Spirituality vs. Religion

By all outward appearances it would appear as though spirituality and religion are intertwined—as though the two concepts develop mutually when both give a little and take a little. Spirituality and religion have a truly unique relationship, which begs for a clear distinction between the two terms, because spirituality is a key component in the survival of a religion but a formal institution is not necessary for the conditions ripe for spiritual growth.
Religion, as it is known today, is the name given to a variety of structured organizations known not only as an environment rich with spirituality, but a community hub, filled with some very non-transcendent practices such as the recognition and enforcement of ever-changing moral codes and the tendency to see ones own metaphysical perspectives as absolute and all the others as obsolete. Ironically a good number of religious organizations are similar in the manner that they all agree upon one fact…that the other guys are all wrong in their assumptions. Once subject to thought detached from the years of emotional conditioning, the groups start to appear as very human creations; embarrassingly non-transcendent human created social-organizations capable of both clothing the naked and shooting them in the head. And the reason why they have survived all these years is that they summon a force arguably innate within all that is: spirituality.
For years spirituality has been written-off as a side-effect of ecclesiastical forces. But when one looks at the beliefs summoned from institutionalized rituals and practices they soon bear a great deal of noteworthy similarities at their core that imply that all religions have the same foundation. The foundation based on the recognition that everything is connected and the asking of deep questions with the assumption made that there is more to the world than a rational mind will exclusively allow for is a very human practice which naturally follows considering our curiosity. George Carlin described the situation best: “Some time ago I figured out with the help of some reading that I can’t recall now that, if it’s true that we’re all from the center of a star, every atom in each of us from the center of a star, then we’re all from the same thing, and even a coke machine or a cigarette butt on the street in Buffalo are made out of atoms that came from a star. They’ve all been recycled thousands of times as have you and I. So, if that is true, and I am everywhere in the universe, in an extended sense, and therefore, it’s only me out here, so what is there to be afraid of? What is there that needs solace-seeking? Nothing. There’s nothing to be afraid of, because it’s all us. So, I just have that as a backdrop, and I don’t have to go to it or think of it consciously. I’ve kind of accepted the idea that I’m perfectly safe and that life, nature, have waves and troughs, ups and downs, left and right, black and white, night and day, fall and winter, positive and negative. Everything has an opposite. If I have a bad time, I’ll have a good time coming. If it’s a good time, I’m prepared to have a bad time to sort of pay for it. So, nothing really upsets me. The trouble is, we’ve been separated from being that universe by being born we’ve been given a name and an identity and being individuated and separated from the oneness, and that’s what religion exploits…and I think that’s cruel.” The center of the mandala of life is the same. Go down to the deepest level and we are all the same. We are all one. This is the basis of spirituality. The comforting knowledge in the face of the many adversities that befall us that in the end everything is from everything else, and we shouldn't be afraid of losing control of our lives, we shouldn't be afraid to die when we are the universe.
Recognizing this we can become more tolerant of each other and realize that we are all the passengers of the same boat, that our situation--while different on its surface--is in its essence the same. Recognizing that fact will bring greater appreciation of the superficial differences by which nations are built upon; upon which religions attempt to describe. The evolution of belief will certainly place a much more significant emphasis on direct mystical realization than distant second-hand accounts capable of providing only the mild comfort of the notion of an afterlife. Unified, the human will begin building a house rather than gazing at a blue-print.