Religious Naturalism is perfect for the spiritual but not religious. The movement puts faith in science while exhibiting the awe of spirituality in nature.

Faith has long-since been connoted with being a part of a traditional religion, such as Christianity or Buddhism, while spirituality has always seemed to gear towards a larger sense of awe, wonder and reverence. There is a standard with religions, as they all have their core story which has its own embedded interpretations and built in moral and ethical edicts. For those who believe they are spiritual but not religious, a growing segment of the population, there might be a religion for you now.

What is a Religious Naturalist?

First of all, a naturalist is someone who adopts the core narrative given to the world by science, whichever one is available at the time, and regularly accept the latest findings in science as updates to the story. This is often referred to as the Epic of Evolution or the Universe Story.

A religious naturalist adopts the epic as a narrative and explores its religious potential. They ask big questions and develop interpretive, spiritual and moral/ethical responses in an exploration process. This process is often guided by human traditions like art, literature, philosophy, poetry and religion around the world. Interpretation leans toward the philosophical/existential scale, while the moral axis focuses on outward communal responses to the epic and the spiritual side gears toward exploring the religious response, such as awe, wonder, gratitude, reverence, humility, joy and astonishment.

The religious naturalist often avoids talk of a god, though they may use god language to personify reality or connote a larger, important concept, such as love or happiness. Those who consider themselves religious naturalists may now affiliate with the Religious Naturalist Association (RNA), started in August 2014.

RNA: Religious Naturalist Association – The Religion for the Spiritual but Not Religious

The RNA has a two-part goal: to bring together the people of the world who self-describe as religious naturalists, while also introducing it to those who are unfamiliar to the concept. The website features poetry, community discussions, and other ways of interacting together. RNA gives a way of considering the mystery, order, and beauty of the world, by covering topics in other religions and simply looked at the world in a different light.

Resources

• NPR
• Pew Forum
• Religious Naturalist Association
• ReligiousNaturalism.org

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