I am wondering about a certain difference that I perceive between on the one hand Christian and Islamic (I live in Europe, they are most visible here) institutions and more spiritual or occult movements and people on the other hand. I don't necessarily have a prejudice against one or another. The thing is that in my perception the churches and mosques here actually put a lot of effort in helping the disadvantaged like homeless, refugees etc. A lot of volunteers work towards that. It's clear that there is also a lot that isn't as ethical in those groups, but I do believe they are rather honest in that aspect (at least the volunteers are definitely) On the other hand the spiritual and occult side seems to me much more self centered (as in focus on individual growth and almost no helping the disadvantaged) and also more money oriented (like I said, churches are definitely not perfect in this, but they do seem to really help people without asking something in return here, not even going to a service). I do know multiple people within a wide spectrum of spiritual and religious practice and I see this aspect first hand a lot. Interestingly enough I also know a lot of lets say socialist atheïst people and they usually really don't like spiritual and or occult practices for this reason.
Is this something you believe to be true or know the reasons for the way this is perceived this way?
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I am wondering about a certain difference that I perceive between on the one hand Christian and Islamic (I live in Europe, they are most visible here) institutions and more spiritual or occult movements and people on the other hand. I don't necessarily have a prejudice against one or another.
The thing is that in my perception the churches and mosques here actually put a lot of effort in helping the disadvantaged like homeless, refugees etc. A lot of volunteers work towards that. It's clear that there is also a lot that isn't as ethical in those groups, but I do believe they are rather honest in that aspect (at least the volunteers are definitely)
On the other hand the spiritual and occult side seems to me much more self centered (as in focus on individual growth and almost no helping the disadvantaged) and also more money oriented (like I said, churches are definitely not perfect in this, but they do seem to really help people without asking something in return here, not even going to a service). I do know multiple people within a wide spectrum of spiritual and religious practice and I see this aspect first hand a lot.
Interestingly enough I also know a lot of lets say socialist atheïst people and they usually really don't like spiritual and or occult practices for this reason.
Is this something you believe to be true or know the reasons for the way this is perceived this way?