Religion vs. Spirituality

Do not think dishonestly.
The Way is in training.
Become acquainted with every art.
Know the Ways of all professions.
Distinguish between gain and loss in worldly matters.
Develop intuitive judgement and understanding for everthing.
Perceive those things which cannot be seen.
Pay attention even to trifles.
Do nothing which is of no use.
Click to expand...

"Book of Five Rings" by Miyamoto Musashi
- considered the greatest Samurai and master of nitou ken.

It is interesting though that the Samurai gained all of the honor and credit while the Ninja were considered lower than horses. They were often employed by Samurai lords in the way of spies, reconnaissance, and, of course, assassins. They represented what the Samurai considered to be beneath their bushido. Two sides of the same coin.
 
I agree with most of what has been said - the terms are just too fuzzy for the question to be answered meaningfully.

Consider the following stances:
- believes in many supernatural things, but has no organised or recognised religion.
- participates in religious rituals for the sense evoked, but with no belief in supernatural.
- participates in religious communal events for social reasons, no sense or belief.
- participates because of belief, but feels no connection to God.
- belongs to a religion with no God.
- does prosaic things with a great sense of religious significance.
- has faith but no belief ('I worship God, but have no reason to believe he exists').

and so on.
 
Is the title of your essay
(a) "Religion vs Spirituality"
(b)"belief from the point of view of an atheist"?

They may not necessarily the same.

If your title is (b)

Then quite simply, an atheist by definition, is someone who denies the existence of god. Apart from that, atheists are not obligated to share any other common traits.

They have freedom to belief and do what ever they wish, including giving up their freedom to form their own belief. It means they do have the option to deny god but go on to believe and practise the way of life defined by that god.

Their personal definition of Spirituality would also differ, so don't bother to attempt to craft a detailed common definition.

Very messy.
Your only hope would be to go inteview many atheists about their belief. And do a factual report of their beliefs

If your title is (a) ,

based on the definition of Spirituality, it is either
1. [n] concern with things of the spirit
2. [n] property or income owned by a church

If you picked (1) you'll have to pin down on a definition of "spirit" before you are able to make any progress.

If you picked (2) you may then have the opportunity to talk about how the religious organisation, as a "business", sells it's products and runs like a commercial profitable organisation. ... erm just joking ... but this definition about spirituality surprises me.
 
A whole raft of thought provoking posts. Thanks, everybody for your input.
 
I have utterly and completely left religion. I have never left spirituality. For a time after I became inactive I was a deist and now I'm simply an agnostic but I still hold to spiritual feelings. I no longer use ritual or mythology to find spirituality Now I simply turn to the natural world, art and music and conversation with intellectually stimulating people. Though to confess I no longer have as strong or deep spiritual experiences that I once had. It's easy to dismiss religion but religion can be very good at unlocking something deep inside. Spirituality is like a drug and religion can be like a syringe hitting a main line. I'll be honest, I miss it at times. The problem is that it comes with a lot of baggage and I find it to be untrue. I tried going to Unitarian church but it didn't do the same for me. Cool people though.

BTW, significant quantities of vicodine or darvocets can do a pretty good job of instilling feelings similar to spiritual feelings. Alcohol and Pot to a smaller degree.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom