Spiritual But Not Religious
Life is a spiritual journey. One author defines spirituality as that which “embraces purpose, meaning, connectedness, and a sense of community.” The universe exploded into existence. Planets formed. And in one very ordinary galaxy a very blue planet evolved. From nonlife emerged life, and from matter emerged mind. And from the long eons of history, here you are. You feel compelled to make sense of both your relation to the universe and your that-is-great-that-the-universe-is-expanding-but-I-have-a-paper-due life.
Humans are meaning-making animals. Traditional religions helped our ancestors make sense of who they were in relation to God and creation. But for more and more people, the answers provided by traditional religion no longer have the power they once had. Sometimes painfully, sometimes with great relief, people leave traditional religion. As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “The foregoing generations beheld God and nature face to face; we, through their eyes. Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe?” Indeed, why not?
The Spiritual But Not Religious (SBNR) group will be a place that offers two essential things for the spiritual journey: freedom and community. There is no set of beliefs to adhere to. You can belong to a religion or not (for the record, I am a Unitarian Universalist), believe in God or not, or just prefer not to label yourself. The only thing we expect is for each person to be an authentic expression of their own spiritual searching. We will gather as a spiritual community to encourage and support one another…and have fun!
SBNR is open and welcoming! Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex (LGBTQQI) individuals are welcome and wanted! SBNR seeks to be a progressive presence on campus that is very clear about the importance of being open to the full spectrum of humanity.
If the above appeals to you, I invite you to contact me for more information or just to say hello. Our first meeting will be on February 4th at 8 p.m. in the Spiritual Life Center. I hope to see you there!
Kevin ([email protected])
By Kevin Ring
Spiritual Life Intern