Spirituality vs. Religiousity

Study Notes

Spirituality relates to the human spirit or soul, contrasting with material or physical aspects.
Spiritual people often place less importance on beliefs and traditions, focusing more on experiencing the divine through a path of love, mercy, and acceptance.
Religiousity is an organized system of ideas about the spiritual realm often involving rituals to influence things beyond human control.
Religious people typically believe in a higher power and follow organized systems of beliefs, rituals, and practices.

Religiousity, rooted in the Latin word "religare," meaning to bind together, describes a personal or institutional system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices.
It pertains to the condition of being religious or the intensity of belief within a system.

Spirituality is a human experience that seeks meaning and purpose beyond oneself - through connections with others, nature, and a supreme being.
This experience may or may not involve religious traditions.

Spiritual experiences and practices can contribute to a better sense of well-being and health.
Spiritual fellowship fosters community, belonging, and strong relationships which can positively affect health, mood, and personal well-being.
Spiritual practices can have a role in reducing anxiety, depression, and phobias.

Mental Exercises: Practices like focusing on breathing.
Prayer: Spiritual communion with a higher power, or an object of worship. Examples include supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession.
Yoga: Physical postures and breathing techniques with meditation to improve physical and emotional well-being.
Journaling: Writing as a form of self-reflection.

Steven Reiss's theory suggests that the appeal of religion stems from its ability to fulfill sixteen basic human desires, including acceptance, curiosity, eating, family, honor, and idealism.

Polytheism: Belief in multiple gods (e.g., Hinduism, Ancient Greeks, Ancient Romans).
Monotheism: Belief in a single god (e.g., Judaism, Christianity, Islam).
Atheism: Disbelief in any deity.
Animism: Belief in non-human beings possessing spirits (e.g., Indigenous nature worship, Shinto).

Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism—form some of the most prominent religious traditions.

Rituals and ceremonies are customary ways to perform actions as described in religious traditions within communities.
They encompass religious practices, including sacraments, rites of passage (e.g., birth, marriage, death), oaths (e.g., allegiance), and ceremonies (e.g., coronation, dedications).

The origin of rituals may be traced back to human evolution.
Functional approach emphasizes the observable effects of rituals on society.
History and religions approach views rituals as expressions of humanity's connection to the sacred and the transcendent.