What do you think is the difference between spirituality and religion?

[Gaer]

That's it.
There are some people of high intellect on this forum and I'd love to hear
their opinions on what they consider the differences between religion and spirituality.
I thank you.

 

[Paco Dennis]

I am not that intelligent, but it seems quite obvious to me. Religious people are not always spiritual, and spiritual people are not always religious.

 

[JustBonee]

Two very different things to me.....

Religion is something you follow .... and learn from others teachings/experiences. ..and follow along if you so choose.

With spirituality, you are on your own ..... What you experience is in your being, and your soul.
No one can "teach" that.

 

[Aunt Bea]

What do you think is the difference between spirituality and religion?​

An old book and a hard bench.

 

[chic]

That's it.
There are some people of high intellect on this forum and I'd love to hear
their opinions on what they consider the differences between religion and spirituality.
I thank you.

Religion is organized worship with certain guidelines and beliefs. A person can be born spiritual without knowing a thing about organized religion. They're just in tune with something higher, a divine power perhaps, from the very start. This is just my opinion.

 

[Judycat]

Religion introduces one to spirituality. Spirituality is the personal path one takes away from religion.

 

[Liberty]

Spirituality is of the soul. We are souls that have physical bodies and not the other way around.

Religion is man made dogma with respect to specific actions and beliefs. Actually, religion is only mentioned twice in the Bible as "visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction" and "keeping onself unspotted from the world".

You can have a "religion" based group that chooses to worship frisbees thrown behind the garage, but that doesn't make them spiritual.

 

[oldpop]

Just for clarity here are the definitions of each.

Religion: An organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods.
(Merriam Webster Dictionary)

Spirituality: Sensitivity or attachment to religious values.
(Merriam Webster Dictionary)

 

[Shalimar]

What a marvellous thread, thank you Gaer. After giving this some thought, for me the difference is freedom. Religion contains dogma, which, in my opinion, implies constraints around what I can believe, spirituality does not. It is Universal in its nature, and one can travel freely on a personal journey to joy/enlightenment, in whatever form that resonates with each individual. Namaste.

 

[Gaer]

What a marvellous thread, thank you Gaer. After giving this some thought, for me the difference is freedom. Religion contains dogma, which, in my opinion, implies constraints around what I can believe, spirituality does not. It is Universal in its nature, and one can travel freely on a personal journey to joy/enlightenment, in whatever form that resonates with each individual.

Excellent! Thank you.

 

[Pecos]

What a marvellous thread, thank you Gaer. After giving this some thought, for me the difference is freedom. Religion contains dogma, which, in my opinion, implies constraints around what I can believe, spirituality does not. It is Universal in its nature, and one can travel freely on a personal journey to joy/enlightenment, in whatever form that resonates with each individual. Namaste.

Excellent response!

 

[David777]

Anthropology shows homo sapiens looking up into the incredible night sky universe evolved in a world where there was no way to understand many vastly complex and mysterious things. Thus given our creative minds, assigning mystical causes including spirits was predictable and given communities, religion necessarily followed.

 

[terry123]

Two very different things to me.....

Religion is something you follow .... and learn from others teachings/experiences. ..and follow along if you so choose.

With spirituality, you are on your own ..... What you experience is in your being, and your soul.
No one can "teach" that.

Very true. We are on our own paths to God in different ways.

 

[Warrigal]

Two words - structure and tradition

 

[Ronni]

Religion is organized…. it has a set of rules and a structured belief system, a community of people who follow them, is faith based, and there’s often an implied threat of some kind for not being a believer. There is a specific moral code, often a dress code at least for the leaders of the religion, and their members follow specific rites and practices.

Spirituality on the other hand comes from within. There are no rules. There is no dogma. It is a very personal set of beliefs and practices that do not rely on faith. Spirituality doesn’t require religion to further one’s personal growth. Healthy spirituality gives one a sense of being whole and balanced without the need to believe in a specific God or religious leader.

My personal spirituality comes from the belief that there is something at work greater than me, my recognition of my own individuality, strength and intuition, and with my senses beyond the typical 5 that keep me connected with my loved ones and the world around me by means other than just the physical.

 

[Mr. Ed]

I just read Intellect for Dummies so I am prepared to answer your question:

What do you think is the difference between spirituality and religion​

Spirituality is internal and religion is external. Some believe one must have religion to gain spirituality, I disagree. Everyone has some degree of spiritual awareness even though it may seem incomplete. Every aspect of growth occurs at its appointed time and circumstance. It seems life is perfect in that aspect?

Religion is the physical structure by which participants try to understand and attain spirituality. Religion employs people like you and me to teach other people how to be spiritual when indeed spirituality cannot be taught nor transferred to another human being without the desire to embrace it. Not everyone is willing to give up their stuff in exchange for an idea or concept that is not completely clear to them.

 

[caroln]

I'm not one of the high intellect people here, but IMHO, as others here have said, religion is too structured. For me, spirituality comes from within and can be found anywhere...a mountain top, a beautiful lake, looking up at the cosmos, whatever touches you. It doesn't have to be in a brick and mortar builiding. I have always remembered a line from the Big Bang Theory where Amy says: "I don't object to the concept of a deity, but I'm baffled by the notion of one that takes attendance". Seems to sum it up for me!

 

[Gary O']

What do you think is the difference between spirituality and religion?​

As it's been said, religion is more of a structured thing

Spirituality is of the soul
I'm not into the ethereal transcendental mumbo jumbo BS, but I do have a soul, that get's touched

God works on it when I ask

Living in the mountains enhanced that

Can nay be helped

Seeing creation at work, does that





Especially after a storm;



Yeah, it's a spiritual thing;

 

[TooMuchMuktuk]

Old Pop answered your question as it was written, definition of words.
It seems to me that taking those questions to the next level could go in numerous directions, a couple of which might be:

“If you are convinced that there are spiritual forces or non-human beings on a spiritual dimension that are influencing our human existence and things that are happening on our physical dimension, why do you believe what you believe, and how did you come to those conclusions?”

“If you are annoyed by, or have angry feelings toward entire groups of people who have adopted or come to different conclusions about what is really true about spiritual matters, why is that? Unless large numbers of that stereotyped group have been aggressive toward you, or you have personally seen them being cruel to vulnerable people, why should those difference bother you any more than when different cultural groups wear different styles of clothing, or have different family rituals?” We live in an age of preaching “tolerance”. Why so much intolerance of the stereotyped group you are annoyed by?”

 

[dseag2]

Religion is organized…. it has a set of rules and a structured belief system, a community of people who follow them, is faith based, and there’s often an implied threat of some kind for not being a believer. There is a specific moral code, often a dress code at least for the leaders of the religion, and their members follow specific rites and practices.

Spirituality on the other hand comes from within. There are no rules. There is no dogma. It is a very personal set of beliefs and practices that do not rely on faith. Spirituality doesn’t require religion to further one’s personal growth. Healthy spirituality gives one a sense of being whole and balanced without the need to believe in a specific God or religious leader.

My personal spirituality comes from the belief that there is something at work greater than me, my recognition of my own individuality, strength and intuition, and with my senses beyond the typical 5 that keep me connected with my loved ones and the world around me by means other than just the physical.

The best response of all IMHO.