What is the Difference Between Religion and Spirituality? That's a great question and to put it simply, religion is more of a verb.
Religion is the rituals, traditions and actions associated with a particular philosophy.
Spirituality is a being-ness.
There is nothing to work toward with spirituality because we are already spirits; just in physical form.
Spirituality is about remembering our divine natures and religion is about earning a divine reward.
In order for me to be truly happy I had to totally break away from religion.
I dared to think another way.
This wasn't always easy because my family was known for being a church-going and religious family.
Some family and friends even thought I was crazy, going to hell or hopefully just going through a phase.
I was being judged for challenging everything I was taught, but I had to think for myself and create my own system for living.
Why I dumped religion? For me personally, I found myself living in fear when I was a member of organized religion.
I judged myself all the time and never quite measured up to the standard of Christianity.
I was taught that we are worthless, born into sin (bad) and not deserving of anything; but by the grace of God.
Because of my spiritual disconnect, I was unhappy, suffered from low self-esteem/self-worth and felt unloved.
Then I learned that this could not be further from the truth.
My very existence is miraculous and meaningful; I was created on purpose.
That sounds like I'm worth a lot! We all are.
We are literally made in God's image.
We are here to experience everything that life has to offer.
The universe wants us to be happy and to live life to the fullest.
Yes, we deserve everything! By shedding the guilt, shame, judgments, (insert your negative emotion here) etc.
that I had carried like dead weight; I was healed from years of feeling separated from Source.
What is religion? The formal definition of religion is a set of organized beliefs concerning the relationship of humans with the natural and supernatural; most often in the form of a god or gods.
Religious beliefs influence lifestyles and activities according to the rituals, ceremonies, texts and "truths" that are related to a particular religion.
What is spirituality? Spirituality is most often defined as "the search for the sacred.
" For me, it's more like a yearning to be connected to the ultimate love or universal energy.
It is a close connection with feelings of purpose and meaning that usually comes through transformation.
In essence, it is remembering one's true self.
Another major difference between the two is that spirituality is not confined to a formal structure.
While religion's base is in its fixed set of beliefs, spirituality gives me a sense of freedom while finding my own way through personal growth.
While embracing my own truth:
It is not hampered by the constraints or dictates of public influence.
This freedom of belief allows for individual expression while still accepting other people's choices.
Whether you are religious, spiritual, both or neither boils down to personal choice.
And your choice is neither good nor bad.
The biggest concern is whether you choose for yourself or if your choice was dictated for you.
So, is religion bad for you? Share with me what you think the difference is in the comment section below.
Religion is the rituals, traditions and actions associated with a particular philosophy.
Spirituality is a being-ness.
There is nothing to work toward with spirituality because we are already spirits; just in physical form.
Spirituality is about remembering our divine natures and religion is about earning a divine reward.
In order for me to be truly happy I had to totally break away from religion.
I dared to think another way.
This wasn't always easy because my family was known for being a church-going and religious family.
Some family and friends even thought I was crazy, going to hell or hopefully just going through a phase.
I was being judged for challenging everything I was taught, but I had to think for myself and create my own system for living.
Why I dumped religion? For me personally, I found myself living in fear when I was a member of organized religion.
I judged myself all the time and never quite measured up to the standard of Christianity.
I was taught that we are worthless, born into sin (bad) and not deserving of anything; but by the grace of God.
Because of my spiritual disconnect, I was unhappy, suffered from low self-esteem/self-worth and felt unloved.
Then I learned that this could not be further from the truth.
My very existence is miraculous and meaningful; I was created on purpose.
That sounds like I'm worth a lot! We all are.
We are literally made in God's image.
We are here to experience everything that life has to offer.
The universe wants us to be happy and to live life to the fullest.
Yes, we deserve everything! By shedding the guilt, shame, judgments, (insert your negative emotion here) etc.
that I had carried like dead weight; I was healed from years of feeling separated from Source.
What is religion? The formal definition of religion is a set of organized beliefs concerning the relationship of humans with the natural and supernatural; most often in the form of a god or gods.
Religious beliefs influence lifestyles and activities according to the rituals, ceremonies, texts and "truths" that are related to a particular religion.
What is spirituality? Spirituality is most often defined as "the search for the sacred.
" For me, it's more like a yearning to be connected to the ultimate love or universal energy.
It is a close connection with feelings of purpose and meaning that usually comes through transformation.
In essence, it is remembering one's true self.
Another major difference between the two is that spirituality is not confined to a formal structure.
While religion's base is in its fixed set of beliefs, spirituality gives me a sense of freedom while finding my own way through personal growth.
While embracing my own truth:
- I keep beliefs that make me feel good and happy
- I discard beliefs that made me feel bad and unhappy
- I create some unique beliefs of my own
- All my beliefs are right for me; I cannot get it wrong
It is not hampered by the constraints or dictates of public influence.
This freedom of belief allows for individual expression while still accepting other people's choices.
Whether you are religious, spiritual, both or neither boils down to personal choice.
And your choice is neither good nor bad.
The biggest concern is whether you choose for yourself or if your choice was dictated for you.
So, is religion bad for you? Share with me what you think the difference is in the comment section below.