Faith in Flesh & Blood: Why “Spiritual But Not Religious” is A Pagan Lie

The Comforting Lie of Disembodied Spirituality

In our fragmented age—where institutional trust is low, attention is scattered, and truth is relative—many people reject organized religion while still expressing belief in some higher power. They say, “I don’t like organized religion,” as if disorganized religion is any better, which is precisely what the “spiritual but not religious” are. The phrase “I’m spiritual but not religious” has become a cultural mantra. It sounds open-minded, tolerant, and harmless, but beneath its pleasant tone lies a deep deception.

This mindset is not only unbiblical; it is also a rehashing of ancient pagan religion, now clothed in modern language. Worse still, it denies the incarnate nature of the Christian faith, which is fundamentally about God entering history, taking on flesh, and redeeming us in water, bread, wine, and Word.

To be “spiritual but not religious” (hereon SBNR) is to embrace a false gospel—one that offers the illusion of transcendence without repentance, presence without obedience, and comfort without the cross.

What Does This Mean?

When people say they’re SBNR, they typically mean:

• They believe in a higher power or divine force, but
• They reject organized religion, doctrines, creeds, rituals, and institutions.
• They want a personalized and non-committal spiritual experience (like a man wanting to live with a woman as if she’s his wife without her actually being his wife).
• They value feelings and mystical connection over truth and structure.

But this is not new. This is not fresh. Not only has it also been known as Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, its essence is a revival of ancient pagan spirituality dressed up for postmodern sensibilities.

Pagan Roots of SBNR

The earliest root of SBNR is Gnosticism, a heresy that plagued the early Church. There are various forms of Gnosticism, but their common denominator is that they believed the material world was evil and that salvation came through secret spiritual knowledge (gnosis [γνῶσις]), not faith in Christ’s atoning work on the cross. They rejected the idea of a bodily resurrection, corporeal sacraments, and Christ’s true humanity. Scripture has warned us of this heresy, “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God” (1 John 4:2-3).

The modern “spiritual” person often treats the body, the Church, and history the same way—as inferior to their own internal feelings and personal experiences. But Christianity says: God took on flesh. He entered history. He uses corporeal means to save.

Eastern Religions (Hinduism & Buddhism)

Much of New Age spirituality—which fuels the SBNR mindset—is drawn from Hinduism and Buddhism. These religions, though distinct from each other, also share the same essence:

• They deny a personal Creator God.
• They view the material world as illusion or suffering to be escaped.
• They emphasize inner enlightenment through meditation or energy alignment.
• They reject sin, judgement, and grace in favor of self-actualization.

The modern spiritual person often echoes these ideas without realizing it, for example:

• “The divine is in everything.”
• “I’m working on my energy.”
• “I don’t believe in sin, just karma.”
• “We are all part of the same grand tapestry.”
• “We are all children of the same source.”

But this is not Christian thought; this is the importation of pagan mysticism, stripped of its rituals and merged with Western individualism.

The Occult and Nature Spirituality

Wicca, animism, and shamanistic religions also influence SBNR thinking. These worldviews:

• See the divine in nature rather than in Christ. (An SBNR person might say something like, “The Earth is our mother, and we must protect her.” “Listen to the whispers of the wind and the rhythm of the Earth.”)
• Use crystals, astrology, or spirit guides to connect with the unseen. (Thus, they might say something like, “The universe is sending me a sign.”)
• Embrace pantheism or panentheism (God is all/in all).

This has made its way into mainstream culture through “sage cleansing,” horoscopes/zodiac signs (astrology), tarot readings, and the belief that God is a “force” to be felt, not a Father to be known.

SBNR is A False Gospel

The fundamental problem with this mindset is that it separates God from the means by which He has chosen to reveal and deliver Himself. It refuses the form and structure of the Church through the Word and Sacraments and substitutes them with vague spiritual feelings in its place, “having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2 Timothy 3:5).

It rejects Christ’s physical incarnation. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). To be Christian is to confess that God entered into our material world in the person of Jesus Christ. The Son of God became truly human—body, blood, breath, bones, etc. He ate, He wept, He suffered, He died, and He rose bodily. SBNR thinking often wants a disembodied divine presence, but Christianity insists on the incarnate God—Christ in flesh.

It rejects the Means of Grace. “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). Jesus gave us visible, tangible means by which He gives His grace:

• Baptism: water.
• The Lord’s Supper: bread and wine, His body and blood.
• The Word: preached by human mouths into human ears.
• The Church: a visible, gathered body.

The SBNR person wants direct spiritual experiences but refuses the things Christ Himself instituted.

It is rooted in pride, not repentance. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 16:25). To be SBNR is to say, “I want God on my own terms. I do not want to submit to His Word, His Body the Church, or His commands.” It is a spirituality of the self—customized, safe, non-committal, comfortable, and inoffensive. But true Christianity begins with repentance—confessing our sins and receiving mercy at the foot of the cross.

The Gift of True Religion: Corporeal and Communal

“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27). “Religion” is not a dirty word. In Scripture, religion is the ordering of worship and life around God. When rightly understood, religion is:

• Embodied: It involves water, wine, bread, voices, posture, places, and time.
• Historical: It is rooted in God’s actions in history, not human speculation.
• Communal: It is experienced not alone, but in the gathered Body of Christ (see Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Hebrews 10:25).

Lutheran theology embraces the beautiful corporeality of Christianity:

• The water of Baptism touches skin.
• The body and blood of Christ are received into our mouths and stomachs.
• The voice of Absolution is spoken by a pastor and enters our physical ears, not merely “felt.”
• The Church calendar, lectionary, and liturgy order our lives and they shape time and space.

This is not cold formality; it is how God condescends to meet us.

Christ Didn’t Die for You to Find Your Own Path

Jesus did not say, “Feel spiritual in whatever way makes sense to you.” He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them… teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

He established His Church, instituted sacraments, sent preachers, and gave commands. He didn’t leave us to wander in spiritual fog; He came to bring light, order, and salvation through visible means.

The Cross, Not the Cosmos

The spiritual-but-not-religious worldview seeks the divine in nature, indefinable energy, and inward reflection. But the Christian seeks the divine in the God-man, hanging on a cross, bleeding for sinners. The modern spiritual vagabond may find temporary comfort in the wind or the stars, but only Christ crucified saves. Only the religion grounded in Christ’s corporeal body and blood offers eternal life.

To be “religious” in the Christian sense is not to be rigid or legalistic, but to submit joyfully to the God who meets us in Word and Sacrament, who forgives our sins in water and wine and Word, and who gathers His Church to worship Him in spirit and and truth. “The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).

And truth is never vague. It is Christ. It is flesh and blood. It is crucified and risen. It is given in the Means of Grace, not felt in meager feelings.