Spirituality vs. Religion

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary:

Religion: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practice^[1]
Spirituality: the quality or state of being spiritual^[2]

Wow... those don't really say much. The difference between religion and spirituality is one of those modern topics that seems to be everywhere. I did a quick search and found a ton of articles on the topic. Even so, I thought this topic would be a good place to start my personal discussion about spirituality. WARNING! This is all my personal opinion and it is not my intention to offend anyone, but to be as respectful of all opinions as possible.

Let's start with spirituality. The word "spirit" comes from the Latin "spiritus" meaning breath.^[3] Breath is the essence of life; without it, there simply is no life. To me, spirituality is the act of searching for, feeling and living your true connection with God, the universe, science or whatever else you might believe in that is essential for the creation and sustenance of life.

And then, I think religion is an organized form of spirituality. Religion can include a specific set of beliefs, practices and/or traditions. In a sense, I think religion attempts to put a box around spirituality. You might be thinking that I'm going to start bashing religion like so many do. Actually, I think that religion has both positive and negative attributes. On the positive side, religion can help someone find their way through some of the difficulties of spirituality. It can provide a sense of community and support. A religion generally has specific teachings with countless people who have considered all aspects of every bit of it. Now moving to some disadvantages of religion, I think that sometimes all the structure masks the original spirituality. Many people belong to a religion and go through the motions without ever attempting to bring spirituality into their lives. Sometimes, people can build hierarchies in religions that allow them to consolidate power and push their own point of view into the teachings and these distortions can remain even centuries later.

Spirituality also has advantages and disadvantages in comparison to religion. Sometimes taking a spiritual path that is all your own can seem a little lonely. It may mean being different than others in your family or community. Taking a spiritual journey doesn't mean you won't be able to find teachers just as it means you won't necessarily be lead astray. Spirituality can also bring you strength and peace. And just because you haven't joined a specific religion doesn't mean you can't find a spiritual community with similar values.

So, there's religion and there's spirituality... Some choose one or the other, some choose neither and some choose both. Some people aren't even aware of the choice they have made. Just as all people are different, what works for each of us is different too. Is your spiritual life working for you?

[1] Merriam-Webster, s.v. "Religion," http://www.merriam-webster.com/ (accessed September 12, 2010).
[2] Merriam-Webster, s.v. "Spirituality," http://www.merriam-webster.com/ (accessed September 12, 2010).
[3] Merriam-Webster, s.v. "Spirit," http://www.merriam-webster.com/ (accessed September 12, 2010).