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Spirituality and Religion: A Conflict
By Ryan Williams
October 26, 2015
Etymology of Words
A prolegomena I would like to dialogue, at a superficial level, is the difference between
spirituality and religion. It is a worthwhile conversation to have, and important to absolutely
recognize the difference. Please understand that the antiquity of the word is important to
understand. The emphasis is not on the two words and their meanings per se, but how were the
words originally used. These words seem to be used and understood very differently in today’s
context; this is why an appropriate understanding is essential. First, we will look at religion.
At its very basic level, Religion is a collection of faith based beliefs, systems, rituals,
doctrines, dogma, etc.; that has rules and regulations that relate to humanity in connection to the
divine. The history of religion is long and complex, so we won’t go there in this paper. For
now, it will simply be acknowledged that throughout history there have been many religions:
Zoroastrianism, Gnosticism, Buddhism, Asatru, Druze, Epicureanism, Christianity, etc. Let us
justly look at the antiquity and root of the word. The word is derived from the Latin Religionem:
Re- (again) + Legere (read, read again, choose words), the basic indication is to “Consider
Carefully” or Re’s element meaning was “back to the original place; again, anew…”1 Legere is
used with the idea “To gather, collect, pick out, choose.”2 It is worth noting here that Marcus
Tullius Cicero, is often credited with the deriving the word. Cicero lived between 106 BC – 43
BC3, this gives way to how old the word really is. It also highlights when mankind was starting
to put language to thoughts and realizations. The ancient religions though, did not have this
word or label at the time. Hinduism has records as far back as 4000 B.C, but never states “We
are the first religion”.
A Religion, can exclude individuals, lead groups of people, etc. The thought that needs
to be addressed at this time is that to choose a religion, means the Ethos is to be taken seriously.
It is not the same as a Club, Organization, but a very real and important ‘family’ to be a part of.
My eternal soul is at stake. I can choose to believe that I will die and that is it, nothing more will
happen. I can choose to believe in reincarnation, and that I will be born again. I can choose to
believe in Heaven and Hell. There are a number of ‘ideas’ throughout life I can choose to
believe. It shouldn’t be taken as, I am right you are wrong; I win you lose type of mentality
however. It is a very personal choice that is celebrated within a group that shares those beliefs.
Spirituality is very much a different matter to consider. The word Spirit is derived from
the Greek Pneuma (πνεῦμα). The root pneu- talked about the dynamic movement of air. This
also would describe a persons breath, which meant they were alive: breath = life!4 By the
1
Dictionary.com. Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper,
Historian.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/re- (accessed: October 09, 2015).
2
Douglas Harper, “Online Etymology Dictionary,” Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed October 9, 2015,
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=Legi&searchmode=none.
3
Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Marcus Tullius Cicero", accessed October 09,
2015, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Cicero.
4
Colin Brown, The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan
Pub. House, 1975-1978), Vol 3; 689.
Theological Mystic © 2015 by Ryan Williams
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Hellenistic period, the word “was approaching the meaning held by psyche, soul...”5 In Hebrew
the word rûah6, has a wide range but closely resembles what in modern terms describes spirit.
“The idea behind rûah is the extraordinary fact that something as intangible as air should move;
at the same time it is not the movement per se which excites attention, but rather the energy
manifested by such movement.”7 Even, when rûah, is being used to describe wind, it is under
the notion that Yahweh (God) is in control of this natural force. Rûah as a word can mean: wind,
breath, Compass point, disposition, temper, spirit, Spirit.8 The concept of the word is very
ancient, but the word as we know it today came from the Hellenistic period. We will now talk
about why understanding this is important.
The word spiritual (pneumatikos) conveyed the sense of belonging to the realm of
spirit/Spirit, of the essence or nature of spirit/Spirit, embodying or manifesting spirit/Spirit.9 The
word religion is never used here. An individual came to this realization of greater belonging on
their own distinction. The word has a religious meaning behind it, but spirituality is not a
religion. Another way of saying it is, to be religious you need spirituality, but to be spiritual a
religion is not required. From this point on, when I refer to spirituality or religion, I am
refereeing to the definitions provided above.
Why this matters
There are few things in this world that people are worth risking their lives for so
adamantly. Wars have been, and will continue to be fought over such a thing (an unfortunate
reality). Why? Because people don’t like it when another person try’s to force their belief upon
them with no choice. Who I choose to follow, entrust the entirety of my life matters. Who I
choose to hold me accountable for my actions matters. My personal Ethos (how I ought to live)
is an important development, and should be taken seriously. When the ‘eternal’ is threatened,
hostility arises.
The question of, Does Spirituality proceed or succeed religion?, can arise from such a
conversation. I don’t believe this is the right question to ask. There is no subordination in this
conversation. Spirituality is not the absence of religion, and religion is not the absence of
spirituality. Religion can help put language and meaning to our spiritual experiences.
Spirituality can enhance our religion and the teachings of that system or doctrine. Spirituality can
and does give life to our belief system. Religion can help us further our study, and put our
experience into a larger context. Both are needed to help fully develop one another. They both
stand alone on their own, but are meant to work with one another. They are meant to coexist, but
are not opposites.
One might ask, “Is religion necessary?” This is a great inquiry, and should be properly
addressed. Religion, as noted above is not a new concept. While is it a manmade model, it was
5
Ibid
Willem VanGemeren, New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis (Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Zondervan Pub. House, 1997), Vol 3; 1074.
7
Ibid 1073. “Theologically, in the OT the most significant usage of rûah involves its representation of the
metaphysical or numinous, specifically the “Spirit of God/the Lord.” For further reading consult the entirety of this
section.
8
Ibid
9
Ibid
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Theological Mystic © 2015 by Ryan Williams
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not just exclusively decided. A lot of our ancient forefathers put substantial time and energy into
evolving the doctrines they accepted and rejected. They did face death, to hold fast to their
belief. They did face persecution. Judeans, Christians, Buddhist monks, etc. have all faced this,
and held fast to their belief. It seems that too often, tradition is glanced over as a meaningless
ritual. However, these ancient rituals were based on really important events. They were not just
made up by some random guy who said, “Great Scott! 1.21 gigawatts!” and then we all started to
eat crackers and drink juice on the first Sunday of the month. The rituals and traditions that have
lasted were not based on meaningless worship of false idols. These rituals have lasted for
thousands of years. That is a really significant deal!
Opinion
My own perspective on the matter is that religion is necessary for mature growth in ones
spirituality. I don’t believe it is healthy to force people into a religion though. This must come
with their own desire to find knowledge, seek answers to the questions they have. An open
invitation to answer questions, help bring meaning to experience, to show them they are loved
for who they are is what matters. Mentorship and direction helps keep us on track, and not
develop ideas that become overly fundamental in principle. However, religion should not be
something that is used to control or manipulate others. Unfortunately this is how most seem to
view religion; a system of control and influence to cap our spiritual experience. This is not
religion though, that is a cult. Religion should be a family of individuals who hold us
accountable, help encourage and cultivate us into the amazing individuals we were all created to
become. Spirituality is always going to be a unique attribute to every individual, but one should
not simply ignore religion because of a bad taste or experience. As I said before, our spirituality
is what gives life to our faith, and the religion we choose to identify with helps grow and
understand these spiritual experience we will all face in life. We ought to embrace both, not run
in fear because we think they are useless.
Works Cited
Brown, Colin. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Zondervan Pub. House, 1975-1978; Vol. 3.
Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "Marcus Tullius Cicero", accessed October 09,
2015, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Cicero.
Harper, Douglas. “Online Etymology Dictionary.” Online Etymology Dictionary. Accessed
October 9, 2015.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=Legi&searchmode=n
one.
VanGemeren, Willem. New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis.
Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Pub. House, 1997; Vol 3.
Theological Mystic © 2015 by Ryan Williams