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Distinguishing Religion from Spirituality

Religiousness pertains to institutional beliefs and practices like church membership and commitment to a belief system, while spirituality is a more personal journey of self-realization. Spirituality involves discovering meaning and purpose in life, seeing connections between oneself and the world, and seeking individual growth through practices like meditation rather than doctrinal religious rituals. While religion can be about following external rules, spirituality is a self-directed path to understanding one's place in the universe and living according to one's deepest values.

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Eric Villanueva Mornaol
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63 views2 pages

Distinguishing Religion from Spirituality

Religiousness pertains to institutional beliefs and practices like church membership and commitment to a belief system, while spirituality is a more personal journey of self-realization. Spirituality involves discovering meaning and purpose in life, seeing connections between oneself and the world, and seeking individual growth through practices like meditation rather than doctrinal religious rituals. While religion can be about following external rules, spirituality is a self-directed path to understanding one's place in the universe and living according to one's deepest values.

Uploaded by

Eric Villanueva Mornaol
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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In general view, being religious and spiritual do the same thing.

Both control on

how people going to act or respond on realities and complexities of life. They also suggest

ways and directions on how to deal negativities. But Sr. Joan Chitister, OSB quoted that

spirituality begins when religion ends. This statement paved the way to think of the

difference between a person who is spiritual but not religious and a person who is

religious but not spiritual.

Religious pertains to institutional beliefs and practices such as church

membership, church attendance and commitment to the belief system of a church or

organized religion. Practices and rituals become the part and parcel of his daily life. As

religious, he never stop looking for what is right and wrong. A continuous search to

prove what is real and fallacies for all the things which regard to his life and existence,

the consequences and punishment of his deeds (both right and wrong) are observed

evidently. A man who is religious interprets and responds to what he feel is sacred. He

gives highlights on doctrines, veneration (connection to God), works, wisdom and

worship.

To become spiritual, it does not mean he needs to establish connection to

something bigger than himself but it is about building a strong and inseparable

connection within him. It is actually a way of realization--- realization on the real

meaning and worth of his life, establishing of deep sense of aliveness and

interconnectedness to the elements of one’s wholeness; mind- body- spirit. These

elements cannot be realized by simply having association with church, temple, mosques

or synagogue or rendering day to day prayers.

In order to become spiritual, he must believe that there is more to the world that

what is easily seen in merely physical world. Spiritual person value his goodness by
asking “Am I good person?”; has the capacity to discover the meaning and value; able

to see the reasons of having suffering (preferably positive); struggles to find ways on how

he can live his life in the best way possible.

In modern times, the aforementioned probations are just conventional

manifestations of a spiritual. One can enrich or elevate himself by undertaking holistic

activities such as tai chi, reiki, yoga and meditation. According to Cornelio (2010) in his

study entitled Catholic Youth published in Asia Research Institute Working Paper Series

(2010), spiritual is a self- directed journey as we make deinstitutionalized and non-

doctrinal practices such as yoga and meditation. He added that, it is a way of life, indeed.

Spirituality today is merely seeking individual authority, the cultivation and

sacralisation of the self. In other way around, being spiritual may suggest ways of

relating to a higher being. It consists of all the beliefs and activities by which individuals

attempt to relate their lives to God or to a Divine being or some other conceptions of

transcendent reality. The emphasis is on subjective experience of a sacred dimensions

and the deepest values and meanings by which people live.

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