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Where Do You Fit on the Religion and Spirituality Spectrum?Do You Embrace Spirituality, But Reject Religion? Religion and Spirituality are hot button words. History would tell us that they always have been. What comes to your mind when you think of religion and spirituality? Is it a pleasant and comforting thought, or does it give you fits of anxiety? Do you feel compelled to choose between these two categories? Or, do you, like many people, embrace “spiritual,” but disparage “religious?” Maybe religious brings up images of restrictive doctrine, dogma, hierarchy, fire and brimstone, and an angry, white-bearded God. Whereas spiritual often brings to mind free-thinking, inclusive teachings, and a compassionate and generous God, who just might be a woman.Wherever you fall along this spectrum is fine, of course, I just like to point out that both have something to contribute to the spiritual wellness of the individual on the spiritual path. Without the old religions, would tradition, community and ritual be as rich? Without a compassionate, inclusive God, would religion be anything other than punitive, fear based practices? I am so often asked about the difference in these terms that I just want to say, do I have to choose? Maybe the one needs a bit of the other. When we begin to move towards a spiritual practice of truth, we come to the knowledge that all is one. There is yin and yang, female and male to every situation. So religion and spirituality go together in their own way. Wholeness and well-being must hold seeming opposites within it. Great teachings such as the enneagram personality system reinforce for us that every personality contains multiple facets. The healthy personality acknowledges both the positive and the negative. Whatever is suppressed or ignored only grows stronger in the realm of the shadows, where it can do harm on an unconscious level. Whatever you resist, persists, in mind, body and spirit. In your daily spiritual walk, seek balance and share the peace of the world's great religions and wisdom traditions.
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