The Biggest Difference Between Faith And Religion, According To This Religious Scholar

Forty-four-year-old Reza Aslan  has devoted his life to studying the religions of the world, but didn’t need long to come to an eye-opening realization: All of these religions are essentially saying the same thing , albeit using different languages, metaphors and symbols to do it. However, if this is true, then why are so many religions and religious people adamant that there’s only one true path the faithful should follow? Aslan answers this question on OWN’s “SuperSoul Sunday.”

“They confuse the path for the destination,” he says. “They think that religion and faith are the same thing.”

As Aslan explains, there’s a crucial difference between religion and faith that people overlook all too often.

“Faith is personal and mysterious and individualistic and inexpressible and indefinable. Religion is merely the language that you can use to express what is fundamentally inexpressible, to define what is undefinable,” he says.

So, Aslan continues, subscribing to a particular religion need not be such a focal point.

“In a sense, for me, the language that you choose is not that important,” Aslan says. “It’s what you are expressing that actually matters.”

“SuperSoul Sunday” airs Sundays at 11 a.m. ET on OWN, and you can watch full episodes on demand via the Watch OWN app.

Another thought about religion:

Aslan describes religion in one word (no, not “love)