Wait, aren’t they the same? In my opinion no, spirituality provides a basis on which all religion is built. Spirituality is the cake, religion is simply the icing. To continue the analogy, you can change the icing on the cake, even take the icing away, the cake remains fine. But if you take away the cake, the icing is left in a mess, with nothing to hold it up.
Coming from an Anglican background, I’m no stranger to organised religion. As I’m due to marry into a Greek family, I’m going to have at least a passing acquaintance with the Greek Orthodox Church, but I can see the commonalities on the spiritual side.
One thing I can see is that spirituality can be done without religion, eastern philosophies tend to be a good way of starting on that path, also this tends to give a more understanding approach to other beliefs. Religion without spirituality however, is just a shell. People will attend church mainly to keep up appearances, it becomes a very ornate social club. The other very real danger of the spiritual disconnection is that the dogma becomes more important than spiritual growth. That’s when the real trouble starts….
Darius says:
Yes - I think the cake is spirituality, the real experiential substance which organized religion has itself turned into the dogma of the personified “Holy Spirit.”
The frosting on the cake, as you say - that big, thick, colorful gooey kind like on wedding cakes that makes it so that you can barely taste the cake at all, would be belief…
23 April 2006, 7:02 pmderailuer says:
wonderful VERY WELL SAID!!!!!!!!! thanks for sharing
27 April 2006, 1:25 amManoj says:
Hi…read your blog…. spirituality is understanding your oneness with God… a person is spiritual when he knows he is one with god… spirituality advocates finding god to be with god…
Religion on the other hand teaches us to ask from god as a child asks his father…
Good blog… share it on http://www.karmablog10.com
Hope to see your blog there soon…
28 April 2006, 8:37 pm