Test Your Knowledge of the Spiritual but Not Religious Movement

Spiritual but Not Religious: A Summary

• Spiritual but not religious (SBNR) is a term used to self-identify a life stance of spirituality that does not regard organized religion as the sole or most valuable means of furthering spiritual growth.
• SBNR is a movement that possibly started to emerge as a result of a new Romantic movement that began in the 1960s.
• According to a study conducted by Pew Research Center in 2012, the number of Americans who do not identify with any religion has increased from 15% in 2007 to 20% in 2012, and this number continues to grow.
• SBNR is related to feminist spiritual and religious thought and ecological spiritualities, and also to Neo-Paganism, Wicca, Shamanic, Druidic, Gaian, and ceremonial magic practices.
• SBNRs are categorized into five distinct categories:
• SBNR is related to feminist spiritual and religious thought and ecological spiritualities, and also to Neo-Paganism, Wicca, Shamanic, Druidic, Gaian, and ceremonial magic practices.
• SBNRs take a decidedly anti-dogmatic stance against religious belief in general.
• Many of those studied who identify as SBNR feel a tension between their personal spirituality and membership in a conventional religious organization.
• SBNRs value curiosity, intellectual freedom, and an experimental approach to religion.
• Some representatives of organized religion have criticized the practice of spirituality without religiosity.
• Critics contend that within the "Spiritual but not Religious" worldview, self-knowledge and self-growth have been problematically equated with knowledge of God, directing a person's focus inward.
• Other critics take issue with the intellectual legitimacy of SBNR scholarship.
• Sociologist Robert Wuthnow suggests that these forms of mysticism are "shallow and inauthentic".