After taking this class, I believe I can now better understand the differences between religion and spirituality. Based on what I've gathered, religion is basically the organized groups that meet at churches, whereas spirituality is more of a state of mind or understanding that can be achieved individually, without the influence of the group. I tend to believe that the religions in which it is customary to bring young children to meetings is wrong, and for lack of a better word a form of "brainwashing" if you will. If an individual is brought by their parents to regular religious gatherings throughout their upbringings, they will be more inclined to favor the practices and beliefs upheld by institutions without question if only because their parents did the same. Rather, I think that people should be raised as independently as possible and encouraged to examine and try to best understand what different religions really stand for until age 25 or so, when the human brain finishes maturing. If people are allowed to grow up without early influences that will cloud judgment, they can achieve true spirituality by drawing their own conclusions. Does anyone else have any comments or thoughts on this topic?
Ryan Wilson
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