I agree with Kenneth: Religion can but does not guarantee to lead to spirituality. I noticed that the more people focus on the scriptures and the ‘rules’ of their religion, the more they are taken away from the spiritual path. And the more they focus on their own personal evolution and being a good person, the more they are taken away from religion.

I feel that just pronouncing yourself as a member of a certain religion is taking you away from your spiritual path. By saying: ‘I am a Christian’, you are putting yourself in a box. You are differentiating yourself from everyone who is not Christian. And the same goes for claiming to be part of any other group or movement (Country, religion, sports team, race, … ) It all creates a degree of separation when there is only oneness.

Just the fact that all these religions have become ‘religions’ goes against everything their founders taught. Don’t focus on yourself, fear God,  … . The people who turned these teachings into religions knew very well what they were doing. They turned them into tools to control the masses. And for centuries this worked almost flawlessly.

Now, more and more people are awakening and finding their own path to God and often this doesn’t involve religion. Which is a good thing. There should be diversity, there should be different paths.

You might think I am against religion, but I am not. I think it is neither good or bad. If  a person chooses the path of a certain religion, it all comes down to how he interprets the message. What he does with what he learns is what makes it bad or good.