| Can you be spiritual without having religious | | | | between the two types of beliefs is in their |
| beliefs or belonging to any particular | | | | source. Religious beliefs are based on second |
| religious sect? How do spiritual and | | | | hand information, in a very real sense, |
| religious beliefs differ and how are the two | | | | information and beliefs become traditional, |
| sometimes tied together? This article | | | | passed on through scripture, proselytizing |
| discusses my views on the role of | | | | and popular media. Spiritual beliefs, in |
| spirituality versus the role of religious | | | | contrast, are developed individually and |
| beliefs as well as the similarities and | | | | quite often deal with issues of a more |
| differences of the two. | | | | personal or intimate nature than those |
| | | | addressed by religious doctrine. |
| Religious beliefs are often based on cultural | | | | |
| conditioning. Most religious beliefs are | | | | Spirituality is independent of religious |
| inherited from the family unit, learned in | | | | beliefs or doctrine. It is possible to be a |
| institutional settings or absorbed through | | | | spiritual person without belonging to any |
| contact with the society at large. Spiritual | | | | religious denomination or adhering to the |
| beliefs on the other hand are most often | | | | ideology of any particular religious |
| based on personal experience. | | | | institution. To be spiritual, means that you |
| | | | recognize and acknowledge a power or |
| It is possible to have personal spiritual | | | | sensibility within yourself and outside of |
| beliefs and religious ones at the same time; | | | | yourself, beyond the purely physical or |
| very often they go hand in hand. Many times | | | | mental. The recognition of the spiritual self |
| these two types of beliefs serve the same | | | | and the acknowledgement of forces beyond the |
| purpose. They give order to a world in chaos; | | | | scope of rational analysis does not require |
| they provide a moral foundation upon which to | | | | membership in any group. |
| base behaviour. The importance difference | | | | |