Kiki's Notebook - Prayers - Spirituality and Religion This is an essay in my college Religions of the World class in 1990. Although they may seem very much the same, spirituality and religion are actually two different entities, although religion could not survive without spirituality, and spirituality can be quite difficult to begin to have without religion. Spirituality is experiencing faith, or a devotion to a higher being, however it may be named. Spirituality can also be seen as the relationship that develops between a person and his or her chosen higher power. The philosophical meaning of spirituality is based on discerning the differences between what is of the higher power and what is of the physical world. (Conn 981) Religiously, spirituality is seen as living out the philosophical meaning and as searching for a means of getting in touch with the deity. However, some rituals created as part of the religion are not always necessary to obtain spirituality. In fact, just acting out a religion is not sufficient to procure spirituality; the pursuit of a whole relationship with the higher power must be live in every aspect of a person's life. Religion is a group of people's response to spirituality. Having obtained this elusive, desirable state of being, they wished to share it others and help them in finding it. In other words, it is an organized manifestation of spirituality. However, it also functioned to explain what otherwise appeared unexplainable. (Rahner 437) Stories were then created about the "found" deity, describing what the spiritual people see it as, and what those people see has its relationship to the rest of the world. Rituals were developed to express what the believers felt and to give something concrete with which to draw others to the religion. From the stories and rituals, traditions and restrictions developed, intending to help unbelievers to believe and experience spirituality. Additionally, certain items and events were attributed to the deity. This also aided in attracting followers in the same way as did rituals. All this was intended to keep people on the road to meeting their chosen deity, but those who already experienced the deity could also see some of the flaws in the religious traditions. Attempt must be made to correct the inconsistencies, but, as can be historically noted, these attempts are often unsuccessful because of the unspiritual people's doubt in themselves, which made it difficult for them to see another's point of view, especially because they did not have a clear idea of their viewpoint. Because of its nature, that of trying to convert others to spirituality, religion has the potential to stifle the faith experience found in spirituality. Always must people be cautioned that religion cannot take the place of spirituality, it can only give suggestions on how others have attained a whole relationship with the higher power. Works Consulted Conn, Joann Wolski. "Spirituality." The New Dictionary of Theology. Wilmington, Del.: Michael Glazer, Inc., 1988. Rahner, Karl and Herbert Vorgrimler. "Religion." Dictionary of Theology. New York: Crossroads, 1981.   [CONTENTS PAGE] Essay copyright 2002 by Nikola Vrtis. Site design and link compilation by Nikola Vrtis. Trademarks are the property of their respective owners.