What do you think people mean when they say they are spiritual, not religious?
A so called "spiritual]" person is , most likely, one who has participated in organized religion, become disallusioned and stopped attending church but still believes in a 'prime source".
Rather than think about the word "spiritual" it would be more helpful to talk about wonder, empathy, conscousness, amazement, awe, and probably a few more concepts that don't spring to my mind at the present moment.
The problem is that many of us would be hard pressed to differentiate between some feelings/ideas, let alone accurately identify and express them.
They probably just do yoga or meditation. Namaste or whatever.
I try not to. Think that is.
I ask them directly what they mean by it. Most of the time they descibe different things, some make some sense of it, others don't. Many are describing empathy+ as I call it.
Believe in higher power just not organized religion. I was there for a while.
It is indeed very vague. I prefer it to blindly following all the practices/beliefs of one religion, as at least it shows that this person has realized that no one religion/sect has all the answers. But I also think that they have not thought about the issue long/hard enough to reach the conclusion that there is likely no supernatural realm.
I see no use for it. Usually they describe the feeling of awe as being spiritual. Why? I have no clue. No one can define any of it and it means completely different things to like everyone. Vague at best. Why not just say you're awe-inspired? Then again why is it nessesary to label yourself as being capable of feeling awe? EDIT: It does make some sense I suppose if the person believes in something supernatural, but does not practice an organized religion.
To me spirituality is believing in a deity. Being religious is believe in and/or participating in organized religion.