Is religion important to understand spirituality?

We are all spiritual beings trapped in a physical body. Religion perhaps is the organized attempt to find God.Isn't it funny how those who look for God find someone to help them? Religion is not needed unless you want a social activity with a bunch of rules from those who like to control your thoughts and actions.

I'm incredibly spiritual, but not religious in the slightest. Organised religion seems to narrow to me. Spirituality is fluid and indefinable, too much so to be pinned down by rules and regulations. I think it's better to have ideas that can change and feel your spirituality, rather than pay lip service and subscribe to the "I'm right and you're wrong" mentality. That said, if organised religion helps some people then it's a good thing, I'm not knocking that. It's not for everyone though and I wish people were more tolerant of others' right to believe.

I am spiritual (I believe in the existence of the spirit as part of the psyche) but not religious. Religion and religious dogma and rituals were created and enforced by man, spirituality simply IS. Is is our connection to another plane of existence, I would say. You do not have to believe in a higher power or that you have to be bound by rules or worship anybody simply because you embrace your spirituality, although I'd say for the most part, anybody who is religious will claim they are also spiritual. The basis for most religions is in the spiritual world ie, higher powers. I have to say I am more likely to be drawn to someone who claims they are spiritual and not religious rather than someone who defines themselves as religious first. I actually believe it is more important to realize that we all have a spiritual side and to contemplate that reason and how it benefits us as a whole rather than to contemplate religion. They ARE linked, but they are separate things.