Religion is textually defined as “an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a God or a group of Gods.” When I think of religion I think of Catholicism; I think of Baptisms; I think of dedicated days of worship; I think of a group of people who are committed to a finite and pre-written set of beliefs. With, of course, some space given for individual interpretation.
Those thoughts are not meant to shed negative light on religion. There are beautiful and inspiring ways that religion can play a strong role in individual lives, and I never discount any thought process or belief system if it truly brings peace, happiness, and purpose to someone’s path. But as religion has evolved, so has its intermingling, if you will, with spirituality – when in reality, the two are vastly different.
Spirituality, by textbook definition (though it has several), is “the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.” I see clear differences in those definitions, yet the two are often viewed as seemingly synonymous with one another.
Like all words or concepts, both spirituality and religion warrant several definitions outside of their Webster identification. A look into further definitions of religion will yield “a concern over what exists beyond the visible world”; and for spirituality, “increasing openness to exploring a relationship with an intangible and pervasive power, or essence, or center of value that exists beyond human existence and rational human knowing.”
Perhaps that is where the apparent overlap begins. Both ideas involve a belief in, or a willingness to explore the existence of, something greater than our human experience. So, what differentiates that concept within these two ideas?
Differentiating the Definition of Higher Power
Religion, as identified in Webster’s definition, generally revolves around an individual God or a group of Gods. In other words, the higher power the religion devotes itself to is identified. The being is tangible, sometimes even illicitly illustrated, and becomes the staple of the belief system. It is a practice that stems back to the Roman Empire, to ancient Grecian culture, to the earliest days of our civilization.
In the realm of spirituality, the “intangible and pervasive power, or essence, or center of value” that we seek does not need to have a face. It doesn’t need to be a tangible being that we put a name to. It leaves open for individual interpretation how our own higher power is defined, the relationship we have with that higher power, and how it intertwines in our professional and personal lives. In short, spirituality at its core has almost an open definition, giving space for those searching for intuitive intelligence and a connection with their own inner power to explore their spiritual development on their own terms.
Differences in Practice
One similarity that religion and spirituality do share is that they are both grounded in actionable steps. In most religions, these actionable steps are very clearly defined (i.e. going to church on certain days of the week, praying at certain times of the day, celebrating certain holidays, partaking in specific rituals, et cetera.) Put simply, the action steps in religion are usually pre-written and defined to align with an already established belief system and hire being.
In spirituality, much like the way we define our higher power, our action steps vary greatly from individual to individual. Depending on the goal of tapping into spirituality – whether it be to increase your relationship with your higher self, learn to trust your intuition more definitively, improve your professional or personal mindset, navigate a personal/professional crossroads with more confidence and clarity, or simply connect with positive energy – the steps you take to become more attuned to your spirituality and intuition will differ.
Learning what your own action steps look like is one of the biggest components of developing spirituality, intuitive intelligence, and self-awareness.
Differences in Perception
Because of the overlaps that exist when we think about spirituality and religion, differentiating how they are perceived or thought about can be difficult. As I mentioned, the two are often seen as synonymous or mutually exclusive – the idea being that you cannot have one without the other.
I’ll reiterate again that I am in no way opposed to religion or religious practice when it brings something positive to someone’s life path. But as a believer that we are truly spiritual beings having a human experience, not the other way around, it is important to me that how we perceive and think about spirituality is different than how we perceive and think about religion. This is simply because they are different. They provide different things to different individuals, they are practiced differently, and they are truly separate ideas at their cores.
In spirituality, there is no manual or book that designates beliefs, practices, or action steps.
The Bible, the Quran, the Torah – these are all masterful works of art that have been staples of our society for thousands of years. They provide the guidelines for followers of their practices to help them incorporate that religion into their everyday lives. But in spirituality, despite the endless claims from authors that they have created “the manual for spirituality”- the truth is that there isn’t one.
Instead, it is up to us to do the work, to do the looking into ourselves, and to spend time deciding what spirituality, intuition, and a higher power means to us. In many ways, this makes spirituality more difficult to define, to grasp, because it is not a tangible set of beliefs or ideas. It’s our willingness to believe there is something higher than our human existence, and our willingness to embrace, benefit, and make peace with that greater power to fuel our personal and professional growth.
You do not have to be religious to be spiritual, and vice versa.
I mentioned the term “mutually exclusive” in reference to the idea that one cannot be spiritual without being religious, and vice versa. Nothing is farther from the truth. Because of its open interpretation and how spirituality manifests itself so differently for every individual, it is beyond possible to be spiritual without committing or devoting yourself to a religion. This can be proven in the very fact that there are so many different religions in the world. How you could possibly follow the same process of spirituality to practice all of them?
One of my biggest beliefs, and the foundational building block of Mindway, is the power of intuitive intelligence. While it is difficult, if not impossible, to efficiently embrace your intuition and its power without giving credence to your spirituality, religion does not play a part in intuitive intelligence – at least not for me.
It can be difficult to go against preconceived ideas and lifetimes of preconditioning. Differentiating between religion and spirituality is no exception. But learning to do so is imperative when it comes to tapping into our intuition to transform our professional and personal lives.
Want to tap into yours?