Spirituality and Religion: Is There a Difference and Do We Have a Choice?

There’s been an on going argument since man began to acknowledge a benevolent being, within the modern world, that being religious meant you were also spiritual. But is this fact or fallacy? Through the years we’ve seen many nations of different religions claim to be very spiritual because of their religious practices and actions. Yet we’re still having wars amongst ourselves over what religion is the best one (belief systems). We are no closer to reaching our spiritual goals then we were before the advent of organized religion. But now with the rise of “New Age” beliefs, some doubt has been cast onto human consciousness about what is truly spiritual and can being religious equate to being spiritual.

The spiritual path is just that… a path, of which there is only two, positive and negative. The positive path will lead back to our soul goal. The negative path will lead us on endless turns and dead ends until we (our souls) choose the positive path. We all choose what path we’re going on before coming into this world. But we’ll talk more on this issue later. Now that we’ve chosen our path how do we walk on it? This is where religion steps in.

The religion that you practice can be viewed as how you walk down the street. Even atheism is a form of walking a chosen path. There is no right or wrong way to walk, although there are plenty of people that will tell you otherwise. As long as you are walking forward toward your destination then you’re making progress. The same is true with whichever religion you practice. It doesn’t matter what religion you practice as long as you’re moving forward toward your soul goal.

Now there’s some contention among most people that they are not able to choose the path (spirituality) they want and how to walk that path (religion) because it was chosen by there parents when they were only children. But if we look at the bigger picture, which includes karma, past lives, etc., the soul looks at the potential future of the body it’s going to inca
ate into and decides whether it will learn what it needs to learn so it can fulfill its karmic debt, experience physicality, and to fulfill God’s will according to the contract created and approved between itself and God. So, in essence, we have made a choice on what path and the way we want to walk that path when we chose to inca
ate into this world. But this choice is flexible so we can change our path in mid-stride at anytime during our physical life. It all depends on what the soul needs to experience.

So is there a difference between spirituality and religion? Yes. Do we have a choice on what path and religion we want to pursue before and after birth? Yes. Can religion some day be equated to spirituality? No. Can someone who does not practice an organized religion be spiritual? Yes. What’s important to remember is that there’s a positive path (spirituality) that leads us to our soul goal and a negative path that puts us in an endless loop until we choose to return to the positive path. Also, it’s not the religion that’s going to point us in the direction of spiritual growth. It’s the path and direction we choose that makes the difference. Even if a negative path is chosen, ultimately, the soul will choose a positive path leading it back to its soul goal path. The point here is this…we all need to take responsibility for our own choices and actions, which includes our spiritual path. Even if we did not choose our path and religion as a child we still can, and should, re-evaluate ourselves and make a conscious choice. The only thing we have in this world that empowers us is our ability to choose (free will). Once you choose the path that leads you to your soul goal then you are walking your truth. Finally, when you walk your truth only then do you truly become spiritual.