What is spirituality? How does it differ from religion? And what role does it play in this modern life?

Throughout history, spirituality has been the default, the status quo for people of all creeds and colours. Since the dawn of the Abrahamic religions in pre-Islamic Arabia, human cultures around the world have engaged with organized religion as a source of community, shared sense and purpose, and what we might broadly term “happiness.” Across the wider world, Buddhism, Hinduism, and hundreds of others have also served to unite people, and act as a sort of center point around which a happy and meaningful life can be constructed.

Spirituality today

For better or for worse today, you could say that “the path of spirituality” has become the road less traveled in many parts of the world. While it has waxed and waned over the course of history, numbers of people classing themselves as “spiritual” – whether through organized religion or independent self-reflection – have dropped off rapidly since the late 20th century. This has largely been driven by the advent of replacement “therapy” – social media, Netflix, and other sources of dopamine hits have come to replace more reflective pastimes like reading, bonding with family and friends, and spending time contemplating deep moral and philosophical issues.

Spirituality vs religion

Many tend to conflate the idea of spirituality with that of organized religion or monotheism, and tend to celebrate this drop-off. But the two aren’t equal and the same; as Dr Christina Puchalski, MD (a keen advocate of healthcare spirituality), puts it, “Spirituality is the aspect of humanity that refers to the way individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and the way they experience their connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred.” This can (and of is) sought outside of a church, a mosque, or a synagogue. One of the most important things we can do as practitioners of spirituality is spreading this word, and ensuring that the broader community is aware of this distinction.

Spirituality is asking ourselves what we want from life on a regular basis. It’s being at least somewhat conscious of our own mortality, and taking steps to live a happy and active life. And above all, it’s a focal point around which one can build a meaningful, connected life with those around us, and an essential tool for extracting the maximum amount of life out of each passing day.

Seeking out success and happiness

Spirituality, for example, can be as simple as meditating on a regular basis. It is no secret that meditation offers a host of benefits to practitioners; most notably, meditation has been associated with clinically lowered incidences of depression, anxiety, and other psychological disorders, as well as lowered blood pressure, heart rate, and general physical health.

Meditation is one of the few areas in which traditional medical discourse is in unanimous agreement. But studies have similarly shown that “spirituality”–as defined in this article–is broadly beneficial to all. After all, how can one attain meaningful success and/or happiness without reflecting somewhat one what it actually means to be successful or happy.

Amelia is part of the content team at The Long Reach and works for various international brands. When Amelia is not researching and writing she loves nothing more than heading out into the country for some downtime. Visit Amelia Evans’ website here.