Buddhism, based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama

[GliderGuider]

30. My definitions of spirituality and religion

I've already given my definition of the word "spirituality" in a previous post. However, all things considered, I think the Wiki definition is comprehensive and accords with my own experience:

[div class="excerpt" style="border:solid 1px #000000"]Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop an individual's inner life; spiritual experience includes that of connectedness with a larger reality, yielding a more comprehensive self; with other individuals or the human community; with nature or the cosmos; or with the divine realm. Spirituality is often experienced as a source of inspiration or orientation in life. It can encompass belief in immaterial realities or experiences of the immanent or transcendent nature of the world.
The fact that the definition of spirituality is multi-faceted may be why it's hard to determine exactly what people mean when they use the word.

When I use the word "religion" I mean this (in my own words):

"A group of people organized around a common belief in a god or gods, gathering under the umbrella of a secular organization that is built around that belief; an organization that controls the dissemination of dogma regarding that belief in order to achieve social or cultural goals."

Religion generally has the connotation of an organized system. Again in the worlds of the Wiki-god:

[div class="excerpt" style="border:solid 1px #000000"]Most religions have organized behaviors, including clerical hierarchies, a definition of what constitutes adherence or membership, congregations of laity, regular meetings or services for the purposes of veneration of a deity or for prayer, holy places (either natural or architectural), and/or scriptures. The practice of a religion may also include sermons, commemoration of the activities of a god or gods, sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trance, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture.