What is the difference in spirituality and religion?

Question

What is the difference in spirituality and religion?

Answer 1

Religion is something you follow.  Spirituality is your personal relationship with God.

Answer 2

Easy one again......RELIGION......is man made policy and procedure that people follow in a church service.  If you are catholic you walk into the church and you cross yourself.  I your a baptist, you don't.  But your actions of procedure define which RELIGION you belong to.  The Government has a differant take on this, but that's the government.  If your muslim you kneel and pray 5 times a day, facing mecca.  All of this is Policy and Procedure for worship, but it does NOT have anything to do with God.

According to the Bible, God and you start a relationship, a very Personal Relationship and it has nothing to do with what church you attend, the building or the pews and choir robes, that is man-made stuff.

Knelling and crossing yourself is called "Genuflection" and you can do this till your legs fall off, but it won't get you into Heaven.  Is it wrong???  NO  The only way to Heaven and Eternity with God, is through the saving Blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross.  There is NOTHING you can DO......to save yourself.....only by accepting Jesus Christ into your Heart and Life.......PERIOD

Answer 3

Spirituality is an inner feeling, a calmness. Religion is a tangible thing that can lead to the feeling of spirituality when you find the right one for you.  

Answer 4

spirituality leads to the many different levels of enlightenment and learning and religion is close minded darkness.

Answer 5

Spirituality is going with inside oneself and trusting your instincts or it can be trusting in a god or goddess or higher power. Religion is the doctrines and teachings and rituals of gods.

Answer 6

My Guru, Mata Amritanandamayi, says that if you practise and follow religion to the spirit, then it is no different than spirituality.

How many can do that? Still I find it interesting to point it here.

Anyway, to me,

spirituality is my personal connection to God.

Religion is an established set of practices, processes, rules, and rituals to establish a connection to God

Answer 7

I used to ask myself this same thing. It seemed like it should be the same, as one is taught that it will lead to the other.  I tried to use religion as a way for me to understand spirituality but for me it just didn't. I had a huge desire to not only understand it, but I wanted to actually experience it.

I found that religion really has nothing to do with spirituality at all because what religion says about it, is not what it actually is, nor allows someone to enter into it. So if that is the case, there is not a way for religion to show how one can attain spirituality in the first place.

Religion is solely based on a belief in something, and does not avail itself for someone to be able to test and find for themselves what spirituality is, what it isn't,  and how to acquire it from within as opposed to imagining it from without.

This short (3min.) video explains what I have said here much better and  I hope it will help you in finding the answer to your question. Best wishes.

Answer 8

spirituality has nothing to do with gods and deities - spirituality is a sense that there is more than the everyday; the material world.

This can manifest as a sense of brotherhood/sisterhood with all humanity, a connectedness with all the Universe, a feeling of love for all living things, a wonder towards human emotions and their source...

Spirituality is a sense that there is something more.

Religion on the other hand, is a structured, dogmatic, often ritualized set of practices that is shared with congregations. They're often a defining factor, and can be used as a rally point in bigotry and intolerance.

Answer 9

religion  - u  follow  a set  of  rules  as  laid  down  in  the  holy  bk(even  if  its  as  outrageous  as a directive  to  kill  all  unbelievers), parrot  the  words  of  the  god /holy  bk  wthout  practicing  it)

spirituality  is  different  .  a  follower  of  any/every  religion  can  b  a spiritual  person! the  person  will  be  interested  in  the  development  of  the  spirit.  will  try  different  techniques  like  meditation, yoga,reiki.he/she  will  be humane.