Religious but not spiritual? Meet the skeptics favoring ritual over the supernatural

[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nn(RNS) — From what she eats to how she ties her shoes, religion shapes nearly every moment of Michelle’s life. An Orthodox Jew living in New York City, she follows a line of discipline guided by halacha, or Jewish law. She keeps a kosher kitchen, and on shabbat she doesn’t drive or turn on lights, following ancient strictures against lighting a fire on the Lord’s day.The one part of Judaism Michelle said she’s not necessarily sold on is the whole “God” thing.
“I have zero desire or inclination to stop being a practicing Jew,” said Michelle, who asked to keep her last name private out of concern for her employment at a faith-based organization. “I recognize about myself that I am skeptical about the God stuff and the Torah stuff. I don’t really believe all that. I don’t feel like I need to.”
The phrase “spiritual not religious” has become a near-catch phrase in American culture, and the percentage of Americans who describe themselves as having spiritual leanings without adhering to a given faith continues to climb. But only rarely have pollsters plumbed for those who separate their religion from their spirituality in the other direction: the religious but not spiritual.
While few studies dedicated to the group exist, a December 2023 study on spirituality from Pew Research Center found that 1 in 10 Americans can be categorized this way.
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