This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »
CopperCicada · M
“Spirituality” is a human faculty. An ability, a category of experience, a realm of endeavor. Generally the scope of spirituality is metaphysical truths beyond the scope of materialism.
The “spiritual” person is thus, concerned with, and interested in, questions such as whether or not there is a God, what their relationship with God is, what salvation entails. Or questions about the deeper purpose of life. Nontheistic people might be interested in the ground of being, what enlightenment is, how it is achieved. Some are interested in spirits, gods, other unseen entities. What happens after death is a pretty universal question. Deeper levels of ethics and connection are pretty universal.
“Religion” is a social construct. It aims to normalize and regulate the scope “spirituality”. It renders certain forms of spiritual inquiry not only aberrant, but evil. It also renders certain human experiences not only aberrant, but evil. It extrudes parts of our spiritual experience and uses them to normalize social behaviors. It also uses parts of our spiritual experience to support, defend, and rationalize political choices.
So the “religious” person is a type of “spiritual” person, but concerned more about being a model adherent to a social organization called a church, temple, synagogue, zendo, hoff, whatever, than spiritual truths and wherever those truths might take one. Religious people often dislike and alienate spiritual people because they transgress social and political norms. Spiritual people often avoid religious people because they don’t want to get lost in the weeds of compliance to arbitrarily decided social and political norms.
The “spiritual” person is thus, concerned with, and interested in, questions such as whether or not there is a God, what their relationship with God is, what salvation entails. Or questions about the deeper purpose of life. Nontheistic people might be interested in the ground of being, what enlightenment is, how it is achieved. Some are interested in spirits, gods, other unseen entities. What happens after death is a pretty universal question. Deeper levels of ethics and connection are pretty universal.
“Religion” is a social construct. It aims to normalize and regulate the scope “spirituality”. It renders certain forms of spiritual inquiry not only aberrant, but evil. It also renders certain human experiences not only aberrant, but evil. It extrudes parts of our spiritual experience and uses them to normalize social behaviors. It also uses parts of our spiritual experience to support, defend, and rationalize political choices.
So the “religious” person is a type of “spiritual” person, but concerned more about being a model adherent to a social organization called a church, temple, synagogue, zendo, hoff, whatever, than spiritual truths and wherever those truths might take one. Religious people often dislike and alienate spiritual people because they transgress social and political norms. Spiritual people often avoid religious people because they don’t want to get lost in the weeds of compliance to arbitrarily decided social and political norms.