We, humans, are the most distinctive creature on this planet earth. Usually known to be the most superior mammal living, with a brain capacity of more than 10 terabytes. We are people, who live in survival and evolving mode. 

So how to survive when disaster strikes(emotionally as well as physically)? Do we become extinct like the dinosaurs?

Purpose 

• The existence of both practices is to fill the void in our lives.
• They both give the sense of belonging to something.
• These are used as survival and/or evolving tool for human existence.

Differences In Religion and Spirituality

1. Religion sets rules of functioning whereas spirituality sets you free of rules, it is more on looking within.

2. Spirituality works towards finding and realizing the higher self whereas, religion is based on putting faith in an external entity by staying connected with it through worship.

3. Spirituality is much broader, it doesn't have boundaries, you can say it's kind of infinite. On the other hand, religion is a constraint, it has certain beliefs and practices that are conducted based on written rules and limits.

4. When you are religious, it means you are under an authoritative power, while in spirituality, you are the power. It is something similar to, CEO of a company and the content writer of the company.

Spirituality and religion have their own differences. People sometimes are in confusion over this, often ask," isn't religion similar to spirituality, meaning, isn't it the same?"

Well, to understand this we need to go in-depth and read the article slowly.

Definition as per Oxford dictionary

Religion: The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal god or gods.

Spirituality: The quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.

People go to churches and temples to be with the messiah. To feel the sense of support from the messiah. Religious activities are materialistic and their functioning is more of a human/physical approach oriented. 

The human mind is vast. It can store all sorts of information uploaded to it. It starts to store our nursery rhymes from the time we start learning in school until the end of our time when we know, our grandchildren started learning the same. It's a vicious circle, a generation comes and another goes, we want our kids and then their kids to know and stay in this circle of what we know (limit of our knowledge). But, knowledge is vast, humans have to evolve, it's our nature, just like we evolved from apes to humans. So, this is when people with spiritual inclination come as help. Spirituality is "walking your own path", that's how discoveries happen. Every discovery, may it be; school bag, pencil, car, bikes, or broccoli, is evolution. Even god's idols and candles are evolving. Basically, indicating without evolution our gods wouldn't have existed, which eventually leads to religion being a sub-product of spirituality.

Practices Followed

Religion: 

• Rituals- In Christianity, it is Baptism and Eucharist mainly. In Hinduism, it's Puja(worship) and mantra recitation. Islam follows prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. In Buddhism, it's the mantras, chanting, meditation, and offerings.
• Sermons- It is preaching of the holy texts like the Bible, Gita, or Quran.
• Commemoration or veneration( of deities and/or saints)- A service, celebration, etc. 
• Sacrifices- Religion often asks for sacrifices as a form of offering. It may be monetary, commodity, or life sometimes.
• Festivals- Festivals are held for community and social involvement. It is the way to celebrate heritage, culture, and traditions. 
• Feasts- Feasting is a common practice followed by almost every community. It is one of the ways of showing honor to the god or gods.
• Funerary services- This service is given in order to acknowledge that someone has left us and wants the soul to be in peace. 
• Matrimonial services- Matrimony services are held by religious communities, in order to facilitate communion between two people in the presence of members of the religious community as well as non-religious community members in order to seek their blessings.
• Meditation- It is this practice, which is followed by almost all religious communities and non-religious communities. Meditation is the practice of stillness. It is a method to increase concentration and focus.
• Prayers- Prayers are mediums to communicate with god and/or an external entity/or deity. Prayer is however not a ritual, it is incorporated in rituals. We can pray anytime or anywhere we want, be it sitting, standing, walking, or jogging.
• Music/Art/Dance- Cultural programs are held to showcase the idea and spread information on a certain belief system in the form of music, art, or dance.
• Public service- These services are considered a way of serving god. Public services are usually controlled by the government or by the higher management of a religious organization. Services can be in form of education, emergency services, healthcare, health services, public safety, environmental protection, justice, competition & consumer protection, postal services, recreation facilities, preserving historical sites, funding of museums, and cultural events.
• Control - Religion practices the concept of control, by discipline, order, and by following a process of conduct. Thereby, comes as a help when a spiritual person goes out of control. Religion exists in order to make us realize, that we are a human body with limitations, and it is not only spirit.

Spirituality:

• Mindfulness -  Mindfulness is all about being present at the moment and something like, "let's see things take their own course". It is like watching through our third eye what's happening in our everyday life and eliminating the absent-minded condition, we as humans usually suffer from.
• Acquiring knowledge - Spirituality emphasizes on the expansion of knowledge through internal Inquiry, then extending it to external. However, it is more inclined towards the internal way of life. It works towards knowing the unknown, by rising above ego and awakening our inner consciousness.   
• Meditation - It is the practice of concentrating on only one thing or nothing. It is mainly used in spirituality to look within and feel love, peace, and joy.
• Social service - While looking within, a spiritual person needs to look outside too, in order to expand their social dimension of human experience. As a result, Social service is a practice that helps in growth and learning and is often followed by all spiritual people.
• Energy purification - Energy purification is mainly done through the cleansing process. It is the chakra or aura cleansing done by practitioners. 
• Exercise or yoga - Walking, jogging, exercising, or yoga are practices followed by spiritual practitioners for the union of mind-body-spirit. Thereby, uniting all aspects of ourselves.  
• Read books/articles on spirituality - Learning is an integral part of spirituality. As a starter one can read books and articles on spirituality, but keep in mind it's just an individual perspective. Reading books and articles is always a good practice for a spiritual believer. 
• Maintain harmonious relationships - Spiritual people work towards a positive flow of energy all around themselves. Emphasizing on maintaining harmony is a practice followed by them. When love is the innate quality within you, this emotion finds its way into every aspect of life, including interaction with others.
• Work on inner feelings - Spiritual practices works on our inner feelings. Emotions that are not very conducive to our spiritual being are harmful or blocks our path towards our development and wellbeing. We do not control/stop our feelings in spirituality, we simply try to be mindful of it and find a way to overcome it. Finding a way is the goal of spirituality.
• Massage therapy/Reiki/Tarot Reading/Chi practices - These are all spiritual practices followed by practitioners. Usually for energy cleansing and/or wanting to connect to the higher realm. 

Similarities 

1. The inclination of both the practices is towards the higher power. Religion knows it's there and spirituality tries to find it.
2. Both involve meditation as a certain form of practice. Helps with issues, like stress by generating peace and forgiveness. 
3.  Practicing social service/public service is believed by both.
4. Both aim at energy purification. In spirituality energy cleansing is done within, that is through, either chakra healing or chi-practices or reiki. 

Conclusion

Religion is part of spirituality and is not the wholeness. When we identify ourselves as a human with a soul, we follow the path of spirituality, whereas to be part of society as a human only, we opt for religion. Spirituality was the real form of human evolution which has now moved to its split parts like Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Jainism, e.t.c, it is now known as religion.

The purpose of this article is not against, any of the practices because we as humans mix things we learned from the beginning. Incorporate those learned, to gather more knowledge when inclining towards something different and evolving. People who identify themselves as truly spiritual are not entirely spiritual. They too involve commodities and services used in religious practices, for example, candles, incense, attending matrimonial or funeral services, etc. Basically, being a human, we always want to stay connected with our species as well as try to find or know something greater than ourselves. After all, we are all curious humans trying to expand our knowledge, which we started(i.e learning) after a certain time after birth. Let peace, happiness, and love always reside in you, whatever is your practice as a human.