“I’m not religious. I like to think of myself as spiritual.”
I’ve always wanted to ask people what they mean when they say that. And I used to wonder if it is possible to be spiritual without. being religious.
So here’s my take on this “spiritual, not religious” debate.
We can all agree that religion is quite simply an organized set of beliefs and practices shared by a group or community. A religious person follows certain rules – goes to a place of worship, participates in individual or group prayer services, and believes in divine power. At the core of religion is faith – a belief in something invisible, and fully surrendering to that invisible power. And prayer is at the core of all religious activities undertaken.
Spirituality, on the other hand, is individualized – things each of us does to find peace or a sense of purpose in our lives.
The quest for spirituality comes when questions arise within us, questions such as “Who am I?”, “What is my life’s purpose?”, “What makes me happy?” Spirituality does not dismiss faith per se; it simply seeks a direct experience.
When we are on a spiritual journey we seek answers to the above. To that end, we begin to engage in knowledge gathering, meditation, deep breathing, and other activities that enable us to connect with our inner being. We attempt to validate our learnings rather than accepting them blindly like religion expects us to. Thus, the spiritual awakening we seek comes from learning more about our own self and asking some very difficult questions of our existence.
However, every religion teaches doing the right thing, becoming [more] selfless, offering ourselves & our resources for the greater good, and living an exemplary (morally driven) life. And religious activities such as praying and chanting also help us tap into a higher plane of consciousness.
Therefore, IMHO, spirituality and religion have a close relationship.
We can be spiritual without being overtly religious. However to some extent our spiritual journey does end up involving some religious practices or activities.
On the other end of the spectrum, many people who are overtly religious do not exhibit any spiritual behaviors.
Agree or disagree? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
