Spiritual, Not Religious

My Dearest Bilchly,

One of your patients describes herself as “spiritual, but not religious”? Excellent. What an inspired little phrase. It’s the sort of lie that feels immediately plausible, a thought-terminating cliché.

Of course, religion is simply the practice of spirituality. Separating the two is impossible. She might as well say she is “athletic but never works out.”

What the dim little creatures mean is that they aren’t so unfashionable as to actually go to their churches or give up a vice in light of their beliefs. Indeed, by “spiritual, not religious,” they usually mean the very opposite: that their spirituality in no way gets in the way of their own impulses. At the same time, they remain under the illusion that they are somehow still associated with higher, spiritual things.

This combination enables us to have our way with their impulses (has vague spirituality ever stopped someone from selfishness or gossip?) while at the same time giving us a neat little box to accommodate the occasional flashes of spiritual longing that all but the most deadened of the creatures experience.

At the same time, this helpful little phrase appeals to our patients’ endless vanity. They love to seem “deep” and “interesting” to one another. (In fact, most of them would rather seem to be something desirable rather than be something desirable). In this way, being “spiritual” safely aids their tireless subconscious campaign for social acceptance.

This is a promising start to your work with this patient. Keep her convinced she’s far too complex to involve herself in “organized religion.” In doing so, you will keep her far away from the Enemy’s camp.

Delightedly Yours,

Mulcifer