Religion and Spirituality

[FloridaJudy]

When I tell people that AA is a spiritual program, but not a religious one, I almost always get asked "What's the difference?" I'm tempted to answer that "Religion is for people who are afraid of going to hell: spirituality is for those of us who've been there", but a wiser man than me defined it very well:

I believe there is an important distinction to be made between religion and
spirituality. Religion I take to be concerned with belief in the claims to
salvation of one faith tradition or another--an aspect of which is acceptance of
some form of meta-physical or philosophical reality, including perhaps an idea of
heaven or hell. Connected with this are religious teachings or dogma, ritual,
prayers and so on. Spirituality I take to be concerned with those qualities of the
human spirit--such as love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness,
contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony, which bring happiness to
both self and others.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

I'm memorizing this, along with "How it Works"

[varkam]

1. Most excellent

:thumbsup:

[Kajsa]

2. Then to confuse matters more,

there are places that combine both.

I found one.

:)

The Dalai Lama quote is excellent, Judy.