Hi everyone,
This is another of the points I have been trying to bring out on this forum for years. Here is one more attempt.
In India we have always treated Spirituality as different from Religion. The Gods, temples, rituals, stories, legends and myths are all part of religion.There is actually no word for religion in sanskrit, though it is referred to as Dharam. In Tamil it is called 'madham'.
Samkhya, Yoga, Vedanta and other philosophies are part of Spirituality. In sanskrit Spirituality is called Atma Vidhya.....or literally 'Science of the Self'.
Spirituality is about disciplining our animal nature and bringing out our higher universal nature. This can be done in many ways depending on our personality. People can follow yogic methods, meditations, self inquiry, selfless discharge of responsibilities, rituals or worship and devotion. Or a combination of all of them.
These are individual paths that anyone can choose to follow.
Religion on the other hand is a much bigger institution. It is of social and cultural origin. While at its foundation religions do have spirituality as their goal, they also take on many social, cultural, political and health related aspects. In the absence of civil courts and police, religions had to enforce law and order. They had to prescribe the rules regarding work ethics, marriage, fidelity, parental care, hygiene, charity, non violence...and many other areas.
I have written an article on this subject which you could read if you are interested.
https://tsriramrao.wordpress.com/2016/06/06/spirituality-and-religion/ Thanks & Cheers.
Sriram
