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Ever since my spiritual awakening kicked off in 2014, Iโve been walking the long, winding (and sometimes brutal) road of self-discovery. Trying to make sense of this whole human experience thing, I’ve been peeling back layers of trauma, conditioning, inherited beliefs, social programs… all of that good stuff that has become indistinguishable from me.
The more layers Iโve shed, the more obvious itโs become that something deeper is going on. But trying to define that “something” is where things get murky.
Every culture, religion, and philosophy has its own version of the truth, and often, they seem to contradict each other. Each religion has different practices, traditions, structures, and teachers. To the outside eye, you’d think, “Daniel, that’s a dumb question, of course all religions are different, duh!”
But that’s the thing. The more you dig into each religion, follow their doctrines, do their practices, take them seriously, and genuinely want to learn what they’re getting at here… You start to see that they’re really not so different.
So… are all religions the same?
Thatโs what this article is about. After 9 years of living nomadically and diving into some of the worldโs most fascinating spiritual traditions, I want to share what Iโve learned, not just through books or research, but through real-life experience.
What Iโve Learned From Different Religions
One upon a time, I though spirituality was a load of crap. I wouldn’t touch it with a 5-foot pole because I thought the great psychics and mediums of our time were either super detached from reality, excellent con artists, or possibly all of the above. Honestly, I still think that’s the case with many of them.
But in 2014, something happened that cracked my reality wide open. I experienced what I now understand to be a kundalini awakening, and it flipped everything I thought I knew on its head. It was extremely intense and otherworldly, something I still struggle to properly understand.
All I knew was that this wasnโt normal. It wasnโt imagination. It wasnโt just a weird feeling. It was tangible, palpable, the realest thing I’ve ever experienced.
Upon coming out of it, it was like my entire consciousness had been rewired, and for the first time, I could see the potential of my life, not just as a concept or feel-good idea that we’re told by our parents, but as something reachable. I felt inspired in a way I never had before.
A couple of years later, I packed my life into a backpack and hit the road, beginning a nomadic journey Iโm still living today. Since then, I’ve explored some unique spiritual pathways, and continue to do so today.
I have spent time in the shamanic healing space of South America, working with plant medicine communities in the Andes and learning from teachers I deeply respect. Iโve explored modalities like Reiki, breathwork, and sound healing.
Most recently, Iโve been diving into the spiritual roots of Nepal and India, immersing myself in the teachings of Sanatan Dharma, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Next week I’ll be starting an intensive training of Lama Fera, followed by a 10-day Vipassana retreat.
Each religion has taught me different things. I’ve learned love through Christianity, Impermanence through Buddhism, nonresistance through Taoism, and surrender through Islam. I’ve gotten deeper in touch with service, the elements, and healing through Shamanism.
And you know what? Regardless of what religion you follow, these ideas are all probably quite important in it too.
This path hasnโt brought me to the ultimate truth or the correct way to be spiritual. It hasn’t been trial and error, recycling through the garbage while finally finding the truth. That’s because religions are all different teachers, with different messages. In my opinion, we benefit the most, and grow the most, when we hear all these teachers out rather than being selective.
Different Paths, Same Mountain
All religions arenโt the same, and saying they are does a disservice to the uniqueness of each tradition. Every spiritual path has its own worldview, its own rituals, symbols, stories, and teachings. Theyโre born from different cultures, climates, languages, and timelines. They each carry something distinct. They all have truths, and they all have untruths.
From a distance, it’s all a little bit meh. Good in theory, I guess.
But if youโve spent time digging into these different pathways, not just reading but practicing, working with teachers, and embodying the teachings, youโve probably noticed something interesting…
Familiar patterns. Similar messages. Overlapping values and archetypes. After a while, you start to see that many of these traditions are pointing to the same thing, just in their unique ways.
Some call it God. Others call it Source, Brahman, Nirvana, the Tao, Heaven, Totality, Enlightenment… but at their core, many religions seem to be describing the same ineffable reality through different lenses.
If you’ve ever felt like each religion is its version of the same story, a different map to the same spiritual destination, youโve brushed up against the heart of Omnism.
Omnism is the belief that no single religion holds all the truth, and yet all of them contain truth. It’s not about blindly believing everything. It’s about honoring the value in each path, seeing the threads of wisdom that run through them, and recognizing that truth wears many robes and presents itself in different ways.
So… Are All Religions the Same at Their Core?
This is what we ought to be asking.
On the surface, religions can look pretty different. One might worship a personal God, another sees the divine as an impersonal force. One has churches, another has temples or mosques. One has priests, others have shamans, gurus, and monks.
Now, itโs important not to collapse every religion into a single blob of sameness. The differences do matter. They matter culturally, historically, and personally. The stories, symbols, and practices unique to each tradition carry deep meaning for their followers.
But difference doesnโt have to mean division. Omnism doesnโt try to erase those distinctions. Instead, it holds space for them. Just like languages can say the same thing in different words, religions can point to the same truths in different ways.
But when you start to peel back the layers, something fascinating happens. Youโll find a repeating pattern of core values: compassion, humility, selflessness, truthfulness, forgiveness, and love.
The Golden Rule shows up in Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and many others. The call to love your neighbor, serve others, and seek inner peace is practically universal. These common threads donโt mean all religions teach the same thing, but they do point toward a shared human recognition that weโre all connected by something bigger than our individual beliefs.
That, my friend, is wisdom. And all the best teachers I’ve had in my life, regardless of whether they were Hindu or an Indigenous Shuar shaman, felt the same way. These are just paths; stop being so serious about finding the right one, and instead start taking steps forward.
Omnism: All Paths Are Valid in Their Own Ways
Omnism is the belief that truth can be found in all religions. That doesnโt mean you have to follow every doctrine or believe every story. Itโs more about having the spiritual maturity to see the sacred in places others might overlook.
This is an important lesson I learned from the Sadhus of India: you don’t even need to follow an established path or look the part to do this whole spirituality thing right. You just need to show up for yourself and seek connection with something greater than yourself. You can take a path, take all the paths, or create your own entirely.
Omnism is fluid. Itโs a way of moving through life with curiosity, noticing how fragments of wisdom appear in every tradition, from the deserts of Africa to the jungles of South America, to the Dreamtime stories of Indigenous Australia.
An Omnist might meditate like a Buddhist, pray like a Christian, honor nature like a Pagan, and draw inspiration from the Bhagavad Gita.
From an Omnistโs perspective, the names donโt matter nearly as much as the essence behind them. God, Yahweh, Allah, Brahman, the Tao… these are all human attempts to describe the same creative force. Each culture filters the divine through its own stories, which doesn’t mean it’s yours.
So are all religions the same? No. And yes.
Theyโre not the same in form. Their practices, beliefs, and stories differ. But many are the same in spirit. They each hold a piece of the larger mystery. And when we stop arguing over the pieces and start piecing them together, a much deeper truth begins to emerge.
