I can understand why people identify themselves as such. My personal experience is that some 'organised' religion (for want of a better term) tries to exert far too much control over people. Sometimes this can border on the abusive. There's another blog post in that subject alone, but my point is that many shun the Church because of negative experiences. I think alongside this is the view that the Church is outdated; again, this is an understandable viewpoint. Others feel that the structure in itself is stifling of true spirituality.
First and foremost, I consider myself a Christian. But that's where the similarity between me and a lot of Christians ends. For instance, I believe in evolution. I believe God blesses same-sex, committed relationships. I believe that people of other faiths will go to heaven. I believe that, most of the time, we don't have the faintest idea about what God thinks about things or about how things fit into the context of eternity - and I'm happy with the mystery and the unknowing. I'm sure somewhere a sociologist has come up with a term to describe people like me (and I'm sure there's quite a few that other people could come up with too!) but sometimes I feel like, when I say I'm a Christian, the term needs qualifying.
Recently, I've been reading Finding Sanctuary by Abbot Christopher Jamison. The following quote has got me thinking again about spirituality and where I stand.
"Adding all this together, we end up with the following working definition: in the modern view, true spirituality is psychological well-being combined with the moral golden rule (do unto others and you would have them do unto you). Doctrine, ritual and community life are optional extras."
Hmm.
Whilst I don't consider myself to be fully allied with organised religion, I wouldn't go so far as to say that I literally consider spirituality to only be about psychological well being and good works. I think both are exceptionally important and that any spiritual practice that leads you away from either is not necessarily helpful, but for me spirituality primarily should be about a sense of connection with God. That's something I can't really describe, but for me it is incredibly real and central to spiritual practice.
