What Is Spirituality Or Religion?

"I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the spirit." Kahlil Gibran

The Sunni Creed of Adud al-Din-Iji and the Zaydi creed of Imam al-Mutawakkil have some major fundamental differences, as you may expect since both come from opposite spectrums of Islam; but, after careful analysis, one may be surprised to find that both creeds hold a fair amount of similarities. In this essay, I plan to compare and contrast the Sunni creed and Zayid creed by showing you evidence of the significant similarities and differences in these two short texts. Even though one branch may have something that the other may not have, one can still see that both creeds of Islam provide the instructions and general beliefs of how a Muslim must act, how God is the most powerful. The biggest

Spirituality does not have one definite definition, it varies depending on who is searching for the meaning. The meaning of spirituality can change within one person, the more they search for answers and find their beliefs. To this writer, spirituality reaches beyond ourselves, it is the connection between ourselves and something greater.

Spirituality is defined in several ways as it pertains to different worldviews. Today we will look at the worldview as it relates to Pluralism, Scientism and Postmodernism.

Spirituality and religion hold different values and truths depending on your personal beliefs. Being religious is a belief or practice that contains certain values one should follow. When looking deeper into religion you can find spirituality which is the part of religion that effects our spirit and soul, it is not tangible. “The Sacred within” is spirituality and pertains to God dwelling inside of our heart and soul. When looking at “the sacred within” there are certain senses that we can tap into so, we may obtain that sort of spirituality. Through solitude, silence, imagination, and nature, we can have a better sense of spirituality.

There are numerous definitions of the concept of spirituality. They vary depending on the individual.

Spirituality is defined by the Merriam-Webster (2015) dictionary as “the quality or state of being concerned with religion or religious matters.” That is the simple definition of it from a dictionary. In depth, spirituality is defined as a person’s beliefs, attitudes, values and connection

“Spirituality is derived from the Latin word spiritus, spirit, the essential part of the person which controls the mind and the mind controls the body. Thus the spirit is the vital life force which motivate people and influence ones life, health behavior and relationships” (Baldacchino & Draper, 2001). She also stated that spirituality is the mainstream of life which unifies all aspects of the human being. Spirituality applies to both believers and non believers, including the presence of diverse cultural beliefs (Baldacchino & Draper, 2001). Culliford stated that : “In times of emotional stress, physical illness, loss, bereavement and death human beings tend to find comfort, peace, inspiration, reverence and meaning by focusing on their spirituality whether they believe in God or not” (Culliford, 2002). In a study conducted by Tuck and Thingajana the meaning of spirituality was voiced by person living with HIV disease and healthy adults. The definitions voiced by the HIV patients were that “Spirituality is relating and believing in God, who is always present. It is perceived as being guided or helped or being inspired or giving unto. Spirituality includes the process of journeying, discovering and centering and is outwardly expressed” (Tuck & Thinganjana, 2007). The definitions of Spirituality expressed by the healthy individuals were that:

The terms ‘religion’ and ‘spirituality’ can have both similarities and differences. Religion can be explained as a set of beliefs that has structure and is practiced within a group or community. It involves worshipping of superhuman beings, and often contains certain teachings in which its believers/followers abide by and practice in everyday society. Although not all religions incorporate a ‘God’, the Catholic Church is centred around the Triune God (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit). Catholic teachings reflect the actions that God/Jesus displayed for the sake of humanity. Religious art, is significant within a religion as it is considered to be a sacred material, in which provides proper guidance and hope. Religious art provides many purposes such

How people get involve in society is one of the issue that is interesting to observe, because there are multiple factors that influence this kind of behavior. One important aspect of society is political participation and which are the variables that make a person to get involve in political decision. One of this influences might be spiritual life or how the people relate with a superior force and how that impact in political participation. It is important to have present that when we talk regarding spiritual life is a concept broad than religion, because spiritual life focuses on the belief in a superior force, instead religion focuses on follow a series of norms.

What is spirituality? Everyone has it however not all understand what it is exactly. Individuals can experience and express spiritually differently. It can be confused with religion or ghosts (Lepherd, 2015). For many years, there have been many definitions and descriptions of spirituality; it is described as the search of the meaning of life, alleviation of suffering, or creating inner peace in an individual. Which explains how spirituality is made useful for meditation and practicing yoga. Each person’s spirituality is different from others because according to his article, ‘Spirituality: Everyone has it, but what is it,’ Laurence Lepherd (2015) explains, “People have [different levels] of depth or intensity of spirituality, from [person to person].”

What is religion? Each person’s definition of religion is different. Each person’s faith is different. This is a question that has been asked for centuries, and regardless of the answer given there is no right or wrong answer. Religion can be defined as a group of people who have shared beliefs who feel their life has purpose or meaning. This feeling or belief that their life has meaning can come from outside of themselves, as well as within. Taking this one step further, these shared beliefs put into action in the form of worship, can be easily identified because they happen regularly. It can be said the Primal religions were in fact not religions. Some may argue Confucianism is not a religion. Others may say Taoism is not a

What is Religion? Religion has many meanings; a way of life, belief, and practices. In America people have different views on religion; it was indicated in the constitution. What is the constitution? The constitution is set of laws approved by the state. Religion and constitution are separate. As stated in the constitution of the United State of America, the first amendment, “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” In other words the constitution and religion are not connected. The founder fathers meant when talking about “freedom of Religion,” is that the state and church are separate; because people saw the church as mass control, people were also affected by the English’s monarchies and lastly the Americans

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.

     Spirituality and psychology are two complex subjects to discuss and they become even more complicated when you try to relate one to the other. Psychology deals with the processes of sense perception, thinking, learning, cognition, emotions and motivations, and personality, focusing on the behavior of individuals. Spirituality, on the other hand, is all inclusive. “Spirituality is living one's life from the realization that the body/mind/ego personality we have been taught to identify with is just the tip of our iceberg, our little head sticking through the window of the senses into this world, whereas our true body is the universe. It is recognizing that our perceived world is mostly an illusion, a shared