Listening to the Affection of Questioners: A Catholic Pastoral Response to “Spiritual but not Religious”

This article develops three elements for a pastoral approach to dialogue between Catholics and those who identify as spiritual but not religious. The 2023 Pew Survey “Spirituality of Americans” provides a useful overview of attitudes among those who assume this designation. Two recent synod documents reveal the church’s initial response to this phenomenon. Three elements then outline a pastoral response. First, four occasions of interreligious dialogue described in the Vatican document Dialogue and Proclamation are appropriated for conversation with spiritual but not religious persons. Second, the hermeneutic theory of Hans Georg Gadamer is examined for what it offers the church about conversation across difference. Then, in an exercise of theological ressourcement, “Letter 102” of Saint Augustine of Hippo and his book Instructing Beginners in the Faith are consulted to glean from his thought what might enrich a contemporary pastoral response to those who seek a spiritual life outside of religion.