What is the difference between religion and spirituality?
” Answer: Before the difference between religion and spirituality is explored, we must first define the two terms. Religion can be defined as belief in God or gods to be worshipped, usually expressed in conduct and ritual or any specific system of belief, worship, etc., often involving a code of ethics. Spirituality can be defined as the quality or fact of being spiritual, non-physical or predominantly spiritual character as shown in thought, life, etc.; spiritual tendency or tone. To put it briefly, religion is a set of beliefs and rituals that claim to get a person in a right relationship with God, and spirituality is a focus on spiritual things and the spiritual world instead of physical / earthly things. The most common misconception about religion is that Christianity is just another religion like Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, etc. Sadly, many who claim to be adherents of Christianity do practice Christianity as if it were a religion.
Signed: Mr. I.M. Seeking, Nanaimo, B.C. This age old question illustrates our ongoing struggle to understand where & how Religion and Spirituality fit into our lives. Primarily, Religion is NOT Spirituality and Spirituality does not need Religion to validate it. Fundamentally, we are Spiritual beings & in this light, Spirituality is closer to us than our own breath. Spirituality goes beyond beliefs and belief systems to an essential knowing which comprises a universal truth that is common to every one of us. When we choose to live our lives in alignment with this truth, we are said to be living Spiritually. You can witness Spirituality in action wherever you see a display of transpersonal states of being such as compassion, humility, acceptance, faith, integrity and unconditional love! Religion on the other hand is a set of beliefs based on a Spiritual teaching or tradition. In some cases, religion has sought to ‘interpret’ spirituality and package it for mass consumption.
Religion is the manifestation of spirituality. It is how we convert our spiritual beliefs and make them into something more tangible. To a point, ‘ belief ‘ alone simply is not enough. As humans, we have a natural curiousity in that we like to feel and touch things that affect us emotionally and physically because it helps to confirm that the world around us is ‘ real ‘. We always want ‘proof’ that something exists or not. Religion becomes that physical connection for how we express our spiritual beliefs, assuring us that the spiritual world is also very real.
Religion and spirituality are two different things. Religion comes as a means to control the masses of people for political agendas. The word religion comes from the Greek word Ligere, which means to hold back or to bind. Spirituality is the study and application of the unseen forces of the existence along with understanding energy and its relation to our existence.
