Religious vs. Spiritual Essay

In The Sacred Quest, University of Notre Dame professor Lawrence Cunningham attempts the search for a coherent definition of religion. While he doesn’t strive for a one-sentence interpretation of what indicates a real, organized religion, he arrives on several elements and functions to give meaning to his definition. To Cunningham, there are five elements that make up a religion: belief, feeling, action, individual and community aspects, and values. Cunningham argues that these five elements exists in order to explain what could not otherwise be explained, enable people to sustain hope in the face of difficult experiences, and provide ways of thinking that provide goals and respond to “great problems” in life (158). All of these aspects work

Evidence has linked a strong relationship between spirituality and medicine. There is a positive correlation between a patient’s spirituality or religious commitment and health outcomes. A spiritual assessment as a part of a health assessment is a practical step to incorporating patient’s spiritual needs into practice. The FICA Tool and HOPE Questions provide serve to assist clinicians in the spiritual assessment process. By examining the research done using these tools, it has been determined that the FICA Tool is easy to use and provides basic data on a patient’s spirituality. The FICA tool is both reliable and valid. The HOPE Questions are

Defining Religion "Religion is only the illusory sun which revolves round man as long as

Pakistan, May 2007 around 8:00 pm, I existed the local madrasa (religious school), completing the 5th daily prayer and recitation of the Quran, and proceeded to head home wearing my light blue Kameez, White Salwar, and a Kufi on my head to offer a sign of humility before God. The reason I remember that warm windy night is because that day the mullah taught me that we humans are sent to earth by almighty god so he can test our loyalty to him. Those who follow his true path will ascend to the heavens upon death, and those who disobey him and his prophets will suffer in hell for eternity. I was 8 back then and life was good. Despite the Taliban decapitating captured soldiers and letting them rot in the intersections to

Defining Religion The most fundamental question when examining a religion is "what is religion?" That is a distinctly hard question to answer considering that what is ordinarily considered to be religion is not all it is, and what many consider not to be religion may be near religious (i.e. sports). The truth is that there are no genuine answers to the question of "what is religion".

Which parts of the brain can produce a religious-like experience(s). Explain and name the different parts of the brain and what kind of experiences might be produced.

Western scholars of religion have attempted to define the term religion for a long time. Often times, these definitions are too narrow and are based on the individual’s own background and

Since science and religion had started to draw apart in European thinking from the 16th century, by the time Western psychology and psychiatry developed, religion had become marginalized in Western academic thinking as so the disciplines that emerged were secular. Ideas about spirituality – a part of the discourse within religion not science – were excluded from both psychiatry and Western psychology as these disciplines strove increasingly to become ‘scientific’ (Fernando, 2007).

I swung from my brightly colored hammock, camouflaged amongst the other teenagers in their enos. I was famished, uncomfortably hot, and drenched by the pouring rain that fell from the sky and dripped down the bridge of my nose. I didn’t mind though, and neither did the other eleven campers that also futilely attempted to keep their bibles dry while listening to our counselors over the rain. There at Camp Lake Stephens, I learned that sometimes giving up your life can help you find it. The Holy Spirit reigned at camp, and people came there to worship him. For eleven years, I have been growing there, and it’s changed me as a person.

The 16th century was a time of culmination. A time during which the fundamental forces of civilization that shaped the world thus far, came together and accelerated their pace. Religious, cultural, intellectual, and economic transformations took place. New civilizations arose, only to be destroyed by imperialistic invaders. Old cultures converged and conflicts arose. New and old, east and west were unified, if only fleetingly and superficially. The religious beliefs of any society during the 1500s were taken very seriously and were tremendously important. At the time, entire empires were built on the simple principle of religion. It was the central unifier, the Europeans under Christianity, the Ottoman Empire under Sunni Islam, and the

Throughout the semester I have developed an understanding for the spiritual disciplines; silence, solitude, and Sabbath; which has taught me how to live an intention Christ-centered life. The disciplines have not only helped my personal daily life, but they have also helped me better understand Christ himself. I can, without a doubt, say that I know that God gave us the gifts of spiritual disciplines to help guide us in the crazy culture we live in. I have gained a new appreciation for the maker of our world as He has gone out of His way to love on us, and all He asks us in return to practice disciplines and grow closer to him. The disciplines have have taught me that seeking God is about more than just saying a prayer before bed. Instead, it is practicing the disciplines and seeing His faithfulness through the actions. My practice of silence has taught me that the world is a loud place full of so many distractions. This specific practice has helped me seek God, in a deep way, by committing to listening to him in silence rather than wondering why I could never here him in the midst of the crowds. My practice of solitude has become a sort of Bible study time for me. A time to be alone and remember all the good our King has done and will continue to do for us. My practice of Sabbath has helped me start of each week with a positive outlook. Surprisingly it has also given me a deeper understanding of academics as well as it forces me to get my homework done before my day of

In Sigmund Freud’s, The Future of an Illusion, he studies religious foundations and the influence of religion on civilization and social principles. As he explores the psychological depths relating to religion, he also portrays a scientific and rational civilization. In turn, he reveals his hope for an ideal world where humans surpass their feelings of helplessness and insignificance to live in an improved civilization based on reason and the increase of knowledge. Through his analysis and ideas, Freud is able to incite feelings of doubt surrounding religious beliefs and their validity.

     According to the American College Dictionary, religion is a noun defined as the quest for the values of the ideal life. This definition is vast and general, allowing for a variety of interpretations by people from all cultures. There is no single path to follow in order to lead an ideal life, only personal beliefs and experiences. Religion is non-finite so there is no way of determining a boundary (Smart, 5). In my quest for a true understanding of what religion is I explored my own traditions and religious beliefs as well as life experiences. Slowly, with the added insight from the text and videos, my own definition of religion has begun to take shape.

Spirituality plays a very sub sequential role in my personal life. First of all, spirituality helps me govern what is right and what is wrong in my life. Many of the decisions that I make everyday, I believe are a direct result of my spirituality. For as long as I can remember I have been raised to believe that I should live my life the way God would want me to live it. Therefore, whenever I have a decision to make, I have to consider, what is right? And what is wrong? Second of all, it also helps me to feel more secure about what will happen to my spirit once my life here on earth is over. I believe that there is a better place for our spirits once we leave this earth.

What religion am I? In my life, I have been told many things about my religion. My mother is a Roman Catholic, while my father is Jewish. I have learned about both religions, and I have tried to practice both as best I could, but I am now faced with the decision; which one am I?