Our final word on the topic comes from Alitzah R. Parker:
As I contemplated this topic, my millennial,
progressive, “no holds” mind told me yes, of course it can. Certainly
spirituality and religion can exist as two separate, nondependent entities. I
had always been open minded and though I was wholly devout to my religion, I
knew there were others who weren’t always so lucky. There is no shortage of
stories and occurrences where someone feels trapped, smothered, and out of
place in the religion that they were born into or experimented with. There are
even times when one is exposed to a horribly carnal side of a religion or have
it stuffed down their throats. Situations like these and others have often left
many feeling “spiritually homeless”. In fact, there are entire scholarly
studies that have been done that show that many of those who oppose religion
all together actually grew up in the church. They love and commit their selves
to God and acknowledge the existence of a greater power but find their selves
unable to place their ideologies under a name. Does the inability and
unavailability of name make them any less spiritual? And does one being able to
do exactly that, name and claim, make them automatically more spiritual than
those that cannot? Considering all of this, it seemed like a very close minded
thing for me to suggest that spirituality is dependent upon religion. But then
I mused, how does one define religion?
Allow one in this case to be the Merriam-Webster dictionary
which provides three definitions for the word religion.
- The belief in a God or gods
- An organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a God or group of gods.
- An interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or persons.
If you consider this definition of the word, it seems less
and less probable to suggest that you can have spirituality without religion.
Throughout the throngs of time ambiguity of language is something that the
human race has thoroughly adopted. People can mean any three things at once.
This being said, when it comes to religion, it’s all about how you look at it.
Spirituality however requires structure. If one believes that spirituality is a
connection to something greater than ourselves and a search for meaning in
life, religion, in its simplest form, is the structure that spirituality
requires. How spiritual can you be without a system of beliefs? Knowing what
you believe in and consistently abiding by it is a huge part of spiritual
maturity. If you have no rules used to worship, where does your foundation lie?
And if it is not important to you, what are you really believing in?
In my humble opinion, spirituality is all about developing a
relationship with God. So when it comes down to it, it’s not a matter of
spirituality vs religion but rather the idea that religion, true religion,
develops spirituality. And so you may ask what exactly is
true religion? Though very much open for discussion, true religion is one in
which you are continuously expanding, broadening, and reinforcing your very
beliefs. In Stephen Coveys widely received book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective
People, he sites habit 7 as ‘Sharpen the Saw’. He states: “Sharpen the Saw
keeps you fresh (…). You increase your capacity to produce and handle the
challenges around you. Without this renewal, the body becomes weak, the mind
mechanical, the emotions raw, the spirit insensitive, and the person selfish.”
It makes perfect sense that we must remain sharp and ever evolving to
attain a certain level of spirituality, and in essence, that is what true
religion does. Spirituality is not some abstract idea that one suddenly
stumbles upon and boom, they’re an enlightened spiritual being. Alternatively,
spirituality is a continuous process, one that never quite stops. It is not a
destination but rather a way to live; a journey in it of itself. When I think
of true religion I think of one in which there is a body of people who you can
converse with, commune with, and fellowship with. I’m reminded of one in which
there are beliefs and customs that you practice consistently. I am drawn to
religions that place connecting your spirit to the one from which yours flows,
at the top of its priorities. And I consider religions of this nature to
continually sharpen, challenge, and enhance your beliefs. And so now, when
someone ask if spirituality can exist without religion and vice versa, I would
have to honestly say no, it cannot. It is no longer a discussion of just
definition or theory but one of practice. Perhaps you don’t realize you have a
religion, or perhaps there are aspects you are missing. But spirituality
requires religion of some level, and absolutely cannot be sustained and grow
without true religion.
