Does using unexplained spiritual elements (soul, "spiritual"/non-physical beings, afterlife, God, etc.) in a story with a futuristic setting make it science fantasy rather than science fiction?
Answer
Is Star Wars fantasy or science fiction? I say fantasy, but they sell it as SF.
So there are stories which meander along the borders. But to categorize your story you should not only ask what it is about. For example it's also important how the story ends.
We are tagging genres to make it easier for the readers to pick what they want. If you sell a romance and it has no happy ending you can really disappoint a whole bunch of readers. A tragedy they wouldn't have picked up.
High Fantasy is often about the eternal fight of Good and Evil. If Evil wins, readers could be disappointed. They don't expect (and probably do not want to read) such an ending when picking up this genre.
When you are in doubt about your genre, ask your test readers. Often their distant point of view can clarify this issue more easily.
Or look at the books you read yourself and ask to which of them your book is most comparable to. Then use the genre of that book.
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