Ritual and spiritual are interrelated concepts. A ritual is followed due to some knowledge and belief. That knowledge or the belief is spirituality. Spirituality also leads to the birth of some rules and regulations to keep the future generation people believing the theory. So here are a few differences between the ritual and spiritual.
Ritual vs Spiritual
The difference between the ritual and spiritual is that the ritual is the practice or the habit, and on the other hand the spirituality is a belief that exists in a person’s mind. These are somehow related to each other. The practice emerges from the belief and is maintained with discipline.
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Ritual is a habit or routine that is followed by a group of people from a long back period. The habit of a group of people later in time becomes a ritual to the followers of that group of people. In this way, the concept of ritual is developed.
Spirituality is the belief in the spirit of the soul. This soul is related to many beliefs and is so believed. Some people relate the soul with God. For them, spirituality is related to religious belief. Some group of people believes that the soul or spirit is the ultimate power of our mind. For them, the spirit is related psychologically.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Ritual | Spiritual |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Latin word ritualis | Old French Word espirit |
| Definition | This is a habit or routine | This is the thinking or the perspective of visualizing something |
| Nature | This can be the same for a group of people | This maybe the same for some but that is very rare |
| Practiced by | People of the same groups, society, religion etc | People of the same belief, religion, etc. |
| Goal | All rituals practiced for a certain reason are the same. | The ultimate goal of spirituality maybe same or differ from person to person. |
What is Ritual?
The word Ritual is originated from the Latin word ritualis, which means custom or social norm. The social norm is the rules and regulations developed and believed by many generations of that society. These social norms or rituals differ from society to society and region to region. The rituals are generally adopted from the senior people of a society.
Ritual is a habit or routine that is followed by a group of people from a long back period. The habit of a group of people later in time becomes a ritual to the followers of that group of people. In this way, the concept of ritual is developed. There are many types of rituals like birth rituals, wedding rituals, death rituals, rice ceremony rituals, etc. these are some common rituals around the globe.
The rituals also develop from the belief of people. Some rituals are also related to religion. People belonging to different religions have different customs and rituals followed. But it is amazing to see that the rituals followed by them are for the same aim or goal. For example, after the death of a person, the death rituals followed by different groups may be different, but their aim is the same, that is, for the peace of the departed soul.
What is Spiritual?
The word spiritual is originated from the Old French word spirit, which means the soul or spirit related. The soul or spirit is the non-physical part of a living being. Some people believe that it is the psyche part of the living being which comprises the senses, feelings, thinking capacity, memory, etc.
Spirituality is the belief in the spirit of the soul. Some people relate the soul with God. For them, spirituality is related to religious belief. Some group of people believes that the soul or spirit is the ultimate power of our mind. For them, the spirit is related psychologically.
Spirituality was believed in ancient times. A group of people thinks that the spirit is God. As God is not physically seen, similarly, the spirit is non-physical, so they believe that when the soul departs from the body, it achieves a place nearer to God. This belief led to the formation of God like in Islam, Mohammad, in Christianity, Jesus, in Buddhism, Lord Buddha, etc., which led to the molded form of a person who is considered God. Another group of people believes that spirituality is the highest power of the mind. It is the personal growth, betterment of oneself, positive thinking capacity, etc.
Main Differences Between Ritual and Spiritual
- Ritual is a habit or practice by some people which is followed by thereafter generations. On the other hand, spirituality is the belief in the spirit or soul of a person
- The word Ritual is originated from the Latin word ritualis, which means custom or social norm. On the other hand, the word spiritual is originated from the Old French word spirit, which means the soul or spirit related.
- The ritual can be the same for a certain group of people, like people of the same region, society, state, or even for a family. On the other hand, spirituality may be the same for a group of people but also may differ between them regarding some theories.
- The nature of ritual is that it led to the birth of some rules that are strictly followed. On the other hand, spirituality does not have any hard and fast rules and is believed by people on their own.
- The ultimate goal of a ritual is the same though practiced in different ways in contrast to spirituality which mostly differs from person to person.
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/3269623
- https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/02683949410070142/full/html
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Chara Yadav holds MBA in Finance. Her goal is to simplify finance-related topics. She has worked in finance for about 25 years. She has held multiple finance and banking classes for business schools and communities. Read more at her bio page.
