you’re clashing with someone over religious or spiritual beliefs
How is spirituality different from religion?
Religion is a specific set of organised beliefs and practices,
Respect others’ beliefs
Not everyone has religious or spiritual beliefs, and that’s fine. The important thing is to accept that some people place a lot of importance on this aspect of their lives, and to respect their right to believe whatever they want, even if you don’t agree with them.
Become informed
The first way you can begin to respect different forms of spirituality is to learn about them. Even if you don’t agree with someone’s beliefs or practices, learning more about what they believe, and why, could help you respect their decision to make these beliefs an important part of their life.
Go to the source
There’s a lot of misinformation about spirituality in the community, so learning more about it can help you to gain a better understanding.
Ways you can do this are to:
read a book about spirituality
go to talks and presentations on different forms of spirituality
talk to people who identify as ‘spiritual’ and ask them about their experiences.
Try a different point of view
Though spirituality might not be your thing, it’s worth thinking about why it might work for others. People come to spirituality for different reasons. They may:
not want to adopt an organised religion but still feel they have a spiritual faith
have grown up in a family that followed certain spiritual practices
The bottom line
Understanding more about spirituality might help you to rid yourself of some pre-existing assumptions and inherited prejudices. However, learning more about spirituality doesn’t mean you have to get into it yourself. Spirituality is an entirely personal thing. You should never feel pressured or forced to take it up.
