Spiritual but not Religious (SBNR)

[Wyrd of Gawd]

Is spiritualism just superstition?

[robvalue]

I think so, yes. Religion and non metaphorical spirituality are what I would call forms of superstition. They represent irrational thinking. Spirituality in the woo sense seems to be assigning extra qualities to things, because you feel they have those qualities.

This inevitably leads to those qualities being poorly defined and usually unfalsifiable.

It's "colouring in" reality with magic.

[ignoramus]

"It's "colouring in" reality with magic"

My palm reader/fortune teller told me you'd say that exact phrase today!

[robvalue]

He's a clever bastard then!

I propose that be the new standard definition. I want to produce a whole line of merchandise with that phrase on.

[ignoramus]

I like it alot!
It also has that childish naivety to it as well.

[robvalue]

Thanks

It came to me during a particularly spiritual experience where my soul talked to my aura, and then took the idea to my essence for approval.

[ignoramus]

That is just divine! Seriously (not seriously)

[robvalue]

Whoops, I just kicked a baby in the head sort of by accident again. Probably lost some spiritual points. Probably won't get paid for the baby sitting now either.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Whoops, I just kicked a baby in the head sort of by accident again. Probably lost some spiritual points. Probably won't get paid for the baby sitting now either.

That's okay, I heard that was legal in Denmark a while back.

[TheMonster]

Here are my thoughts:
SBNR refers to one's religious affiliation. Just as I call myself atheist, someone else might call themselves Christian. Similarly, some call themselves SBNR.

People who say they are spiritual but not religious are simply duping themselves. It is a middle ground fallacy (ie, they hate atheist and theism, so they take the middle ground)... They are people who think there is something bigger than them, they usually believe in some kind of superstition but do not participate or associate with organized religion. Hippies, "natural religions"... all fall in this category.

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"Spiritual" is just runaround speak for being connected to Something or Anything. Non-believers who claim to be spiritual are typically quite rational folks and don't necessarily have a any supernatural beliefs.

Maybe, maybe not. As most of us agree, it's a vague term that could mean almost anything.  An astrophysicist who is moved emotionally while looking through a telescope might call him/herself spiritual while a nut trying to communicate with a palm tree under the influence of tequila might claim the same. It's too general a term to be very useful as it stands.

I think it would be useful if we clarified what the term means and came up with alternative words for different situations as well. We ARE emotional creatures and we should have words that allow us to talk about profound, emotional experiences in a meaningful way.

LOL... I will definitely try communicating with a palm tree when I get drunk next time. I will let you know what happens if i remember anything....