. Atheism used to be a small component of bigger movements in society. Ironically, today what defines many new atheists is a shared outlook with “spiritual but not religious” views. CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories New atheists define themselves in negative terms, as not believing without any broader sense of a positive alternative, while those identifying with a "spiritual but not religious" outlook define themselves as not religious rather than according to the strong convictions that they do have. This commenter summarized the sentiments that lots of others express on my piece:
It is so interesting how so many people now use the therapeutic language of recovery - "recovering" from organized religion. The group American Atheists describes anguish and toil as the "first step" of "coming out," making the analogy with gays coming out the "closet," as though somehow atheists are oppressed today in America. The therapeutic outlook is of far more concern with regard to human autonomy and freedom than organized religion. The idea is that humans are all "damaged goods" and in need of constant counseling and instruction. These comments take off on that theme:
It is interesting how "spirituality" seems to be thought of as "clean" and unimpeded by problems. Dustin calls religion a "disease" - once again we see the therapeutic language. Striving for an understanding of the world is an important and essential human attribute, yet so many of the comments have reiterated a generality about "spiritualism" and "my choice" that it seems to endorse the point I made that what seems so paramount is in a determination not to be "labeled" or dictated to by an authority. So what is left? The superstition and mysticism of some "oneness" and often a therapeutic notion of being "spiritual." Here’s a comment from someone who identifies as 51yo:
The commenter 51y0 doesn't want to be tied to anyone else's "facts." While we all have to work out our things in life, I am interested to know what “spiritual but not religious" facts are. It can seem that on the one hand there's a reluctance to commit to advocating anything and also that words can end up losing any meaning if one simply says something to the affect of "spiritual means it's right for me." Nick says it can mean a lot of different things to people:
I’ll end with this comment:
This remark will chime with many – the new atheists among them - who believe that being "spiritual" means you don't want to be associated with all the "chaos and destruction." It strikes me that having an opt-out plan should have something more than simply a negative, whether it's a "spiritual" one or a "new atheist" negative. We live in an age where many are disillusioned with institutions and humans generally, yet not so evident is a positive alternative. Thank you for the comments. The event we held last night, "I'm Not Religious – I'm Spiritual" benefited from some of them. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Alan Miller. |
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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By Alan Miller, Special to CNN
Prayer changes things .
Prove it.
I'm sorry, "Atheism is not healthy for children and other living things", but your assertions regarding atheism and prayer are unfounded. The degree to which your assertions may represent truths is 0.0. To help you understand the degree to which your assertions may represent truths, I will access my Idiomatic Expression Equivalency module (IEE). Using my IEE module, the expression that best matches the degree to which your assertions may represent truths is: "TOTAL FAIL".
I see that you repeat these unfounded statements with high frequency. Perhaps the following book might help you overcome this problem:
I'm Told I Have Dementia: What You Can Do... Who You Can Turn to...
by the Alzheimer's Disease Society
Then pray for some imagination
MY 3 FAV MANTRAS
1. I love and fear YHWH with all my life
2. I love and respect my neighbor as myself just as he or she is just the way he or she is
3. YHWH loves us all as Himself with all His Life just as we are just the way we are no matter what.
Gleaned from the Bible n totally liberating!
1. I love and fear the Snuggles Bear with all my life
2. I love and respect my neighbor as myself just as he or she is just the way he or she is
3. The Snuggles Bear loves us all as Himself with all His Life just as we are just the way we are no matter what.
Gleaned from the Bubble n totally liberating!
The Snuggles Bear I do not know but if He has the properties that YHWH has then fine by me. Actually these 3 have helped me a lot since I started using them 3 years ago. I hope the Snuggles Bear does same for you. I love you as myself
I forgot to add some fake laughter ...lolololol
Really? You've been liberated from the need to believe in gods? Congratulations, you are on your way!
Spirituality is of one's soul and GOD!
Religion, all of them, is a device created by man to enslave other men using God as a boogey man.
Well we created God too but that's a whole other booger, man.
"A soul is something parents made up to scare kids, like the boogieman or Michael Jackson" – Bart Simpson
So, Chad, are you saying God doesn't exist?
That's not very nice Chad
Well go suck a duck then
Who the bleep cares! As long as you don't break any law and not a complete jerk, why should it matter what you belive, or don't believe?
Who cares what you believe? "Why" is more important.
Enormously more important is what you do to others, and the extent to which love drives your actions. Do you remember "and the greatest of these (three) is charity"?
We've got a lot of hateful people hugging bibles/quran/whatever.
The problem with religious people is how hard they stick to dogma like Salvation by faith alone, Islam is the only true religion, Only JWs are going to Paradise, If u r not a Bhuddhist u will b reincarnated as an animal etc. Spiritual people love their neighbor as themself, period.
"Spiritual people love their neighbor as themself, period."
Well said, as this truly captures the essence of a spiritual person. I have come a long way in becoming a spiritual person myself. Although I must confess that religion and even atheism did helped me find my path towards a more spiritual self, as well as debunk the sinister purpose behind every religion. I belief that anyone who feels their belief is the only one for everyone else is only fooling themselves. Being spiritual however is a very personal journey where you are the center of your own world, and that is o.k so as long as your actions/intentions don't interfere/harm others.
Someone's not letting my posts go through.
It's me. I block all your posts.
Read Me,
Bad letter combinations / words to avoid if you want to get past the CNN automatic filter:
Many, if not most, are buried within other words, so use your imagination.
You can use dashes, spaces, or other characters or some html tricks to modify the "offending" letter combinations.
---
ar-se.....as in ar-senic.
co-ck.....as in co-ckatiel, co-ckatrice, co-ckleshell, co-ckles, etc.
co-on.....as in racc-oon, coc-oon, etc.
crac-ker…
cu-m......as in doc-ument, accu-mulate, circu-mnavigate, circu-mstances, cu-mbersome, cuc-umber, etc.
ef-fing...as in ef-fing filter
ft-w......as in soft-ware, delft-ware, swift-water, drift-wood, etc.
ho-mo.....as in ho-mo sapiens or ho-mose-xual, ho-mogenous, sopho-more, etc.
ho-oters…as in sho-oters
ho-rny....as in tho-rny, etc.
hu-mp… as in th-ump, th-umper, th-umping
jacka-ss...yet "ass" is allowed by itself.....
ja-p......as in j-apanese, ja-pan, j-ape, etc.
koo-ch....as in koo-chie koo..!
nip-ple
o-rgy….as in po-rgy, zo-rgy, etc.
pi-s......as in pi-stol, lapi-s, pi-ssed, therapi-st, etc.
p-oon… as in sp-oon, lamp-oon, harp-oon
p-orn… as in p-ornography
pr-ick....as in pri-ckling, pri-ckles, etc.
que-er
ra-pe.....as in scra-pe, tra-peze, gr-ape, thera-peutic, sara-pe, etc.
se-x......as in Ess-ex, s-exual, etc.
sl-ut
sm-ut…..as in transm-utation
sn-atch
sp-ank
sp-ic.....as in desp-icable, hosp-ice, consp-icuous, susp-icious, sp-icule, sp-ice, etc.
sp-ook… as in sp-ooky, sp-ooked
strip-per
ti-t......as in const-itution, att-itude, t-itle, ent-ity, alt-itude, beat-itude, etc.
tw-at.....as in wristw-atch, nightw-atchman, salt-water, etc.
va-g......as in extrava-gant, va-gina, va-grant, va-gue, sava-ge, etc.
who-re....as in who're you kidding / don't forget to put in that apostrophe!
wt-f....also!!!!!!!
There's another phrase that someone found, "wo-nderful us" (have no idea what sets that one off).
So if I understand you correctly, Mr. Miller, you basically just felt like arbitrarily lumping a broad group of people together based solely on their opinion of themselves as "spiritual, not religious" and then making sweeping generalizations about their lack of conviction, their wishy-washiness, their failure to offer a positive alternative to organized religion (and not even being man enough to do it directly, noting the paucity of statements which include "I think...","I believe...", "In my opinon...", etc.). I would offer that you should perhaps show some conviction of your own and declare exactly what it is you're getting at; do you believe a rejection of organized religion is incompatible with spirituality? Do you believe someone has only two valid choices, either accept the dogmatism of organized religion or embrace the opposing dogmatism of atheism? And do you really think someone who holds spiritual beliefs outside the domain of organized religion has any responsibility to offer some concrete alternative to religion? Maybe one of the many points you've missed is that at least some of these people you've chosen to criticize are not so fond of the idea of offering up one's system of beliefs to others as a prescription for better living. It's the rising tide of evangelism that many find so distasteful, and so it makes little sense for you to criticize them for choosing not to offer up yet another flawed system of beliefs to the present maelstrom of preaching, scolding and indignation.
this!!! love your response!!!
Well said!!
Here we go again! the author is trying to push the same rhetoric as his first article, no different from this one I may add!! the first article he comes across as a "Wolf dressed up in a sheep custom" pro religious sympathizer, except this time around he is dressed up in a Mitt Rommey wolf Halloween custom. You know the type, the one that say sweet nothings to his victim/enemy and what he/she needs to hear, while his real intent is to have them for dinner.
Religion is a doctrine/belief usually used to control/change the masses! having said that the author of this article is quite astute in using CNN as a way to influence the masses via his own personal views's on this subject of Spiritual vs. Religious peoples. While Atheists and religious peoples may appear to have different beliefs on the existence of God; in my personal and humble opinion they are both equally arrogant and dead wrong on their beliefs in convincing others of what God is or isn't to each one individual! Meanwhile a "genuinely spiritual" person, and I dare say "person" and not people, is one that follows his/her own human heart and shows it through their capacity of self love and a love for others, and you do not need a belief system to figure that one out. I am therefore consider myself a truly spiritual person. I love myself but dare not judge anyone who does not love me!!
Hem hem I daresay I daresay hem hem tisk tisk
waiter do you have any...
blah
I do not believe in gods, leprechauns, goblins, ghosts, spirits ad nauseam.
Some people like to meditate to relax. Meditating is neither religious or spiritual.
What about unicorns? Santa Claus? The Tooth Fairy? Tinker Bell? Loving, thoughtful evangelicals? The Loch Ness Monster?
I know several thousand buddhists who would disagree with you.
Meditation is not just for relaxation, meditate long enough and you begin to have some powerful experiences, which leave you feeling one with everything
Only for the new members of this blog:
The NY Salon has not filed an IRS Form 990 which is required of all non-profits unless your organization is a recognized religion. (guidestar.org). So Mr. Miller is apparently in this for the money he can make peddling real estate at his Old Truman Brewery and sponsoring meetings of high brows at between $1000-$5000 a pop. CNN might want to do a bit of background searching before allowing Mr. Miller to present commentary on any subject especially since his educational background as per his website amounts to directing a few films????
"Alan is the co-founder of The Truman Brewery, a 10 acre site in London's East End. The Truman Brewery now has over 200 companies, ranging from recording studios to art galleries, entertainment spaces, restaurants, bars, cafes, fashion and retail. It has been largely responsible for regenerating a significant area of London and creating a new cultural quarter. Alan is also a film director and has had his work broadcast internationally, with a specialization in music videos and live events. He writes on various cultural issues for several publications and is a published author. http://www.alandmiller.net"
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Reality check
8,000 plus comments and he still doesn't get it. Cluelessness: it's a skill.
Maybe his cluelessness comes to him naturally?
Taliban and al-Qaeda warlords have brutally attacked Sufi devotees – the 'spiritual' wing of their own Islamic religion. The dogma wing attacking the spiritual wing that teaches compassion, because the dogma can't co-exist with the spiritual notion of compassion. Deadly skirmishes – as old as all of human history. Some are hopelessly imprisoned inside their ideological preferences and they can see nothing outside the prison gates. Plato spoke of it in his "Cave Shadow Allegory." They're just stuck. And no 'hammer & chisel' rescue effort is ever going to dislodge them. You can't force a thirsty goat to drink. Just show them the watering hole and leave them to their own choices.
Yes, and on the field of American Christianity we have the dogmatic fundamentalist Right calling the more compassionate liberal denominations "dead churches" leading their followers towards damnation. In the Bible the roles were played by the dogmatic Pharisees criticizing the liberal Jesus. The funny thing is that the fundamentalists actually think that they're the ones following Jesus' example.
"Organized religious beliefs (even going back into ancient times) have caused more death and destruction than any other organization in the world". An absolute lie. The fact is, secular humanism is the #1 cause of death and destruction. For proof, see the facts here: http://blogs.christianpost.com/confident-christian/the-myth-of-religion-being-the-1-cause-of-war-10924/
Many misconceptions out there, "religion" certainly not guilt free, but facts are facts. Only 7% of all wars can be attributed to religious reasons.
In their Encyclopedia of Wars, authors Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod attempt a comprehensive listing of wars in history. They doc ument 1763 wars overall, of which 123 (7%) have been cla ssified to involve a religious conflict
^ Axelrod, Alan & Phillips, Charles Encyclopedia of Wars, November 2004, ISBN 978-0-8160-2851-1
Oh, look, see Chard quote a spurious source. See Chard pretend to have facts. See Chard run. Run, Chard, run!
Since more wars are fought over resources than ideology, maybe capitalism is a better bet?
Rub, you're full of crap.
Here's what I think: God is real. Man didn't invent Him, He disclosed His existence to mankind. He gave us the information we need to know His character and His plan in the Bible. According to the Bible, God is interested in relationship with individuals. It's not something I get to decide for Him, I need to come to grips with who and how he is and learn to adjust my thinking and my life to be in harmony with what He desires. Somewhere over the past 2000 years, religion became a means for 1) tax-free land ownership 2) personal fortunemaking 3) power and celebrity. I call it Christianity Incorporated and it bears little resemblance to the original Christianity. Then there are those who come up with ourageous claims about what the Bible is 'really' saying and from their own wants needs and desires, make up a religion and call it Christianity, when it is not. I call that 'Krystianity' – it is the religion of those who practice faux Christianity. I believe the reason people say they are 'spiritual' but not 'religious' is because they sense the vast disconnect between incorporated and faux Christianity and the reality of God who somewhere in their experience continues to knock on the door of their heart to join them in the life He originally intended.
that was really well said.. nice job
Gosh, what an endorsement. The Vegetable cheers!
I just get such a tingle from reading Chard's enthusiastic posts! It's almost orgasmic!
Liberty
Let's start at the beginning: Why do you think God is real?
Livery, you're crazy my friend. God doesn't exist. You're confused and totally lost. Turn to an atheist for help in your time of need. We're here for you. It's not your fault that Mother Nature gave us atheists brains and good looks. She gave you folks low IQs and no imagination. It's just not fair!
Here's what I think. Christianity is all faux and no gaux.
This guy just doesn't get it. For every cogent argument against him, he manages to spin it to conform to his tenets. He says we nonreligious don't believe. He is dead wrong. I absolutely do believe – just not in his god or religion. I also believe passionately in his absolute right to his own beliefs – my agreement with said beiliefs being completely irrelevant. In return, I expect him and others like him to spare me their dogma and accord me my right to my beliefs.
dhkeith,
To be fair, I don't see anything in his piece which would take away your *right* to believe as you wish. He's arguing for his views... that's all. It's an Opinion piece, not a draft for legislation.
When
Strike 2 for this guy. Find something else for him to do.