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Fun Fact: Did you know that approximately 61 million people died in 2023? 

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Death and dying affects all of us every single day. Whether it's losing a pet or a loved one for billions of years "beings” have experienced losses in their life causing us to experience feelings such as grief, sadness, confusion, denial, and other emotions. Getting into the topic of death and dying can be a bit tough and scary, but it is absolutely a necessary topic to discuss in all matters.

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Fun Fact: 72% of the world's population believe that there is a god?

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Spirituality and Religion plays a huge part in death and dying in all people. Billions of people around the world follow some form of religion or spirituality.  Spirituality and religion are often seen as a comfort for a lot of people to put their mind to ease as they go through their daily life or at their time of dying. It is known and seen by many that at the time of dying most people tend to become very religious or spiritual because they fear what will come next in what is known as the afterlife.

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Fun Fact: Approximately 2.4 billion people in the world are Christian and approximately 1.39 billion people in the world are Catholic.

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The religions catholicism and christianity began in 30CE. To this day religion is talked about daily with all cultures and countries. The history of christianity and catholicism plays a huge part in death and dying. When a loved one dies and they are religious they will often have a christian or catholic funeral. That is only one of the big roles that religion plays a part in in death and dying. There are many talks about what happens after we die in religion. There's something called heaven and hell in religion and the number one goal in christianity and Catholicism is to get to heaven. Heaven is known as god's kingdom where you will be with god after you die. Heaven is known to be a sacred holy place that all “good” people enter when they die. Hell is a place that all christians and Catholics don't want to be. Hell is known as a place of suffering for all the “bad” people in the world, not only including the ones who believe in christ. It is often said and told that all people who do not follow the word of god will burn in hell for all eternity. There is also something called purgatory in the catholic religion. Purgatory is known as not being heaven or hell but right in the middle. It is known as a place for sinners to have their sins forgiven so they are given a chance to reach heaven. This philosophy has been a controversy for millions of years. People who are religious worry that they won't make it to heaven daily in fear that they will suffer for eternity in hell. This is why oftentimes religious people will attend church every Sunday to honor the lord and be a “good” catholic or christian. In the catholic culture babies are often baptized at birth so all sin is forgiven in their time of dying. As for christians it is very different. Christian will get baptized when they feel as though it is their time to get baptized. No matter what religion will always be a strong part of death and dying and oftentimes a coping mechanism.

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Fun Fact: 7 in 10 U.S. adults describe themselves as spiritual in some way, including 22% who are spiritual but not religious.

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Spirituality is often a route that people take when they are unsure about God or being religious. People who are spiritual believe in many positive factors in life and believe that we come to this earth with a purpose. The talk about after life is the light at the end of the tunnel for people who practice spirtuality. What is after life? After life is the continued existence in some form after psychological death. This could mean coming back as your spirit animal or coming back to earth as another human being. During your time of death it is often talked about how people who practice spirituality see the light at the end of the tunnel and people believe this refers to the tunnel of after life. This is said to bring many people to ease during this time of dying. Knowing that you are just a being inside of a body can open a lot of windows for you as a spiritual person. It's fun and exciting to think about who you once were in your previous life. People who practice spirituality often ask themselves questions like “What was my life like in my last life?” “have I made connections with my soulmate from my past life?” “I wonder what I will be in my next life when I pass on”. These questions leave people truly thinking about the life that they once lived in the past. People who are spiritual have many theories about how they became the person that they are today. One theory that I personally speak about with my friend is what I like to call the linked souls theory. I believe that the reason we look the way we do and our interests are linked from each of our past lives. For example, I got my big eyes from one of my past lives and my body shape from another one of my past lives. I enjoy antiques because in one of my past lives I also had a passion for antiques. It may seem confusing but the more you speak amongst your peers the more it may be something you believe.  There is also the talk about how after our loved ones pass away, they will always be with us in spirit as our spirit guides and guardian angels. The belief of higher above like spirit guides is present in spirituality. Talking with your spirit guides when you are in need is always welcome.

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Fun Fact: Both spirituality and religion revolve around faith.

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Similarities & Differences Between Religion & Spirituality

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Similarities & Differences Between Religion & Spirituality

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There are many similarities and differences between religion and spirituality. Some similarities between spirituality and religion are that they believe that our angels protect us always. This means that both parties believe in guardian angels and the protection that they bring to us. Another similarity is how they believe that there is something amongst themselves such as a higher power. A third similarity would be that both spirituality and religion can help bring us out of a dark place and help us seek into the light. We will now talk about the differences between spirituality and religion. Religion often has religious rituals, the belief in god, rules and consequences to follow, the bible, religious holidays, certain places to worship such as the church, etcetera. Spirituality is completely within yourself, having a sense of peace and purpose, and anyone can participate in the practices of spirituality. Even with the similarities and differences it's important to remember to respect all beings no matter what they practice.

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Fun Fact: Archangel Michael is seen as a protection angel against all evil spirits and demons in both spirituality and the catholic religion.

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My Personal Experiences With Religion & Spirituality

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My Personal Experiences With Religion & Spirituality

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Since I was a babyI have always been a Catholic. I remember when I was just one years old I went to go get baptized at a beautiful Church in Los Angeles. Since then I had my Confirmation when I was just 16 years old. I am a true follower of God and I believe in many Saints such as Joan of Arc. She was the same that I chose when I was confirmed as a Catholic Joan of Arc is seen as a fighter  and a protector she served for God before she was burned at the stake. I have experienced many types of spiritual callings as I may say I have died and went to the afterlife and one of my dreams I have experienced the Holy Spirit which is also known as the holy touch. I believe in guardian angels and I know that there is always good protecting me. As I got older I started practicing spirituality as well I always think about afterlife and who I will be once I die or will I go to heaven and be with God in his kingdom I am what I call a spiritual Catholic I practice both religions and I always have respect for others peoples choices in their religion. I know that I was put on this Earth for a reason. I am a being inside of this body that the universe and God has chosen for me and I am here on Earth to accomplish my goals and enjoy this lifetime before I go to the next life. I know that there will always be light at the end of the tunnel no matter what happens to me after I die. I know that I have good spirits with me and I know that God is always with me.

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Fun Fact: There will always be light at the end of the tunnel.

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Death may be something that we all fear but there is always one thing that we cannot fear and that is the good things in the little life that we have do not fear evil because good is always within you when you think positively good things happen to you when you manifest only the greatest power for yourself good things happen to you. Live this life like you would live any life happy, grateful, fulfilled, sad, angry, happy, but always remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We fear death because we don't know what happened next we don't know what comes next the fear of being away from our loved ones is something that people struggle with everyday it can be scary leaving this Earth not knowing where you're going to go not knowing  if your family members are going to be okay without you not knowing if you are going to be okay. This is something that we all share. It can be scary leaving this Earth with the great unknown ahead of you. You never know when it might be your last day here on Earth or your last hours or your last couple of minutes but always live life to the fullest no matter what. worrying about death is like worrying about stubbing your toe all the time and how often do you ever worry about stubbing your toe? so in conclusion don't live life fearing death. don't worry about what comes after you die. Don't worry if your family members will be okay without you, it's just a part of life And this is the way it will always be for eternity.

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More Prone to Believe in God than Identify as Religious. More Likely to Believe in Heaven than in Hell. (2023, April 12). https://www.gallup-international.com/survey-results-and-news/survey-result/more-prone-to-believe-in-god-than-identify-as-religious-more-likely-to-believe-in-heaven-than-in-hell#:~:text=More%20people%20believe%20that%20there,10%25%20are%20not%20sure.

Ritchie, H., Mathieu, E., & Roser, M. (2024, February 9). How many people die and how many are born each year? Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/births-and-deaths