spiritual but not religious

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Greetings! 

I grew up Christian and was turned off by the dogma in my fundamentalist church, however I was left wanting to believe in some form of divine being because this was a major part of my upbringing and shaped my early experience with the world. Later I became interested in Buddhism because of its ties to spirituality without directly affirming an existence of god. 

Is it possible to be spiritual but not religious, and if so could someone still be considered an atheist?

spir·it·u·al
/ˈspiriCH(o͞o)əl/
adjective
1.
relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.
"I'm responsible for his spiritual welfare"
synonyms: nonmaterial, inner, psychic, psychical, psychological; More
2.
relating to religion or religious belief.
"the tribe's spiritual leader"
synonyms: religious, sacred, divine, holy, nonsecular, church, churchly, ecclesiastic, devotional
"spiritual music"

[Aegon]

Greetings! 

I grew up Christian and was turned off by the dogma in my fundamentalist church, however I was left wanting to believe in some form of divine being because this was a major part of my upbringing and shaped my early experience with the world. Later I became interested in Buddhism because of its ties to spirituality without directly affirming an existence of god. 

Is it possible to be spiritual but not religious, and if so could someone still be considered an atheist?

Personally I don't think it's something to be hung up on. As an atheist who has incorporated tenants of both Taoist and Zen philosophy into my life and enjoy practices popularized by Zen, I've found I don't have much of a use for these labels anymore. I also don't know what you may consider to be spiritual because, as far as I can tell, all the teachings I've taken with me are pretty much secular. Also, meditation and mindfulness aren't really spiritual or religious anymore now that the West has figured out how useful they are. 

I suppose I'm an atheist because I don't believe in a god, and maybe I'm spiritual because I'm not a strict materialist, but tbh I don't care what I may or may not be labeled, and I'd advise not to be overtly concerned with it either. Be a spiritual atheist; who's gonna stop you, the thought police? It's more complex than googling "spiritual" and deciding whether or not you fit in the narrow definitions provided.

[Brian37]

I know.  I'm still dealing with the crushing disappointment.

Dreams die hard.

Boru

I wanted to be pocket lint, but had to settle for being an ABBA fan.

[downbeatplumb]

When I was younger I wanted to be an astronaut.  

Lucky you.  I wanted to be a tractor.

Boru

If you no longer want to be a tractor you should be able to remove steam from small rooms.

Because.

You'll like this.

You will be.

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An ex tractor fan.

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