The term "spiritual but not religious" has, over the last decade, evolved from an academic definition to a widely used label for people who have abandoned traditional congregations in favor of a more solitary form of belief and worship. But new research by a Boston University sociologist has found that the ideas of "spirituality" and "religiosity" are rarely at odds but rather intersect often in the daily lives of people as they describe their spirituality.
As one study participant who attends All Saints Episcopal Church north of Boston said, “I think of myself as spiritual. Because it doesn’t matter what church I’m in. I am who I am.”