What Is The Difference Between Spirituality and Religion

What is the difference between spirituality and religion?
Religion is a set of texts, practices and beliefs about the transcendent shared by a
community, and involves a relationship with God. Spirituality on the other hand is
about a person's relationship with the transcendent questions that confront one as a
human being. This may or may not involve relationships with God.
What does it mean to be spiritual?
Spirituality is a broad concept with room for many perspectives. In general, it includes
a sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves, and it typically involves a
search for meaning in life. As such, it is a universal human experience—something that
touches us all.
Is spirituality a religion?
Many people think that spirituality and religion are the same thing, and so they bring
their beliefs and prejudices about religion to discussions about spirituality. Though
all religions emphasise spiritualism as being part of faith, you can be 'spiritual' without
being religious or a member of an organised religion.
Discussing Religious and Spiritual Issues at the End of Life
As patients near the end of life, their spiritual and religious concerns may be awakened
or intensified. Many physicians, however, feel unskilled and uncomfortable discussing
these concerns. This article suggests how physicians might respond when patients or
families raise such concerns. First, some patients may explicitly base decisions about
life-sustaining interventions on their spiritual or religious beliefs. Physicians need to
explore those beliefs to help patients think through their preferences regarding specific
interventions. Second, other patients may not bring up spiritual or religious concerns but
are troubled by them. Physicians should identify such concerns and listen to them
empathetically, without trying to alleviate the patient's spiritual suffering or offering
premature reassurance. Third, some patients or families may have religious reasons for
insisting on life-sustaining interventions that physicians advise against. The physician
should listen and try to understand the patient's viewpoint. Listening respectfully does
not require the physician to agree with the patient or misrepresent his or her own views.
Patients and families who feel that the physician understands them and cares about
them may be more willing to consider the physician's views on prognosis and treatment.
By responding to patients' spiritual and religious concerns and needs, physicians may
help them find comfort and closure near the end of life.
Religion vs. Spirituality
One clue that there's something fishy about this distinction comes when we look at the
radically different ways people try to define and describe that distinction. Consider these
three definitions drawn from the internet:
1. Religion is an institution established by man for various reasons. Exert control,

instill morality, stroke egos, or whatever it does. Organized, structured religions
all but remove god from the equation. You confess your sins to a clergy member,
go to elaborate churches to worship, are told what to pray and when to pray it. All
those factors remove you from god. Spirituality is born in a person and develops
in the person. It may be kick started by a religion, or it may be kick started by a
revelation. Spirituality extends to all facets of a person's life. Spirituality is chosen
while religion is often times forced. Being spiritual to me is more important and
better than being religious.
2. Religion can be anything that the person practicing it desires. Spirituality, on the
other hand, is defined by God. Since religion is man defined, religion is a
manifestation of the flesh. But spirituality, as defined by God, is a manifestation
of His nature.
3. True spirituality is something that is found deep within oneself. It is your way of
loving, accepting and relating to the world and people around you. It cannot be
found in a church or by believing in a certain way.
These definitions aren't just different, they are incompatible! Two define spirituality in a
way which makes it dependent upon the individual; it is something that develops in the
person or is found deep within oneself. The other, however, defines spirituality as
something which comes from God and is defined by God while religion is anything that
the person desires. Is spirituality from God and religion from man, or is it the other way
around? Why such divergent views?
Even worse, I've found the three above definitions copied onto numerous websites and
blog posts in attempts to promote spirituality over religion. Those doing the copying
ignore the source and disregard the fact that they are contradictory!
We can better understand why such incompatible definitions (each representative of

how many, many others define the terms) appear by observing what unites them: the
denigration of religion. Religion is bad. Religion is all about people controlling other
people. Religion distances you from God and from the sacred. Spirituality, whatever it
really is, is good. Spirituality is the true way to reach God and the sacred. Spirituality is
the right thing to center your life on.
Problematic Distinctions Between Religion and Spirituality

One principal problem with attempts to separate religion from spirituality is that the
former is saddled with everything negative while the latter is exalted with everything
positive. This is a totally self-serving way of approaching the issue and something you
only hear from those who describe themselves as spiritual. You never hear a self-
professed religious person offer such definitions and it's disrespectful to religious people
to suggest that they would remain in a system with no positive characteristics
whatsoever.
Another problem with attempts to separate religion from spirituality is the curious fact
that we don't see it outside America. Why are people in Europe either religious
or irreligious but Americans have this third category called spiritual? Are Americans
special? Or is it rather that distinction is really just a product of American culture?
In fact, that is exactly the case. The term itself came to be used frequently only after the
1960s, when there were widespread revolts against every form of organized authority,
including organized religion. Every establishment and every system of authority was
thought to be corrupt and evil, including those which were religious.
However, Americans weren't prepared to abandon religion entirely. Instead, they

created a new category which was still religious, but which no longer included the same
traditional authority figures.
They called it spirituality. Indeed, the creation of the category spiritual can be seen as
just one more step in the long American process of privatizing and personalizing
religion, something which has occurred constantly throughout American history.
It's no wonder that courts in the Americas have refused to acknowledge any substantive
difference between religion and spirituality, concluding that spiritual programs are so
much like religions that it would violate their rights to force people to attend them (as
with Alcoholics Anonymous, for example). The religious beliefs of these spiritual groups
do not necessarily lead people to the same conclusions as organized religions, but that
doesn't make them less religious.

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What is the difference between spirituality and religion?

What does it mean to be spiritual?

1. Religion is an institution established by man for various reasons. Exert control,

We can better understand why such incompatible definitions (each representative of

Problematic Distinctions Between Religion and Spirituality

However, Americans weren't prepared to abandon religion entirely. Instead, they

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