Along the Way: Religious Spirituality

Commentary

by

Practicing Faith

Oboedire | May 20, 2026

The phrase, “I’m spiritual but not religious” has been used for quite some time by those who are navigating their spiritual journey in non-conventional, non-institutional ways. I have used the phrase in my teaching to call attention to the diversity of ways we develop the spiritual life. I have also applied aspects of the idea to my journey. And I continue to have a warm spot in my heart for the idea and those who continue to use it.

Let me be clear: I believe that some religion is so counterfeit and toxic that it needs to be discarded. Trying to salvage residual good from these expressions of religion is fruitless. Some religion needs to go. Full stop. In such cases, espousing no religion is an improvement. I am grateful to the people and ministries who are engaged in holding and restoring those who have been harmed by faux faith. [1]

But with that said, I still find myself among those for whom the idea of religious spirituality is still valid, attractive, and formative. It is what Richard Rohr calls “living on the edge of the inside.” [2] It is the place where God is calling many of us to live in this time of new-awakening disorder en route to the new order God is creating today as in times past (Isaiah 43:19).

Again, to be clear: this stance is tricky even if necessary for some. We have to cut each other a lot of slack when we set out on the religious-spirituality journey—one in which we do, indeed, “see in a mirror dimly” (1 Corinthians 13:12). There are potholes and pitfalls on the path of religious spirituality.

But believing the combination is possible, what are some signs that we are moving in the right direction?

First, religious spirituality is rooted in love. My use of Paul’s words opens the door to the religious-spirituality house. One way to say this is to note that it is a journey validated by intent, not performance. The time of disorder in which we are living is one in which we have “sailed off the map” (Leonard Sweet). We are navigating by the stars, not the systems. We make mistakes, but in the context of motive: “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.” The way of love (with the other eight aspects of the fruit of the Spirit) create the “North Star” for our journey.

Second, religious spirituality exists in the context of the root meaning of religion: healing, restoring , reconnecting. This is what I hear people longing for over and over today—a means for overcoming loneliness and recovering a sense of belonging. If religion at its best offers this, why would we not use the insights, communities, resources, and practices it has to offer. Religion moves with a vision for Life (e.g. John 10:10) and organizes itself in a spiritual midwifery to help people find a rebirthing in God. I want to include it in contemporary renewal edforts.

Third, religious spirituality is philosophical, interfaith, and eclectic. While we typically identify with a major world religion (the noun) , we enrich it with insights from a variety of sources; we walk with light from many lamps. We learn and grow at the Round Table (E. Stanley Jones) where everyone beings their best and offers it for edification, not debate.

Fourth, religious spirituality is evolutionary and expansive. We know from the outset that it is a wineskin that will one day become incapable of holding the wine. Interfaith and interdisciplinary learning will necessitate the making of new wineskins. Jesus taught it would be so, in order that when we come to such moments, we do not see them as losses, but rather as “growth pains” beckoning us into the something-more life offered to us by the infinite God who has created and is creating.

These dimensions of religious spirituality do not fully describe it. But they are enough to illustrate why I continue to commend the idea. They lead to the means of applying it to our spiritual formation. Here are some ways I suggest for doing that.

First, affiliate with expressions of religion that express and enact the fruit of the Spirit. No community does this perfectly. But Jesus said, “by their fruit you shall know them,” and it won’t take you long to know whether the one you are in lives the fruit of the Spirit or not  Leave any that do not and find your life in those that do.

Second, go deep into the religion you choose. Minimalism will not suffice. Discipleship, not membership must be your aim. Going deeper will not make you narrow; it will lead you increasingly into the point vierge (Thomas Merton), into the universalizing stage (James Fowler) in which we find in the Center a wideness that toxic religion never provides.

Third, go wide on your embrace of other religions. Become a world soul, one that finds life in the imago dei as it is found in the diversity of faith traditions and cultures. Because this will be new to you, and because there is toxicity in every religion, consult with those in other religions who can tell you where the Living Water is.  Two of my early versions of this came through using The World Wisdom Bible and Matthew Fox’s One River, Many Wells. Using these resources has unearthed the names of many other good guides.

Fourth, grow in community. All valid spirituality is life together. Place yourself in an environment where pilgrimage, not heroism, is then pattern. Of course, there will be some leaders there, but they will never be “my way or the highway” types. The communal structure will be flat, not hierarchical. Each person will be a teacher and a learner. Accountability will run through the whole. No one will have “arrived.” The life will also be an iron-sharpens-iron experience where we “ask, seek, and knock”—where living the questions is as normal (and encouraged) as “standing on the promises.”

Finally, be at the ready to admit mistakes along the way. As Charles Wesley wrote, “If to the right or left I stray, that moment, Lord, reprove.” We are finding our way forward, and that way includes missteps. We learn from them, but only when we admit them. We advance with conviction, not certainty—with humility, not hubris. Apologizing and seeking forgiveness when necessary is essential in a religious spirituality worthy of the name. I think we have yet to see what the Body of Christ would look like with a confessional stance more than a declarative one. That we are “beggars telling other beggars where to find bread” (D.T. Niles) feels more like the spirit of Jesus (Mark 10:18).

In the midst of researching and writing about religious spirituality, I found an insightful article by Peter Choi. [3] He proposes a new phrase, one which summarizes what I intend in this post, “spiritual but not leaving religion.” It is the mixture of realism and hope that we need—a stance that does not deny the problems of religion, but does not let the problems define what religion is. The way forward requires a questioning of religion in whatever ways are necessary without abandoning it entirely.

I think Jesus was doing this when in teaching us that old wineskins have to go, he used the word skin to describe the needed container. It is new, but it is still a skin. Old religion has to go; but what emerges will still be religious in new and fresh expressions of it.

So, with all the cautions in place with respect to religion, I still believe it is a means to guide us into greater light, life and love. When Jesus said that old wineskins have to go, he used the word skin (not something else) to describe the new container. I take that as a clue in continuing to use the idea of religion in the finding of our way forward.

[1] I am particularly appreciative for Jim Palmer, founder of the Center for Non-Religious Spirituality. He also writes on Substack and Facebook using the title Deconstructionology for his posts. Jim comes from a major experience of toxic Christianity, writing from firsthand experience about it and helping people recover from it.

[2] More about the phrase later, perhaps. For now you can read Richard’s description of it in his book, The Eight Core Principles.

[3] Peter Choi, “The Room Next Door To Faith,” The Christian Century, May 2026.

The Rev. Dr. Steve Harper is retired seminary professor who taught for 32 years in the disciplines of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies. Author and co-author of more than fifty books.. He is also a retired elder in The Florida Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.