TheEnd

Somebody posted this on their Facebook wall

“Religion is for people who are scared to go to hell. Spirituality is for people who have already been there.”

After I did some googling, it seems that this is a popular saying in AA, although I have yet to hear it. What are your thoughts on this?

heath480

I have heard this quoted many times in the rooms of AA.I like it,makes perfect sense to me.

CarolD

Just another example of.....you can hear a lot of one liners from people
that may not have anything to do with the AA program/Steps...

Terminally Unique

I have seen this repeated many times, and it is a prime example of humble arrogance cloaked in ignorance. The implication is that the "spirituality" engaged in by the speaker is somehow a superior revelation to that of traditional religion. It is effectively a derogatory epitaph. Besides, not all religions have a concept of hell.

Tippingpoint

It does seem very contrived to my ear -- and dismissive of all those who've found enlightenment and spirituality without the benefit of our shared experience with addiction.

CarolD

In last Sundays meeting a man said he was there...10 a.m. rather than attending church.

After the meeting I pointed out to him that both church and AA
could be done on the same day if he were interested...
Why not do both?

Threshold

I have always felt that quote to be smug and based on someone wanting to say their experience is more valid than someone elese's.

Experiences are valid. It's life, not a competition.

Ranger

The phrase isn't taking a shot at organized religion, it's taking a shot at adherents who are all "bells and smells" (i.e. lack the faith of even a mustard seed).

Even the backwoods Southern Baptist church I was raised in would not have a problem with this saying. And trust me, folks, THAT is saying something.

Terminally Unique

Oh, yes it is, and it goes further. It implies that everyone who subscribes to religion is all "bells and smells."

Let me pull out my Orwellian recovery doublespeak decoder ring for a translation...

Ranger

<shrug> OK...well, I appreciate yoru experience. But, you might want to let the pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Rogersville MO know that, since that is where I first heard this phrase embraced by an organized religion.

And give a shout to Harold Baptist Church in Walnut Grove MO while you're at it, coz there was a whole lota railing against "religion for religion's sake" coming down from the pulpit during my childhood.

vinepest

My impression, based on how I've heard it used in the past, is that the distinction between "religion" and "spirituality" is emphasized because organized religion is commonly understood to be too-rigid, hypocritical, and/or otherwise inferior to a purer spiritual approach to godstuff. The precise boundary between religion and spirituality is never specified (in my experience anyway).

Of course I don't see why removing the organization from a religion is supposed to help. Whether a person is religious or merely "spiritual," it's still purely a matter of faith that his subjective experiences are being caused by the creator of the universe.

BASEjumper

Must...acquire...Orwellian doublespeak decoder ring...

Terminally Unique

He was probably "in recovery."

Tigger41

War is peace - 2 legs bad...

DayTrader

End... to me, it's a neat line that may just help someone who's anti-religious invoke his ego into thinking he's somehow better by being worse - and because he's so much worse, spirituality is somehow "better" than the religious practices that those common-folk can get away with. "Well, I'm not religious......ya see, I'm special cuz I was sooo bad that I went to hell and now I'm spiritual." -- been to hell huh? lol@the ego of the typical alkie........to suggest anyone knows what hell or heaven are, assuming they exist, just reminds me my ego is a big source of insanity.

For whatever reason, this is one of the few screwy lines that I hear that's NOT AA but doesn't bug me all that much.

Terminally Unique

Yes, I hadn't thought of it, but this too!

They find ancient religions dull but find themselves uniquely fascinating.

Zencat

I recall in my church going days that hell was to be dreaded. As if one was cast into the fiery lake of eternal damnation, there would be no escape. But lo and behold, there is a trap door where one can exit the suffering of hell and again bask in the light by way of spirituality.

As a metaphor for transformation: limited knowledge limits ones options.

Terminally Unique

This is why many "spiritual not religious" types often go non-linear when someone tells them that there is no difference. They interpret this as slander, suggesting that their brand of spirituality is only "as good as" religion, but not actually superior.

TheEnd

Well I for one like it. I have often said that my addiction brought me "To Hell and Back" and by working the program of AA I have achieved some sense of spirituality. I have attended church my whole life (for other people) and never got anything out of it. I now have a relationship with my higher power and speak to him on a daily basis, not just when I'm in the foxhole begging for help.

So for me, it sort of makes sense. I guess that is why it jumped out at me when I heard it.

LaFemme

I'm not a fan of the quote because it reads superior to me...bit I can see how it would be read in a different light too