What Is a Religious Spirit?

 A religious spirit is a type of demonic spirit that seeks to usurp a genuine relationship with God through pride, deception, and control. In extreme cases, when people operate out of a religious spirit, they attempt to earn salvation. Yet manifestations of this spirit can be more subtle, though no less dangerous. 

This evil spirit has established non-biblical beliefs and customs for generations, though it disguises itself as upholding biblical truth and values. 

We know the enemy is an angel of light attempting to counterfeit any of God’s good and perfect gifts to cause chaos, confusion, shame, and guilt in an effort to gain control. He does this with the work of the religious spirit.

• “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” —2 Corinthians 11:13-14 (emphasis added)

This religious spirit is out to imitate the work of the Holy Spirit. We must be clear that no matter how hard Satan tries to forge the work of the Holy Spirit, he cannot. But he can cause great confusion and deception. The good news is that when you seek to be led by the Holy Spirit, you will be able to identify and deal with this bitter and hypocritical spirit. 

There are a number of trademarks of the religious spirit. But the Holy Spirit has equipped us with God’s full armor. You can identify this spirit and overcome it!

How Does a Religious Spirit Manifest?

A religious spirit can manifest in different ways. It often uses a person’s history and circumstances to afflict internal whispers of judgment and pressure to perform. These infectious lies plant seeds of false righteousness and holiness.

These seeds bear bitter fruit. Eventually, a person operating in the religious spirit harbors resentment, which leads to a multitude of destructive thoughts and behaviors.

Signs and Symptoms 

Let’s look at ways this spirit wages war against the grace, power, and truth of God in a Believer’s life:

• Concerns with outside appearances of being holy and righteous—This spirit deceives those in the Church into thinking that if they act like a Christian, it replaces the need for Jesus in their lives. These are dangerous thoughts. Pride slowly starts to creep in and puffs up the Believer’s thoughts and actions. This blocks the blessing of an intimate relationship with God.  “…God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” —James 4:6
• Indifferent or deceived about Israel—2 Thessalonians 2 warns about a spirit of delusion going out in the earth, that many will love lies and hate the truth. We see this on the world stage as people are divided on Israel– some loving the truth and others loving lies. When professing Christians are propagating lies and refusing truth and understanding about the people of Israel, it is a sign that a religious spirit, through deceptive teachings and doctrines, has a stronghold. “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved…” –Romans 11:25 (emphasis added)
• Attempts to earn God’s love and salvation—Even though a Believer could know the truth of our Savior, this spirit suggests to the mind that they must earn God’s love with their actions. Pressure and insecurity increase, causing feelings of guilt, shame, and doubt. “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, lest anyone should boast.” —Ephesians 2:8-9
• Craves a position of honor in the Church— Closely related to pride, this spirit drives Believers to seek positions in the Church or ministry where they will be recognized and commended. As a result, the Believer becomes isolated, because he or she is more focused on tasks and praise than on honoring God and thinking of others. “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” —Philippians 2:3-4
• Develops a harsh, judgmental attitude toward others—This spirit will skillfully mutter words of judgment toward others in a Believer’s life. This voice will become louder and louder until he or she feels completely justified to place blame and accuse their brethren. This, like the position of honor, isolates the Believer and can blind them to their own weaknesses.  “…First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” —Matthew 7:5
• Becomes rigid and refuses change— A religious spirit rejects any revelation that calls for change. Because of the pride that has crept in, a Believer thinks they know what is best. They are often closed off to any other ideas or thoughts of moving forward when the Holy Spirit begins to speak.   “…He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” —Romans 8:3-4 (emphasis added)

These are only a few ways the religious spirit manifests itself in a Believer. If there is bitter fruit of pride, self-righteousness, anger, and resentment, the religious spirit is actively seeking more ways to cause chaos.

Leaven of the Pharisees

The fruit of the religious spirit is hypocrisy, as Jesus warned: 

• “In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.’” —Luke 12:1 (emphasis added)

The religious spirit appears to be something it’s not. People operating in this spirit can be devoted to God’s Word, seeking it for knowledge, yet refusing to come to God Himself, even as He stands right in front of them. Look what Jesus spoke to the religious leaders of His day, who were missing Him completely: 

• “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” –John 5:39-41 (emphasis added)

They were not willing to come to Him and have life. Religion is lifeless. To discern if a religious spirit is present in a congregation or faith community, consider the fruit:

• Is what is being preached, taught, and lived out leading to spiritual life or spiritual death? 
• Is an intimate walk with the Lord encouraged?
• Is the central focus Jesus, or adherence to a certain dogma or denomination? 

Jesus’ invitation is clear: Come to Him and live. Come to Him and know life as it was meant to be–the hope of His coming Kingdom. God is not boring or distant; He is the Author of Life, love, joy, and your most treasured moments. 

Through Him, we engage in the holy process of transformation–not in our own strength or might, but through surrender and communion with His Spirit. Because He lives, we also live (John 14:19). Anything that denies or blocks His life and true nature is not from Him, and is likely influenced by a religious spirit.

Come to the Living Water | God’s Provision  

In Jeremiah 2:13, God is grieved that His people have forsaken Him, the fountain of living waters. They’ve replaced Him with something else, “broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

The religious spirit is a broken cistern, a counterfeit that leaves us dry, empty, and stuck in our attempts to be godly without God. It cannot hold the waters of life; it is a whitewashed tomb, a form of godliness that denies its power (Matthew 23:27, 2 Timothy 3:5). 

 In John 4, Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well and gives her this revelation:

• “…whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” –John 4:14 (emphasis added)

Through the Holy Spirit, the Fountain of Living Waters comes to live inside you. That is the promise of the Father (Luke 24:49): to know Him and be known by Him. This is true salvation, everlasting life, and what guards us from the counterfeit of the religious spirit. 

In Jesus’ earthly ministry, His greatest frustrations and fury were not at sinners but at religious leaders who were blocking people from a true relationship with Him. Man-made traditions and deceptive interpretations can cause us to be far from God’s heart, and this is what grieves Him most. 

Satan wages war daily to try to separate us from the Father’s heart by any means possible. The religious spirit is one of his most crafty tactics, but through prayer, humility, and a desire for true connection to the Person of Jesus, it can be broken and rendered powerless. 

Prayer for Protection and Deliverance

Even if you’ve been walking with Jesus for years, it can be helpful to regularly pray something like this: 

“Father God, I come to You in the name of Yeshua.

“Yeshua, I come to You to be filled with Your life. I want You more than anything – more than knowledge, position, status, or membership to a particular denomination. My faith is about You, for You, and because of You. I invite You to break out of any boxes I’ve put You in based on my limited understanding or false teachings I’ve been exposed to. I want to know You as You are. 

“May I never fall into the trap of being close-minded because the truth is I can never reach the end of You. There is always more. Please expose and deliver me from any influence of a religious spirit in my life. I throw away my broken cisterns and return to You, the Fountain of Living Waters. I love You and give my heart to You fully. Thank You for the joy and adventure of knowing You and being known by You.

“In Your Holy Name, Amen!”

Putting on God’s Armor

We’re in a spiritual war, and as we give our hearts to Jesus, we choose to be guarded by His armor. We put it on daily, taking our place as warriors in His Kingdom. As Paul spoke in Ephesians:

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  

^“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…” —Ephesians 6:11-18 (emphasis added)

This is how we fight our battles–staying close to Jesus and being guarded by His Word and ways. As we invite Him into our pain, motives, actions, and beliefs, we will become more like Him and be protected from the influence of the religious spirit. 

May the fountain of living waters be at home in you as you pursue God’s heart and are pursued by Him. Know Him and be known by Him. This is eternal, abundant life.