Unaffiliated · nontheistic
Spiritual But Not Religious
Something more than the material, approached personally and eclectically, with institutions declined on principle. This is a described population rather than a doctrine, which is why its dispersions are the widest in the matrix after Unitarian Universalism.
What makes it unusual
The axes on which this tradition sits furthest from the middle of the matrix — which is to say, the positions that actually distinguish it.
- B3 Institutional authorityindividual conscience decidesFurther toward "individual conscience decides" than most traditions in the matrix.
- E3 Locus of belongingan individual choiceFurther toward "an individual choice" than most traditions in the matrix.
- B1 Source of truthreason and direct experienceFurther toward "reason and direct experience" than most traditions in the matrix.
- E1 Exclusivitymany valid pathsFurther toward "many valid paths" than most traditions in the matrix.
All seventeen positions
Each cell carries a centre, a dispersion — how much internal variation the tradition genuinely tolerates — and the source the position rests on. Disagree with one? Say so; corrections are public and recorded.
The same seventeen values as a single shape, read clockwise from A1 at the top. The outline is where the tradition sits; the wider band around it is the variation it genuinely tolerates, so a tight outline is a tight tradition.
- position
- tolerated variation
A · The divine
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine realitynothing beyond the natural → a divine reality certainly exists | leaning a divine reality certainly existsSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.70 | 0.22 |
| A2 Personhoodimpersonal principle or order → a personal being one can address | between impersonal principle or order and a personal being one can addressSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.38 | 0.24 |
| A3 Pluralitystrictly one → many powers and spirits | between strictly one and many powers and spiritsSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.48 | 0.22 |
| A4 Locuswholly beyond the world → fully present within it | leaning fully present within itSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.82 | 0.13 |
B · Knowledge and authority
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1 Source of truthrevealed and fixed → reason and direct experience | reason and direct experienceSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.92 | 0.06 |
| B2 Reading of sacred textliteral and binding → metaphorical, or no text at all | metaphorical, or no text at allSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.90 | 0.08 |
| B3 Institutional authorityclergy and tradition decide → individual conscience decides | individual conscience decidesSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.95 | 0.04 |
C · Self and destiny
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| C1 Survival of the selfends at death → continues in some form | leaning continues in some formSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.68 | 0.22 |
| C2 Shape of timeone life, then judgment → cyclical return | between one life, then judgment and cyclical returnSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.58 | 0.24 |
| C3 The human conditionfallen and in need of rescue → ignorant but fundamentally sound | ignorant but fundamentally soundSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.88 | 0.08 |
D · Practice
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate goodgiven as grace → achieved by effort or insight | leaning achieved by effort or insightSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.78 | 0.14 |
| D2 Centrality of ritualessential and prescribed → optional or absent | leaning optional or absentSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.68 | 0.18 |
| D3 The bodyto be disciplined → to be celebrated | leaning to be celebratedSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.78 | 0.12 |
E · World and others
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1 Exclusivityone true path → many valid paths | many valid pathsSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.95 | 0.04 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmosan intentional act → beginningless or natural | between an intentional act and beginningless or naturalSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.58 | 0.24 |
| E3 Locus of belonginga people, inherited → an individual choice | an individual choiceSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.95 | 0.03 |
| E4 Standing of naturecreation, given for use → animate and itself sacred | leaning animate and itself sacredSurvey scholarship on the spiritual-but-not-religious (Pew, Fuller, Mercadante) | 0.82 | 0.12 |
Further reading
- Mercadante, Belief Without Borders — Interview-based typology of who actually says this about themselves.
- Pew Research Center, “Spirituality Among Americans” (2023) — The survey basis for treating this as a returnable result at all.
Compared with
- Spiritual But Not Religious and Unitarian Universalism
- Spiritual But Not Religious and New Thought
- Spiritual But Not Religious and Wicca
- Spiritual But Not Religious and Oriental Orthodoxy
- Spiritual But Not Religious and Reformed Christianity (Calvinism)
- Spiritual But Not Religious and Jehovah’s Witnesses
Where do you sit?
The questionnaire places your own answers on these same seventeen axes and reports how close you are to this tradition and to 64 others. Take it — eight to fourteen questions, nothing transmitted.