- A new survey from the Pew Research Center finds that most American adults say they are spiritual in “some way.”
- But what spirituality means varies from person to person.
- Most people believe that having a connection to something greater than themselves is essential to being spiritual.
While more Americans are distancing themselves from organized religion, many American adults say they are spiritual.
Seven in 10 adults say they are “spiritual in some way,” according to a survey released Thursday by the Pew Research Center.
It’s unclear whether spirituality is on the rise among Americans, whatever that means.
“This is the first time the Pew Research Center has asked many questions about beliefs, practices, and experiences that might be considered spiritual, so whether they are more common today than in the past. , or whether it’s getting fewer, we don’t know,” the Pew report said.
But earlier Pew research found that more Americans are leaving Christianity behind, saying they don’t practice a particular religion or consider themselves religiously “non-religious.” .
To find out what Americans mean when they say they are spiritual, Pew asked survey respondents to explain in their own words what the word meant to them.
According to the Pew survey, 27% of people define spirituality as a belief or faith that is aligned with an organized religion, such as belief in God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, elements of Christian theology, or obedience to religious teachings. It is said that it is defined as having.
A further 24% said being spiritual is a connection to God or their inner self.
Most spiritual Americans (74%) say that what it means to them to be spiritual is essential to “connect with something bigger than themselves.” And 70% said a “connection with God” is essential to what this word means to them.
According to the survey, one in 10 people said the word related to “understanding themselves and guiding their actions.”
“These open-ended responses demonstrate the difficulty in distinguishing between ‘spirituality’ and ‘religion’ and suggest that for many Americans there is no clear dividing line,” the report said. ing.
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