Why do people relate spirituality with religion?

Question

Spirituality is related to God, or the divinity, where as religion is manmade for the convenience of administration. Is it necessary to be a part of any religion to be spiritually enlightened? If then what are the religions of Buddha and Christ?

Answer 1

Religion is a man made canal, where water flows in fixed directions...and its end is predecided if it will reach the ocean or water the fields or quench the thirst....water follows the canal.

Spirituality is a free hilly rivulet... finding its own way...singing and dancing...going on the path not bound by any rules, any boundaries..any destination...but being itself

Answer 2

Technically speaking, God was created by man. By that, I mean that when you think of God, you think of a religious interpretation of God, whether intentional or not, whether consciously or not, the implications of religion would be there. Therefore, most people equate spirituality, or the connection to God through religion, through the practices of society that are socially acceptable ways and means of worshiping God, of being connected through God.

Being spiritually enlightened is a relative term- the manor and relationships I deem as being enlightened, being close to God and in general being enlightened may not be yours. That speaking, no, in my opinion, one needs only to determine that their personal relationship with God is healthy, alive, meaningful and helpful- I don’t believe one needs to be religious per say.

Because I personally feel that way, I do not pray to “God,” I pray to the Universe- that which is so expansive and ever flowing, that which is so great and unknown, that which is indefinable even in terms such as ‘everlasting’ or ‘eternal’ and that which I can not full comprehend as a human. I place no man made assumptions on what God is or isn’t, and no religious affiliations to that which I pray, nor do I place any historical context on that which I pray either.

I know little of Buddha, and Christ, while he existed on earth as a Jew, I can not begin to assume what religion he was or wasn’t. The question gets even more complex when you think about Christ as claiming to be the son of God- what religion does one have as the son of God? Does one pray to your father, or to God?

An interesting puzzle of complexities, paradoxes and further questions, for sure. Thanks for the though provoking question.....

Answer 3

When heartbeats start being measured by a heart rate monitor, that is sometimes indication of some trouble. It all becomes numbers. Our individual beliefs are rational self-definitions, created by many factors. They are much created by the collective unconscious - society. Society acts like a virtual individual... Buddhist mythology, which greatly deals the last phase of the cycle, tells us that we are predestined to enter the light. Our consciousness seeking the truth with symbols and archetypes is what we do, whether we call ourselves atheists or theists. We use these same tools when we dream. An animist and a Christian; they both sense their truths as right, but having had been isolated by space and time, they live in different worlds which cannot coexist, in which the primitive gets absorbed by the higher evolved and more complex. Perhaps your question would have been better if you had asked for an algorithm instead of statistical number. Why measure our consciousness and its perception of reality with a statistical approach?

Answer 4

Yes ! it is necessary to follow at least the "Human Religion", the mother of all the religion. Spirituality is an goal to be achieved and religion is the ladder, it is we to adopt the ladder befitting us (remember any ladder 'religion' which deviates from humanity is not strong enough to lead us to the achievement.) Buddha & Christ were purely of human religion, it is we who have titled their teachings, they haven't brought it down to writing.

Answer 5

Christ's religion was to do the will of His Father;
and that is mine too. No man-made nothing! can ever replace my God in Heaven and only in spirit and in truth does He want to be worshiped and not with idols of any kind as He made it clear that He wanted exclusive devotion and that He is a Jealous God, when it came to that just as a husband who would be jealous if his wife was to flirt with another man in his face...

Answer 6

actually, you're wrong.

one can be spiritual while having no belief whatsoever in a god or gods.

religion is to follow a, well, religion. no, you don't have to be part of a religion to be spiritually enlightened, but you also don't have to believe in any god or a soul or the afterlife, etc etc.

Answer 7

If the religion is not from God then it is not a religion. Spirituality is definitely related to God and religion.

Answer 8

To be spiritually enlighten, one must find it's own way to divinity.
Religions is the spiritually journeys of Buddha, Jesus, Krishna etc... which have been turned into religion. We can read their journey and read their adage, but never understand it from their point of view UNLESS we as individuals follow our OWN journey....

Answer 9

OK Spirituality can be related to God. But not just God.

You can be spiritual without believing in anything...

Answer 10

quite an intelligent question. spirituality is the path, enlightenment is the end. both have nothing to do with religion. both budha and christ were preaching. they were not propagating any religion. only their followers started the religion.