I have been raised Catholic. Still, I was very curious about not only Catholicism but also all other religions since I can remember. I started to question the Catholic church and its doctrine at the age of 16 and went on a spiritual quest. Since these were pre-Internet times and I lived behind the iron curtain, my information was very limited. Therefore, I just read all the religious and religious study texts, and a few books on spirituality I could lay my hands on.

And that is how I discovered Buddhism. In comparison with the Polish, restrictive version of Catholicism, Buddhism looked like a completely open-minded and free-thinking mindset — it did not even look like a religion but more like a philosophy. And most importantly, it aligned with my deep inner knowing of basic concepts such as reincarnation, animals having souls, and karma.

That is why I was a devoted member of the Buddhist community from 21 to 35. After trying out different kinds of meditation, I discovered Soto Zazen, and have spent countless hours in Zazen meditation — at home, in various dojos, in retreats and in Zen monasteries (where I lived periodically). These years taught me a strict spiritual discipline and provided me with marvelous spiritual tools I could never do without — such as meditation, mindfulness and breathwork.

Although I never grew as disappointed and disillusioned with Buddhism as I did with Catholicism, as the years passed, and I progressed on my spiritual path, I grew disenchanted not only with Buddhist doctrine but also with its practices.

That would be all as far as my religious adventures. And now let me share the biggest differences I happened to spot between religion and spirituality, and share why I chose the latter.

The most conspicuous difference is obviously the external guidance. In all the religions (and cults) there is a middle man and often also a book telling you what to do to get closer to the Divine. Whereas spirituality places an individual at the center of their universe, thus making them the only judge and the ultimate decision maker. Thus, spirituality is empowering and teaches you responsibility and accountability, instead of obedience and blind faith.

Another crucial difference between religion and spirituality is that the former tells people to do good, because they should be afraid of sin, bad karma, God’s punishment, hell, etc. I choose to believe that the vast majority of people do good out of the genuine goodness of their hearts. That being said, spirituality leaves you much more freedom and choice about how to follow your heart and do good.

Religions are stuck in their ways and traditions, whereas spirituality is an ever-evolving and self-actualizing path that literally develops before your very eyes. And since there is no limitation of a doctrine or guru, there is no cap to what you can achieve in your never-ending spiritual growth.

And finally, the easiest difference to detect. All religions (and cults) believe they are the only righteous path, while spirituality acknowledges and honors everyone’s paths.