Religion vs Spirituality - What is the Difference?

What is the core difference between religion and spirituality?

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[SofoArchon]

What are your thoughts? Contribute to the discussion by leaving a comment!

[hjgrini]

This is one of the best and clearest explanations of the difference between religion and spirituality I have ever heard!

[geraldineconvery]

Thank you Sofo for reminding us of the huge differences between Religion and Spirituality … all of Life in the Universe is completely connected including Humans …. and Spirituality helps us keep Awareness of Life !! All Religion was created by humans for Power and Control …

[alexisjohnson]

Thank you for this! I’m always learning from tou

[patlarson]

Thank you for this. I look forward to more of your explanations!

[Jessicab-uc]

I believe you can have both spirituality and religion together.

[timotimy]

Religion is simply organised spirituality. We don't learn spirituality from a vacuum.

[filmonhailom]

GOD can not be restricted to Religion, He is Eternal and SPIRIT....and all those who worship Him must be in Spirit & Truth 🙏🏼

[janellsmith]

I agree with your perspective of the difference between the two.

[VacuumandFirealarm]

I would say that I definitely prefer spirituality way better than religion, because religion honestly has done more harm than good to society

[freeflyer]

Theres so much ignorance in this subject that its astounding.
Especially in this younger generation. Its truly cringeful.
And sad.

[jiggyanshusharma]

Hii I'm deepanshu Vashishtha i give example to audience
Banana(skin) is religion and banana(inner part)that we eat is spirituality . A person hold banana skin that is the cause of troubles, war and many more things.

[RevJack-bzew]

Religion is also a spiritual practice which can lead to further development. Just being "spiritual" in your beliefs is fine, but without a dedicated practice (meditation, prayer, ritual) development can be more slow.

[dianekmcbride]

This is where my stepson was at age 13 when he decided he didn't want to go to church anymore. Same exact language. He told us that he felt more spiritual out in nature than he did in the church. That's nice, but where are the people to serve out there in nature? Churches are designed to be places to love and serve others - and also to remind us why we do that. Because the Savior told us to love one another, to forgive one another, and to serve one another. If your church isn't doing that, find another church.

Do you know what else he told us? That his grandmother told him he was "too smart" for religion. That only dumb people practice religion. That you can be spiritual without religion. She's an atheist and she undermined the religious beliefs of each of her three grandsons, one by one. They continued to believe in God, despite her efforts and they are gradually seeking God through different churches because they recognize they are missing something.

Yes, religious people can backslide into dogmatic thinking. But the content of this video is also dogma. It's the dogma of atheists who try to shame religious people out of their churches. I am as suspicious of people who tell people they are foolish for practicing their religion as I am of people who do evil in the name of their religions.

GK Chesterton said, “When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.” Religion provides the framework in which we learn what God expects of us and try to lift ourselves up to His standard. He is the Father and he loves us in the most perfect way a father can love his children. Church attendance has been plummeting the last several years. Look around you. Do the young people in our country seem emotionally healthy? What I see now is that people have replaced the Father with government, some guru, some fabricated identity, politics, or cultural groups. People will practice religion, whether it is in a cathedral or in antifa.

[pathfinder]

Interesting presentation. I get where youre coming from. I would suggest, however, that what you describe as religion, “as it commonly exists”, may actually be what happens to religion when it is pirated by ambitious and power-hungry individuals who seek to control one of the greatest forces for change in human history.

To me, religion is the expression of the Will of the Creator. In an effort to foster the development of humanity, both individually and collectively, He offers guidance from time to time through the agency of select individuals. This guidance is periodic and progressive, and like the grades of school is intended to continually increase mankinds development.

Two problems arise: first, that mankind chooses to latch onto the previous guidance and not accept the new guidance as it appears; and second, that mankind chooses to pervert each guidance to suit his base desires. So imagine if the students of the eighth grade refused to move on and overthrew the teacher, altering the lesson plan to what the most aggressive students wanted. They then began to judge and persecute their fellow students, as well as the other grades, who would not accept their approach. That is religion in the world today.

Religion also has two levels of influence: the individual and society. What you refer to as spirituality is the first level. “For the core of religious faith is that mystic feeling which unites man with God”. This is the most important aspect of faith because it seeks to establish a relationship between the believer and his/her Creator. That relationship was the motive that caused creation in the first place: “I loved thy creation, hence I created thee. Wherefore, do thou love Me, that I may name thy name and fill thy soul with the spirit of life.” The other level is intended to provide a nurturing environment that facilitates the first. “Is not the object of every Revelation to effect a transformation in the whole character of mankind, a transformation that shall manifest itself both outwardly and inwardly, that shall affect both its inner life and external conditions?” But how can the students of that grade eight class be expected to advance and prosper so long as they are controlled by others? Education/religion are meant to set us free, not to restrict us.

Lastly, every religion, like all things in this world, goes through a life cycle. They have their birth and growth, their maturity, their senescence, and their decay. At that time it is time to move on, like the cycles of the seasons inevitably bring a new springtime. The most recent of the well-known expressions of guidance, Islam, appeared 1, 400 years ago. It is now impotent to lead to any lasting, beneficial change in the world. It is time for a new springtime, a new outpouring of guidance. I believe we are in the growth phase of that new revelation and it will soon be known to all. It has already caused enormous influence in the world that can be witnessed in the efflorescence of science, the arts, the humanities, and global consciousness. Imagine where we would be had the Jews accepted Christ, and the Christians accepted Muhammad, and if the Muslims accept the new revelation?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for letting me share mine.

[walterbyrd]

Is "spirituality" anything at all? I understand the criticism of religion, but spirituality just sounds like an excuse for not being religious.