In our conversations with friends, acquaintances, and relatives, the subject of religion sometimes comes up. Occasionally someone will say, “I am spiritual but not religious.” In this article I will seek to explore the approach of that life stance, and I will seek to address it from my own perspective as a Catholic Christian.

Those who claim to be spiritual but not religious are generally not interested in formal religious institutions. They tend to value individual freedom, autonomy, and an experimental approach to spiritual practices. They often speak about the value in being open-minded and inclusive. They try to make sense of their lives outside the teachings or practices of any particular religion.

While they are open to a higher realm and the divine, acknowledging that there is “something out there,” they are usually not concerned with doctrine, organizational rules, or established religious rituals. In general, they do not see a need to participate in any organized, liturgical form of communal worship. Any spiritual practices that they adopt are usually more informal and individual.

There are many different reasons why a person might say that they are spiritual but not religious. Some have been turned off by negative personal experiences with organized religion. Some have simply drifted away. Some have never been introduced to an active community of religious faith. Some are actively exploring spirituality, and some are actually seeking a new religious home. Some have explicitly rejected the Christian Church, and some have rejected organized religion in general. Some have said that they find religious people to be intolerant, judgmental, bureaucratic, superficial, self-righteous, and hypocritical.

In my own life experience as a Catholic Christian, I have arrived at spirituality through my religion. Rather than being an obstacle, I have found my Catholic religion to be an inspiration to a deeper spirituality. I believe that religion gives flesh to the spiritual. Religion informs the spiritual. Religion puts the spiritual into concrete, constructive action. Religion connects the spiritual to others. Religion keeps the spiritual from going in harmful, selfish, or destructive directions.

I have found that my religion challenges me to grow. It holds me accountable as a responsible person. It involves me in the lives of others in a life-giving way. It provides a sense of roots and a shared vocabulary that leads to meaningful discussion and a deeper spirituality. I find that the community of faith in my Catholic religion provides opportunities for service that move me beyond myself, to understand more compassionately and respond more effectively to the needs and sufferings of others.

I have also found that my Catholic religion helps me to get beyond my own ethical blind spots or those of my own particular culture. There is a wealth of accumulated wisdom in our Church that comes from grappling with spiritual and ethical questions over the course of many centuries. To ignore that body of spiritual wisdom would be like trying to reinvent the wheel.

Over the years, I have come to be convinced of the fundamental truth that God is love. I did not arrive at that conclusion by merely searching within myself or by observing the world of nature. I learned it from a religion – the Catholic Christian one. The love of God is the central joy of my life. God, who is love, calls me to a fuller life through personal commitment and self-sacrifice.

Most importantly, it is through religion that I have come to know the love of Jesus Christ. I never would have met him if it were not for the Catholic, Christian religion. Without the organized institution of the Church through the centuries, he would have been lost to human history. The sins and failures of some members and leaders of the Church have caused grave harm, yet the Church has still managed effectively to put people in touch with the love of Jesus Christ for 2,000 years. I never would have come to know his love merely by reading about him. I have found him through the faith life of the community, through scripture and sacraments, in fellowship and service. It is a worldwide, universal experience of life in Christ that transcends particular cultures. I would not trade this for anything.

Speaking of Jesus Christ, he was both spiritual and religious; he did not divide the two. In his thirty-three years on earth, he practiced the traditions of the Jewish faith, including the Sabbath, the Passover, the commandments, the Jewish liturgy, and the Hebrew scriptures. He prayed in the formal religious rituals of the synagogue and the Temple, as well as alone outdoors on mountains and in the desert. He used the religious vocabulary of his religious tradition. He transformed his religious tradition from the inside; he did not discard it. When he gave us the gift of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, he was being both spiritual and religious.

A person becomes a great scientist through many years of learning and diligently applying the language and methods of scientists. A person becomes a great musician by learning from other musicians and by the discipline of consistent practice. For a novice in spirituality, a religious tradition provides a vocabulary and a community for a lifetime of learning and growing.

If a plant is going to grow strong and healthy and bear good fruit, it needs roots. Religion gives roots to the inner spiritual yearnings of the human soul. A boat without a rudder cannot go anywhere. It wanders aimlessly, this way and that, with no clear direction. Religion provides a tried and true rudder for the spiritual quest.

I have committed my life to serving in the Catholic Church because there is no other organization in history that has put more people in touch with the love of Jesus Christ. There is a spiritual depth in the writings of the Catholic tradition that goes deeper than any other. I have seen the power of God at work through the Catholic faith in so many large and small miracles that I am convinced of the spiritual reality at the core of this religion.

The Christian religion is not just something I dabble in to see if some of its practices might be appealing to me. Christianity is who I am. It is at the core of my very identity. I am spiritual because I am religious.