Seeking the Spiritual Without Boundaries: Spiritual But Not Religious

“I’m spiritual but not religious.” We hear this phrase a lot these days. In fact, according to Michael Lipka’s 2015 article “Millennials increasingly are driving growth of ‘nones,’” appearing on the Pew Research Center’s website, “Overall, 35% of adult Millennials are religiously unaffiliated.” As a result, an entire designation, SBNR (Spiritual But Not Religious), has come into being.

What exactly does SBNR mean? For most people in this category, the label signifies a longing to seek out the divine without the desire to be a part of a religious community like a church, synagogue, temple, sangha, or mosque. People who are SBNR are open to exploring different spiritualties, theologies, and philosophies, and many see a connection with the divine as a private matter rather than a public one. Some individuals in this category identify as agnostic but interested in finding out if spiritual elements such as meditation will benefit their mental health and/or overall wellbeing.

As a poet and essayist who finds inspiration in diverse spiritual paths, I have often been approached by students at Lynchburg College who want to explore spirituality without labeling themselves as a member of a particular religion. Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong with belonging to a specific religion. Some people simply want, for example, to practice a Hindu chant, talk about Buddhist meditation, and read about archangels all in a month’s time! Millennials are curious beings; they value exploration and diversity. Therefore, it should not come as a shock that many want to experience different spiritual paths.

What does this movement mean for the Lynchburg College community? We are fortunate that our Spiritual Life Center values diversity. As a result of this need for spiritual exploration, Shelby Voorhees and I are starting a new discussion group. We are calling it SBNR, and we envision it to be a safe place for people to talk about spiritual interests. It is our hope that we will be able to bring in a variety of guests, people from different belief systems, to talk about how their spirituality shapes their daily lives. SBNR will be an opportunity to ask questions, to explore spiritual practices without feeling any pressure to convert to a specific religion, and to have tea and snacks while sharing our own visions of the sacred. The group is open to all people in the Lynchburg College community, whether they are religious, spiritual but not religious, agnostic, etc.

by Jeremy Peyton Bryant,
Director of Wilmer Writing Center
and Advisor to LC Sangha and SBNR