Do you think there is a difference between religion and spirituality? I ask you because I have often heard people say that they are not religious, they are spiritual. These people usually mean that they want nothing to do with organized religion but they may read books on prayer and meditation or attend lectures on world religions because it is different enough from the confining practices of the religion of their youth.

         Let us look at definitions of religion and spirituality. Scholars have never endorsed a single definition of religion but the New World Dictionary defines religion as "A set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, usually involving devotional and ritual observance and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs."

         The definition of spirit is "the animating force in human beings." (Encarta Dictionary) No doubt spiritual could be defined as the endeavor to discover and experience that animating force in us.

         There was a time when we did not consider whether religion was separate from spirituality. We assumed that our religion had a spiritual foundation and that it would lead us to a place within ourselves individually and collectively that held a depth of being that was beyond words, a felt place, or a perceived state of which we could not speak but only experience. Some of us may have experienced it in hymn singing, others in a prayer or a reading, or perhaps in some part of the sermon. If we did not like the words of the Apostles Creed or other words in the Book of Common Prayer, it might not matter because there were other things we did like.

         But, in the 1960's, we stopped being tolerant of what we didn't like in our traditional religion and we became skeptical of religion that held that its truths and no others were valid. The Judeo-Christian myths, stories, rituals, and sacred texts and teachings governing behavior were suspect. The 1960's revolutionaries didn't believe in fixed truths and demanded the freedom to reinterpret for themselves. Thus we saw Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar and also a turn towards eastern religions. Traditional religion required conformity and adherence to its beliefs. This generation was not going to conform or adhere. Religion got itself a bad name. The mainline churches may have lost an entire generation or perhaps two generations of its people.

         Many Unitarian Universalist churches and fellowships responded by emphasizing intellectual inquiry over religious beliefs. Ministers stopped using the G word (God). Nowadays, because many people are asking for more spirituality we are tending to reclaim the roots of our Judeo-Christian heritage while also looking at the perspectives of other religions. In returning to our roots, we are also reinterpreting them and evolving a different perspective. We are less cautious about using the word God but we understand it to have a wide interpretation, from the Great Spirit we heard in the Ojibway prayer to the mystical Ground of All Being in all things, to the inspiration of the beauty of nature (as in the attached reading) and art.

         Last week, I spent five days with Thich Nhat Hanh, a wise and joyful Buddhist monk from Vietnam, and forty of his monks and nuns. This was the monk who was exiled from Vietnam in 1968 during the Vietnam War for his activities in protesting against war, not against America or North Vietnam, but against the use of war itself. In my mind's eye, I can still well remember the shocking sight of young monks in their saffron robes burning themselves in the streets of Saigon to protest the war. Perhaps some of you remember as well. They were not protesting against America or North Vietnam; they were protesting war as a solution.

         Thich Nhat Hanh established a monastery called Plum Village in France and there are two here in America. He and his monks go to many countries giving retreats and talking about how to bring about peace in the world. I had read a few books by him and I knew that an admired colleague of mine had spent a month at Plum Village. And I was impressed that Thich Nhat Hanh and his followers were willing to take on social justice issues.

         We were gathered at Stonehill College in Easton. There were 800 students. Some of us were commuters but most stayed in the college dorms. We began each day with sitting meditation at 6:15 to 7:30 am. This was followed by breakfast, which we ate in silence. We were encouraged to get our cafeteria selection of vegetarian food and go to a round table and stand there until most of the table was filled. Then we bowed a greeting with our hands together. The gesture meant, "A lotus to you; a Buddha to be." We were to eat mindfully, with no thoughts, and just taste fully each bite of food. When we were finished, we bowed to all returned our tray to the cafeteria and then went in silence to the dharma talk by Thich Nhat Hanh. Dharma means Life Lessons. We maintained the silence until after lunch when we met in groups to discuss the talk. The silence was called The Noble Silence. Periodically, a bell would ring. It was a signal for us to check whether any random thoughts were in our minds and to remind us to focus on our breath to keep the mind clear. There were many other things that I will share with you in the coming weeks.

         Though this retreat was deeply spiritual, it was also religious. The teachings were the core teachings of Zen Buddhism: mindfulness, peacefulness, and lovingkindness. And the practice of meditation was religious and the monks and nuns sang beautiful, melodious prayers without accompaniment for 30 minutes in the early morning. Thich Nhat Hanh is familiar with the core teachings of Jesus. He is the author of Living Buddha, Living Christ and recently Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers. I returned from the retreat renewed and peaceful.

         Is this service today religious or spiritual? By my choice of hymns and readings, I intended to create a sense of the sacred and the spiritual. In the responsive reading, the author begins with "Deep in ourselves lies the religious impulse" and ends with "We have religion when we . . .entrust ourselves to the life that is larger than ourselves." This author assumes that religion and spirituality are the same. I hope that our service evoked a depth of our spirit that reaches deep within ourselves and perhaps beyond. At the same time, we had some of the rituals of our tradition: our chalice lighting, our candles of joys and concern, hymns, and the offer of a lesson, this sermon, for you to consider.

         Religion then is comprised of the beliefs we gather around that make us identifiably Unitarian Universalist. Marianne Williamson says that though our religious beliefs often separate us, spirituality is a force that unites us by reminding us of our fundamental oneness. On Friday, I met with other clergy of Fairhaven to plan a Remembrance Service on September 11th, we will be holding it at St. Joseph's with most of the clergy participating. No creed will be said or cross carried as we transcend our various beliefs and look to the common thread amongst us. I think it will be a deeply spiritual experience.

         I rather like the religion part of our identity. How else can we poke fun at ourselves. You may have heard about the three men who died and went to heaven. St. Peter met them at the pearly gates and said, "You can all come in, you just have to answer one question first. Did you cheat on your wife?" The first man said, "No, I never cheated on my wife." St. Peter said, "Okay, here is a Cadillac for you to drive around in Heaven." The second man said, "Yes, I cheated on my wife once, then I really regretted it." St. Peter said, "Okay, here is a golf cart to drive around in Heaven." The third man said, "I cheated on my wife a lot and I never regretted it." St. Peter said, "Okay, here is a bicycle for you to get around Heaven."

         A few days later, the second and third man found the Cadillac and driver parked at the side of the road. He was very depressed. They asked, "What's wrong with you? You got the Cadillac didn't you?" "Yes," said the man, "but I just saw my wife go by on a skateboard!"

         We are communal animals. We must gather and have relationship. Our shared beliefs facilitate this. If we do not feel the spiritual aspect, we will not feel nurtured at a deep level. Though we may lead busy lives, a Sunday service should give us both religion and spirituality. I will always endeavor to offer this to you.

         If someone says to you, "Oh, I'm spiritual, not religious", I hope you can respond, "Oh, my church is both spiritual and religious. "Please come and visit us sometime"

         May our religious and spiritual journey be one. May our spirit ever be active in us and inform our actions and words so that we bring more understanding, peace and love into our world.

Reading: "The Spiritual Journey" from Simple Truths by Kent Nerburn

         We are all born with a belief in God. It may not have a name or a face. We may not even see it as God. But it is there.

         It is the sense that comes over us as we stare into the starlit sky, or watch the last fiery rays of an evening sunset. It is the morning shiver as we wake on a beautiful day and smell a richness in the air that we know and love from somewhere we can't quite recall. It is the mystery behind the beginning of time and beyond the limits of space. It is a sense of otherness that brings alive something deep in our hearts.

         Some people will tell [us] that there is no God. They will claim that God is a crutch for people who can't face reality, a fairy tale for people who need myths in their lives. . . .[We] cannot argue with these people, nor should [we]. . . .[Our] task is not to judge the paths of others, but to find a path that will lead [us] ever closer to the murmurings that [we] hear in [our] own heart. . . .