Up: [[Spirituality]] Created: 2023-02-23 The difference between religion and spirituality reminds me of the difference between a traditionally published book and a self-published one. Spirituality can too often lack that critical edge, what Nick Cave referred to as rigour when he wrote, *Religion is spirituality with rigour.* So often when people claim to be spiritual but not religious, there’s more than a whiff of intellectual and moral sloppiness. That criticism could certainly be levelled at me. But all that means to me is that I need to get serious about understanding the millennia of religious thought so that my spirituality can be rigorous. And it looks like I’m not alone in recognizing that need. A recent check on Amazon shows no less than six books with the phrase spiritual but not religious in their title. The problem with organized religion for me is that there’s another human being in between me and God. I consider the relationship to be a personal one and I don’t want or need an intermediary, especially if that intermediary is seen as having the answers –looking at you, Catholic Church. I love the line from the poem [All Will Come Again](https://nurturingthegiftofseeking.org/2015/08/27/all-will-come-again-rainer-maria-rilke/#:~:text=All%20will%20come%20again%20into,and%20varied%20as%20the%20land.) where Rilke refers to church as a place where *God is imprisoned and lamented like a trapped and wounded animal.*