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What is the difference between spirituality and religion?

05/07/25 5:33pm

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wikiHow Editorial Team

05/07/25 5:35pm

Religion is based on sharing a belief system with others of the same faith that's focused on connecting with a higher power or God, and includes Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Religion often relies on sacred texts, like the Bible or Quran, to provide advice, guidance, and rules for how people should live.

Spirituality is a more individual pursuit of connection with the world around you and is often centered around love and compassion for yourself and others. Spirituality can also be focused on understanding the purpose and meaning of life. People can be both spiritual and religous, though spirituality is not connected to a specific religion.

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Aliza Kelly
Astrologer and Spiritual Coach

05/07/25 5:39pm

The main difference between religion and spirituality is that religion is associated with specific doctrines and ideologies—there’s usually some sort of hierarchy, religious figurehead, and text associated with it. Spirituality, on the other hand, is fluid and open-ended. There’s no right or wrong way to approach it, and for many people, it’s about questions, curiosities, and self-discovery.

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Fr. Scott Bailey
Catholic Priest

05/18/25 5:16am

I'll offer 2 definitions and then relate them to one another. Religion is often understood as a structured system of beliefs and practices, usually in the context of a community. Different religions may have established teachings, sacred texts, formal rituals (especially in regard to worship), and a focus on building community with others.

Spirituality is often understood as an individual search for meaning and connection to something greater than yourself. As a personal experience, it often involves deep thinking, meditation, wonder at the world around us, and a search for meaning in life. For many people, spirituality is about having a relationship with God through a personal prayer life.

From the perspective of Christians and many other religious people, religion and spirituality are interconnected: religion can provide a helpful framework for spiritual growth, while spirituality gives life to religious practice. For that reason, many religious people may say that they are "spiritual AND religious." But non-religious people may say that they are “spiritual but not religious”, meaning that they have some spiritual practice in their life but do not belong to any particular church/religion/organization.

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