When leading a spiritual life, some people may relate to a life of religious beliefs and being part of religious organizations. But can you be religious without believing in God?
Believing in God or a higher power or spirit doesn’t always mean you have to be affiliated with religion to do so. Spirituality is living in a manner that does not focus on materialistic things. Instead, it involves leading a life close to your Creator.
Pew Research found that there are over 5 Billion religious adults and children in the world, roughly 80% of the population.
Religious Group Types
Many of the following religious groups are concentrated in different parts of the world. For example, when comparing percentages around the world, the Pew Research team found the following percentages when checking the number of religious people in the world.
- Just over 30 percent are Christian, believing in one God
- 23 percent are Muslim
- 15 percent Hinduism
- 16 percent don’t associate with any creed
- 17 percent of Buddhists
- 5.9 percent of Folk belief
- Nearly 1 percent fills the gap in other religions and cultural practices.
Religious Tolerance
When it comes to denomination, religious tolerance is a crucial factor. If people were not tolerant of all other religions, there would be fighting and disagreements all the time. Religious tolerance is accepting and respecting other devoutness and beliefs.
Religious tolerance is one of the most essential things in the world because it allows people to believe in what they want and not have to worry about being persecuted for it.
Of religious tolerance, two terms stand out most, namely:
- Cayton – the ability to speak freely about religion and encourage others to do this.
- Courtis – taking caution and avoiding speaking about religion or politics in the workplace or other social situations.
Why Do People Believe In God With No Practice of Religion?
It’s easy to assume that you need a specific faith to believe in or serve God. It’s also easy to think that to get closer to the spiritual Devine, you have to get deeper into your religion. Still, religion is often an introduction to the higher power, and spiritual practices take you closer to your Creator.
Spirituality allows people to communicate with God without attending a devout ceremony or having a committed affiliation to a denomination. Religion may also have rules that people who are spiritual but not religious don’t abide by.
Religion Practices VS Spiritual Practices
When it comes to the spectrum of religion and holiness, we can often see clear differences in faith practice and things people do.
Religious Practice
Theology-driven or creed-driven fellowship with other members of the same religion in a service. When you think of Christianity, things like church members, church service, or mass come to mind. Christians who are very devout also read the bible regularly. Religious celebrations in Christianity also include Christmas and Easter, to name a few.
The same applies to Islam. Islamic faithful practice would be attending mosque and completing five prayers a day. Then there are also devoted events throughout the year, like Eid and fasting during the month of Ramadan. Religious Muslims would also try and make their holy pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life while on earth.
Many religions include procedures like:
- Meditation
- Spending time in nature
- Fasting
- Having quiet sessions or devoting time to silence
- Some people also partake in activities with their religious peers.
Spiritual Practice
Spiritual practice may involve meditation and quiet time, but it is also focused on getting closer to the Devine, Supreme Being, God, Omnipotent or Creator. Being spiritual but not religious also includes doing things like creating good karma and doing good for others, and trying your best to live this way every day.
Spirituality is beyond materialistic things and focuses on spirits connecting and life beyond what we see as tangible.
Judgmental or Self-Righteous
It’s easy for faithful folks to become self-righteous. For example, a dutiful person may not use profanity even if they’re upset in front of other people.
A spiritual person might get upset and say something in profanity. While it’s easy for the religious to judge the person who swore and say it’s sinful, spiritual people believe we as humans are not perfect, but we practice and strive to get closer to the Devine and live life without judgment. To some extent, these are also some of the principles of religion.
Self-righteousness can also affect spiritual persons. In a word, the act of self-righteousness is thinking of oneself as superior compared to others. Still, the truth remains, that everyone can learn from each other despite the religious affiliation, spiritual or atheist outlook on life and the world.
Religion and Spirituality Balance
You may not be religious or spiritual, but often, it takes both aspects to become a balanced individual.
While you might not need a building to serve God, you can still serve Him and speak to Him even when you’re at home, taking a walk, or even at your workplace. Speaking to the Holy Creator of everything may not need to be audible; instead, some people simply say a quiet prayer without alerting everyone else in the room.
Personal preference also influences whether someone will be more spiritual or religiously inclined.
Conclusion
Being religious and believing in God or choosing spirituality while still believing in God is a personal choice.
On a personal level, you can adapt how you will manage and grow your spirituality and faith. Perhaps you’re looking to become a better person or grow closer to God; either way, choosing to get close to your Creator without religion is your choice.
Spiritual people do not have a saintly affiliation or follow any religion because they believe in their own personal spirituality. They also believe that humans have an inner light that can be shared with others. This inner light is a pure form of love and it shines through one’s actions, thoughts, words and deeds.
