Difference between religious and other belief systems

While religion invariably involves a belief system, not all belief systems are religion. Theism is often confused with religion. However theism isn't always a belief system. Spirituality, which deals in matters of the spirit, usually considered a part of religion, can also be distinguished from religion. Spirituallity may encompass both religious and non-religious practice.

Religious adherents often distinguish religious belief from superstition. Both superstition and traditional religions are non-materialistic, do not see the world as being subject to laws of cause and effect and presume that there are immaterial forces influencing our lives. Both religion and superstition seek meaning in otherwise random and chaotic events. There is, thus, a continuum between what is termed “superstition” and the ideas in animistic religions.