Submitted For Banishment: “Spiritual But Not Religious”

This is a new feature, where I write a post whenever I submit a word or a phrase to the LSSU Banished Words List. I’m doing this because I’m just a smeensy bit jealous of my MOB colleague David Downing, because his banishment requests have been not only accepted by LSSU, but publicized in 2009. When LSSU banishes a word or phrase for which I requested banishment, I want to be able to say “I told you so!” with joyous abandon.

Before I go further on this post, I hereby confess that my predictions that the words and phrases “bamboozled,” “hoodwink,” “voting ‘present,’” and “that’s above my pay grade” would be on the 2010 Banished Words List were wrong. I also confess not having written a post on the 2010 Banished Words List. All you had to do to find out the 2010 Banished Words was read Instapundit and look at the one-word post titles (stimulus, transparency).

I recently met someone on Twitter who used this phrase as the opening of their Twitter bio. It once meant someone who contemplates spirituality outside a formal tradition, but it has now become a phrase for someone who wishes to appear like a good and interesting person, but who can’t be bothered with all those oppressive, nitpicky commandments like don’t kill, don’t hate, don’t commit adultery, don’t lust, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t covet, etc. It has now become someone who cries out to the Goddess while committing adultery.

And the clearest indication that the phrase has jumped the shark is when it is given the “mocking by reversal” treatment in the Onion:

Priest Religious, But Not Really Spiritual

BOSTON—Father Clancy Donahue of St. Michael Catholic Church told reporters Wednesday that while he believed in blindly adhering to the dogma and ceremonies of his faith, he tried not to get too bogged down by actual spirituality. “I’m not so much into having a relationship with God as I am into mechanically conducting various rituals,” Donahue said. “To me, it just feels empty to contemplate a higher power without blindly obeying canon law and protecting the church as an institution.” Donahue emphasized that although he did not personally agree with those who pondered the eternal, he had nothing against them.

Well, that’s a relief. Maybe all those spiritual but not religious folk need people like Father Donahue to keep the ecclesiastical machinery well lubricated.

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