YOU may have read the recent census report that a majority of East Lothian residents now say they don’t have a religion.

This was true for Scotland as a whole, although the people of East Lothian appear to be even less religious than the Scottish average.

It seems younger people are less likely to be religious, but also the figures suggest that people who said they did have a religion 10 years ago now say they don’t.

It makes me wonder what’s happening.

Both my parents were religious, my father being an episcopalian minister. I grew up with a deep and, seemingly at the time, unshakable faith. The religion of my parents was loving, inclusive and empathetic. It rooted me firmly with a moral way of being – not in an austere, strict and judgemental way, my religious experience was the opposite of that.

For me when I was younger, the face of God was a kind one, and 'his' love encompassed everyone, regardless of their faith or even the lack of it.

I know not everyone’s experience of religion is so positive and, when I look around these days, I see so many very different definitions of God’s love. Some mirror my childhood experience of a compassionate, inclusive and loving God. But some traditionalist strands of the Abrahamic religions are becoming more hateful, intolerant and divisive. When it’s mixed with politics and power, it becomes, almost without exception, oppressive and discriminatory.

The good news is that this is still the minority. My experience is that most people with a religious belief have love and compassion at the heart of their faith. But I believe it’s not the religion which gives them their compassion, but the other way round.

Call me naïve, but I think that most people, at the end of the day, have a disposition to compassion and empathy, religious or not. I’ve met some of the most 'unchristian' people in church, and the most 'Christian' who’ve never prayed or gone to church.

As I see it, religion has no monopoly on morality or compassion. So the fact that only 43 per cent of people in East Lothian now say they are religious is not an indication that most people care less about humanitarian values that often define religious conviction.

Also, I think religion has no monopoly on spirituality, it’s quite possible to be spiritual without being religious. Being spiritual means you have a sense of purpose and connection, a belief in the meaning of life and a connection to other living beings and nature. There may not be pre-set rules and ceremonies, but it does determine a way of being and living, even a moral standard of living.

My point here is that I don’t think being religious is as important as being spiritual. Sometimes the two converge, but often they don’t. You can be deeply spiritual without being religious. I think that is something missed in the statistics of the census.

This raises the question of what non-religious spirituality is. For a start, it’s free of dogma and the need to conform. It doesn’t preclude a belief in God or a divine presence, but it does allow the person to define that belief in their own way.

Usually, spirituality is connected to love of humanity and nature. Maybe that sounds pagan, but I’d say it’s a deeply human need. I spoke recently to a friend about mental health and she told me that her spirituality was the key to her recovery. She’s not religious, but she’s deeply spiritual. It was this spirituality which helped her through very difficult times. It rooted her in a meaningfulness and gave her the light to see the way out.

Spirituality is vital to our wellbeing, I truly believe that. There is a mental health crisis which I believe is rooted in our disconnection from the spiritual awareness of life, whether in its religious form or not.

Unlike religion, spirituality is not something that comes with instruction or indoctrination, it grows within us if we allow and encourage it. We can get tips but ultimately it’s a voyage of self-discovery. Practising it allows us to develop appreciation and understanding, compassion and empathy. It can root us in our landscape and give meaning to our lives. It can help our mental health and make us happier. These are values that can change the world within us and the world without.

So maybe we could frame a question for the next census such as: "Would you consider yourself to be spiritual?” That would give voice to people who don’t associate with a religion but do have a spirituality.

What do you think?