Differences of Religion from Spirituality,

Theology and Philosophy of Religion

 Religion vs Spirituality

• A believer may be religious but not necessarily spiritual. Religiosity refers to

acts of worship a believer follows or practices like sacraments, praying in
the church, joining the religious procession among others.

• While on the contrary, spirituality speaks more of how a believer internalizes

his faith in God. It is more of the believer’s inner disposition to his God.
• Thus, spirituality can be described as one's integrative view of life and
involves a quest for the meaning and ultimate value of life as opposed to
an instrumentalist or materialistic attitude to life.
 Elements of Spirituality

a. Holistic- fully integrated view to life.

b. Quest for meaning- including the purpose of life.

c. Quest for sacred- beliefs about God.

d. Suggests a self-reflective existence.

 Religion vs Theology

• While religion refers to any set of attitudes, beliefs, and practices concerning a
supernatural power—theology involves the systematic study of the existence
and nature of the divine.

• It deals with the study of the nature and purpose of god that may be undertaken
using a particular perspective.

• Theology is a study, not a formulation of religious beliefs.

 Religion vs Philosophy of Religion

• Since religion is a belief in a supreme power and worship of it as the creator

and controller of the universe without reasoning, philosophy on the other
hand, is a pursuit of wisdom by intellectual search and logical reasoning.

• Philosophy of religion questions the very existence of the supreme power or

on sacred texts.
• It seeks to analyse various concepts such as god, spirit, karma, creation,
immortality, heaven, hell, and purgatory, among others. Philosophy of
religion is not a branch of theology but a branch of philosophy.
 Direction: Define the following key terms in
religion.

• RELIGION
• SPIRITUALITY
• THEOLOGY