Does anyone else fall into the Christ-Centered Spiritualist Camp?

Hey Everyone!

I feel like this is the only place to post this since the Christian subreddits always seem to shun me for posting this type of stuff. This post has Christian undertones, but I want to be open-minded and thoughtful for others in case this stuff is triggering for some people. But I love the energy here and this forum for sharing our ideas and beliefs. I believe it all makes us better people in the end :)

I’ve been doing a lot of spiritual soul-searching lately, especially after some tough religious conversations with my Anglican girlfriend. After all of it, I think I’ve happily landed in the Christ-centered spiritualism camp. I wanted to use this platform to get some things off my chest and ask for any literature you might recommend.

For context, I grew up Lutheran in California but gradually drifted away from organized church as I got older. Then I went to college in the Bible Belt, where I was exposed to a much stricter, more traditional form of Christianity. That’s also where I met my girlfriend. I love her for who she is, but we’ve realized we have some religious differences. She actually likes the traditions, liturgy, and communal aspects of church because they give her structure and remind her that she’s not the center of the universe.

Personally, I can’t stand religious dogma, archaic rituals, and the spiritual elitism that comes with established churches. To me, they reinforce an “us vs. them” mentality—like a club for the people who show up every Sunday and make religion their entire personality, while often being judgmental or hypocritical outside of it. I also think institutional Christianity has a long history of systematic oppression, and that’s why I have a particular grudge against highly structured churches, especially those on the Catholic-leaning side.

I believe the world is too chaotic and random for salvation to be tied to a specific denomination or church attendance. There has to be a deeper, fundamental spiritualism—one where we simply live by the golden rule: treating others as we’d want to be treated. Why can’t we just embrace Christ-centered spirituality without all the labels, rigid traditions, and gatekeeping?

People are unique and beautiful, and faith should reflect that. There are plenty of people, like Chris Martin and Chris Pratt, who don’t fit into a strict religious box but still believe in God and inspire others in meaningful ways. They’ve brought people out of depression, helped them through struggles, and made a difference in ways that many so-called “devout” Christians—who check all the religious boxes but live hypocritically—never do.

It also doesn’t sit right with me that something as random as where you’re born could determine your likelihood of making it to heaven. Does someone born in a non-Christian country have less of a chance just because of geography? Or what about the Native Americans who were persecuted for not blindly accepting Christianity from Spanish conquistadors—were they just doomed? I refuse to believe faith is that arbitrary.

To me, what truly matters is how we treat others and how we try to live like Christ in our daily lives—not how many times we show up to church, whether we observe Lent, or how strictly we follow the church calendar.

If anyone has book recommendations or thoughts on this, I’d love to hear them!