The Dichotomy that never was…nor should ever be

As a student (pre-university), I was introduced to important scientific theories and issues such as ‘Creation vs Evolution’ and ‘Nature vs Nurture’, that presented arguments about which is more responsible for life on earth, and an individual’s social development. I narrowly believed that one was more important than, and independent of, the other. What I much later realized (post-university), in fact, was that their relationships are much more symbiotic, than dichotomous.

Yet another important life issue, ‘Spirituality vs Religion’, has given me reason for analysis. When completing one’s CS profile regarding “religion”, one of the options for your answer is “Spiritual, but not Religious”, and recently, I had cause to ‘discuss’ it in one of my forum threads. There were some rather interesting comments made highlighting aspects of the perceived dichotomy, hence my following attempt at dispelling the popular notion that there is more ‘dichotomy’, than there is ‘symbiosis’, between them.

Just as Evolution cannot take place without there first being Creation and Nature cannot effectively flourish without Nurture, I believe that Spirituality cannot blossom without the influence of Religion.
“Spirituality means different things to different people. For some, it's primarily about a belief in God and active participation in organized religion. For others, it's about non-religious experiences that help them get in touch with their spiritual selves through quiet reflection, time in nature, private prayer, yoga, or meditation (Psychology today).
The Oxford and Merriam-Webster dictionaries agree that “Religion” encapsulates the following:
1. the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.
2. a particular system of faith and worship.
3. a pursuit or interest followed with great devotion.

Both concepts are too closely intertwined to warrant any real separation. But then there never was any…in reality. However, I believe that some may be opposed to ‘religion’ because they perceive it as being the same as, or attached to, ‘denominationalism’. Why?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “Denominationalism” is defined as:
1 : devotion to denominational principles or interests.
2 : the emphasizing of denominational differences to the point of being narrowly exclusive : sectarianism.
Yet another definition (Christianity Essentials) states that “Denominationalism, then, is a devotion to one’s own denomination (“I’m a Methodist and proud of it”) or, more negatively, an emphasis on denominational differences to the point of being narrowly exclusive (“If you’re not a Methodist, then you’re wrong”). The negative type of denominationalism could be called sectarianism, and it is overly divisive. (Got Answers.com)

There is where the real dichotomy lies.

A belief in God, and the nurturing of one’s spirit through His examples and teachings should go hand in hand. Let’s not create, nor perpetuate, divisions where they shouldn’t be.