This distinction between faith and religion strikes at the very core of spirituality versus organized practice. Especially at a time when I continue to discover a vast number of irregularities and misinformation regarding the truthfulness of religion, it is perhaps time to reexamine what we practise. Faith is, in essence, an individual's inner communion with the divine, while religion often represents a structured system built around that personal experience, or even tangential to it, layered with human-made rituals, symbols, institutions, agendas and—yes—authority. Institutionalized religion has a long history of inventions and falsehoods. Much of these make-believes can be contributed to their verion of the truth which has become the status quo.
Faith is pure, intangible, and deeply personal. It requires no buildings, symbols, laws, or intermediaries. There’s no “branding” or allegiance in authentic faith, just a sincere connection to the "God within." It’s an experience, an unadorned trust that doesn’t need a structured apparatus to validate its existence. Faith, in its essence, isn’t seeking validation at all. It’s a lived experience, a voice whispering in the quietest moments, a strength when strength is least expected. Faith has no name—it’s a connection woven into the very fabric of being. As Paul Tillich wrote, faith is the “ultimate concern”—it lies at the root of all deep belief, undefiled by ornamentation.
Religion, on the other hand, has historically been created and shaped as a societal framework, with all the trappings that come with human construction: a hierarchy, power, rules, a treasury, and, more critically, an authority over followers. Religion can serve many, but it has also been used by those in power to keep people in line, sometimes propagating fear and dictating actions under the pretext of “God’s will.” You could say, it has become politicized or weaponized. Religion often acts as an institution with political influence, replete with taxes, loyalty requirements, or even promises of reward and punishment. These, though often well-meaning, are structures inherently human. They create divisions, naming a chosen people here and a lesser tribe there, constructing barriers to entry, rituals, and rites that, for many, are obligatory for acceptance into the “fold.”
When we discuss conversion from one religion to another, the complexity becomes more evident. If there is indeed one God, what sense does it make to transfer allegiance from one brand to another? Here is where we see religion’s “branding.” The markers of affiliation—whether a cross, a crescent, Star of David, or any other symbol—are like corporate logos. They don’t change the essence of the human soul or our relationship with the divine. Yet they signify membership, often at the cost of allegiance to what might be considered “the other” or “competition.” Conversion is encouraged as if there were exclusive ownership of God in specific pockets of humanity, and somehow switching teams makes one’s connection to the divine more “valid.” But who decided God had different branding across regions and cultures or even language? The answer is as clear as it is inconvenient: humankind did.
From ancient tribal societies to empires that used religion as a unifying force, religious branding has consistently aligned with the authority structures of the time. For instance, as Christianity spread through Europe, it was often not a matter of individual conversion but rather the work of kings or emperors declaring the “official” religion of their state. As historian Karen Armstrong explains in A History of God, religions have historically become intertwined with politics, used to forge societal unity, establish political dominion, or even justify warfare. God did not create religions to divide people or require constant conversion; people, in their bid to define the indefinable and structure the unstructured, did that. Did you know that the very first Crusade was by Christians against Christians? Look up the war against the Cathars.
Faith, true faith, does not come with a label or doctrine but is universal, belonging to no single tradition and yet accessible to everyone. The problem arises when humans demand structures, affiliations, and interpretations and then project those onto the divine. It is like trying to frame the ocean in a cup and then arguing that only the water in their cup is valid, the rest false.
In my perspective, I know that Faith is beyond boundaries, and it exists in the quiet spaces of a person’s heart and soul, where no structure, no authority, no middleman can and should ever reach.
The Gentile!
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