Spirituality versus Religion
February 8th, 2010 | Manny Goldman
Contrary to popular belief, spirituality and religion are similar yet very different.
Spirituality in my mind is a connection with a higher power, whatever you call it—God, the universe, your guardian angels, a positive life force, etc.
Religion is typically organized and follows a relatively specific path of ideas and beliefs. Catholicism is a religion. Islam is a religion. Judaism is a religion.
Where it all gets blurry is in our culture.
There are so many books out there fueling the debate. God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens is a perfect example of how misleading this whole discussion is. If you read the book, you’ll realize actually what he is criticizing is organized religion, not necessarily or primarily God/the universe/a higher power/spirituality.
Of course, spirituality and religion can and do intermingle in a lot of people. While my personal beliefs stray away from organized religion and more toward the spiritual end of things, I think embracing religion is wonderful, as along as it only involves love (the true basis for all religious belief) and not extremism.
The bottom line is this: I’d like to see more people unite and work together rather than have hate and wars because of conflicting religious—or spiritual—beliefs.
What’s your take on spirituality versus religion? Please click the “Post Your Comments” link to participate in the conversation.
… I honestly believe that the best that was ever written around this subject in the last century or so was by Joseph Campbell. He unified so much of humaity’s spiritual questing through his works, which found commonality amongst all religious myths in The Hero with a Thousand Faces.(although he later on wrote even more: check out The Masks of God, published in 1959). He later went on to cite that there were cultural differences as well as temporal differences between where different cultures took their myths… such as the Levant world (i.e. later Islam etc) taking Jobe as their hero, and Jobe’s lesson of humility/submission to the all powerful god (humble and trusting in the greater good of teh universe’s plan)… whereas Europe is signified more by Prometheus challenging god/Zeus/authority: questing outward to learn and eventually return inward. This myth of prometheus is replicated in the grail quests, etc. In India the main hero figure is Buddha, who turned inward from the get go. So all our cultures and religions are expressing is different ways to get to the same energy.Campbell ended up wanting to publish a work called Creative Mythology, which is about how eventually we began creating secular myth in our novels, movies etc that sought to express the same mythic hero quest outside of religion… that the ultimate truth could be found in both secular and religious works. I personally believe that the tarot represents the hero’s journey very universally, and any myth/ mask of God can be represented and found in tarot, which is a good matrix to understand the Universe through… but, actually, all religions essentially are just more matrices to understand through… masks that both conceal and reveal the nature of God, as Campbell would have said. So religion is a metaphor… and there are many… a way to understand and experience the Universe. The universe cannot really be said to be pitted “against” religion when viewed in this light, as religion is the lense to filter through. It is not an absolute requirement… far from it. But our little human minds need frameworks… organizing principles… to view the Universe through… without them our heads might explode with the sheer magnitude of it all!!
Wow! I am deeply honored by your comment Laura…
Hello Manny … It’s Elizabeth Richardson here … (currently doing the Strategic Intervention training also).
Religions told us to “have blind faith and follow me” spirituality suggests we “look inside and discover our own truth”.
THIS is a great topic and one that is begging for people to discuss and create some new ideas about God and life. We seem to TREAT other people EXACTLY as what our beliefs are about God.
If we believe in a judgmental God, we will also judge others … if we believe in God as something outside ourselves, we will NEVER have that precious experience of God inside us … if we believe OUR God would love all people equally no matter what their religion, race, belief, lifestyle choice, then we will also treat each other equally … if we believe the God of our highest imaginings accepts us just the way we are (warts and all) then we will accept ourselves and others just as they are too.
Read further if it resonates with you as I ask some very pertinent questions as well …
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?v=app_2347471856&id=100000701307924
Thanks for being here and for Laura’s tremendous response as well … many people are thinking more deeply on this topic as my discussions daily on facebook are proving.
All the best,