Spiritual, but not Religious: Understanding Unchurched America [Hardcover]

Robert C. Fuller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 20, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0195146808 | ISBN-13: 978-0195146806

Nearly 40% of all Americans have no connection with organized religion. Yet many of these people, even though they might never step inside a house of worship, live profoundly spiritual lives. But what is the nature and value of unchurched spirituality in America? Is it a recent phenomenon, a New Age fad that will soon fade, or a long-standing and essential aspect of the American experience?
In Spiritual But Not Religious, Robert Fuller offers fascinating answers to these questions. He shows that alternative spiritual practices have a long and rich history in America, dating back to the colonial period, when church membership rarely exceeded 17% and interest in astrology, numerology, magic, and witchcraft ran high. Fuller traces such unchurched traditions into the mid-nineteenth century, when Americans responded enthusiastically to new philosophies such as Swedenborgianism, Transcendentalism, and mesmerism, right up to the current interest in meditation, channeling, divination, and a host of other unconventional spiritual practices. Throughout, Fuller argues that far from the flighty and narcissistic dilettantes they are often made out to be, unchurched spiritual seekers embrace a mature and dynamic set of basic beliefs. They focus on inner sources of spirituality and on this world rather than the afterlife; they believe in the accessibility of God and in the mind's untapped powers; they see a fundamental unity between science and religion and an equality between genders and races; and they are more willing to test their beliefs and change them when they prove untenable.
Timely, sweeping in its scope, and informed by a clear historical understanding, Spiritual But Not Religious offers fresh perspective on the growing numbers of Americans who find their spirituality outside the church.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Over the past 30 years, sociologists of religion have coined the phrase "spiritual seeker" to describe those who are unaffiliated with organized religion but who are nonetheless looking for ways to enhance their understanding of religious questions. Fuller (Alternative Medicine in American Religious Life) observes that these seekers differentiate between spirituality and religion, connecting the former with a privately expressed faith and the latter with the creeds and rituals publicly expressed in religious institutions. These "spiritual but not religious" individuals, Fuller writes, pick and choose elements from a variety of beliefs and practices as they construct an individualized spirituality. While many scholars regard this as a recent phenomenon, Fuller provides a historical survey of America's "nonecclesial religious history" to demonstrate that the impulse toward creating a uniquely personal spirituality has pervaded American religion since colonial times. He ranges over divination, astrology, witchcraft, angelology, Swedenborgianism, Emersonian transcendentalism, mesmerism, Elizabeth Clare Prophet's I AM movement, New Thought and New Age in order to show the historical roots of the fascination with the spiritual apart from the religious. Finally, he contends that the spirituality of the "unchurched" is slowly reshaping the faith of many members of mainstream religious organizations. While there are interesting moments here, notably his lively historical overviews, Fuller's thesis is old news, and he fails to address the growing number of seekers who are returning to religious organizations in search of tradition-oriented faith. Since Fuller's book describes an outdated religious scene, his main point is almost obsolete.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In a work emblematic of the uniquely syncretic American psyche, Fuller (religious studies, Bradley Univ.) surveys the history and development of alternative spirituality in America. Making important distinctions between religion and spirituality and between religious thinking and biblical theology, Fuller quotes Paul Tillich, who also found that most of what happens in church isn't distinctively spiritual. Thus, spiritual Americans have always been those who seek "to find a language suitable for describing their encounters with the sacred." Offering a primer on alternative American religious history, Fuller focuses on mystical spiritualities, such as theosophy, alternative healing, channeling, 12-step programs, and Asian meditative practices. He finds some to be superficial and some to contain a more polished cultural vision, but nearly all speak to a single truth: American churches and religious institutions hold less and less authority in a time when so many avenues for personal spiritual renewal are available to everyday folk. In this readable text, which guides the reader to further research, Fuller views American religiosity as a "seeker spirituality," an argument borne out by our country's history of eclectic spiritual journeying. Recommended for American history and religion collections. Sandra Collins, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Lib.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195146808
• ISBN-13: 978-0195146806
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #594,083 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting, March 21, 2003

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AlexForrest (Greenville, South Carolina United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spiritual, but not Religious: Understanding Unchurched America (Hardcover)

Fuller provides readers with a fascinating survey of spiritual movements through American history that took place largely beyond the pale of "organized religion." He presents a convincing case that the spiritual seeking and experiementation that we see in our own day is nothing new. Particular attention is given to common themes such as the pantheism and other Eastern influences, mesmerism and other psycological experiences, and individualism.

Fuller clearly has a point of view that will irk Christian readers - he certainly seems to applaud spirituality divorced from orthodox Christianity. But Christians who want to seriously engage their culture will find this book terribly interesting. We should be challenged to remember that our own faith should not be conventional and enslaved to the culture, but should be counter-cultural, life-changing, and authentic. Perhaps those who know Christ and have the SPirit within them should be more often characterized as spiritual but not religious.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Do Americans Still Believe in Religion?, January 7, 2004

By 

Bryan Carey "Bryan Carey" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Spiritual, but not Religious: Understanding Unchurched America (Hardcover)

Quite frequently, when someone talks about religious life in America, it is common to hear news that sounds somewhat negative. "America is not quite as religious as was in the past", experts say. "They don't have the commitment to religious places of worship like they once did and they don't follow the strict moral code of their ancestors".

Author Robert Fuller is a professor of Religious Studies at Bradley University and he has studied extensively about this "flight" away from traditional religion. But what Fuller has found is that Americans are still believers in a higher being and they still consider themselves moral beings. The difference between now and then is that today, Americans tend to express their religious feelings in a more inward way, and they don't participate actively in organized religion. This is the new face of religion in America, and it is examined in this book, "Spiritual, but not Religious: Understanding unchurched America".

Fuller points out some revealing statistics that shows the movement of Americans away from tradition houses of worship and over to a more personal relationship with God. Americans don't like the standardized formula that is so prevalent in most churches. They want to express themselves in their own, unique way. And they want to rely more on the power of their own minds to get in touch with spiritual feelings.

Fuller writes mostly about the history of spirituality in America and the trends of the past two centuries that have gotten us where we are today. He doesn't dwell much on the present state of spirituality and why Americans are increasingly attracted to this as an alternative to traditional religion. This is one of the drawbacks of the book, in my opinion. It's good to know about the history and how we got where we are. But I would like to know more about the present- day spiritualists and why they feel so strongly about their mode of practice.

Fuller presents some good, thought- provoking material on the history of spirituality in America and what we can expect in the future. The nation is becoming more and more diverse all the time, and that includes diversity in religious beliefs as well as in cultural backgrounds. Churches will need to find more and more ways to accommodate these "drifters" who prefer their own method of religious practice to that of customary churches. If churches ignore this, Fuller predicts that they will continue to lose more and more members. Something must be done if American churches hope to grow and thrive in the new century.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent resource, September 9, 2002

By A Customer

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This review is from: Spiritual, but not Religious: Understanding Unchurched America (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent resource for congregations reaching out to a wider community than their own worship community. Often it provides more questions than answers, but the book forces the reader to analyze how her or his congregation is responding to the needs of the 40% of Americans who have no connection with organized religion.

The author provides a comprehensive history of alternative spiritual practices, which many of us believe erroneously are new
to our society. For those of us who find our spirituality based in community worship, this book provides thought-provoking challenges to our beliefs while also providing insights into how people reach a mature level of spirituality outside conventional religions.

I read the introduction and first chapter, "The Emergence of Unchurched Traditions," in order, and then chapter subtitles such as,"The New Ecclecticism in American Religion," and "Psychological Spirituality," piqued my interest, and I skipped around in the book for further reading. I borrowed the book from a friend, but then I ordered my own copy so I could highlight sections and make notes on pages.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for ways to broaden their own spirituality and understanding of how and why people pursue a particular style of spirituality. I also recommend it to members of congregations who have a strong spirit of reaching out in unconventional ways to the larger community--possibly even to the unchurched.