Approximately 70 percent of U.S. adults can be considered “spiritual” \ stacker news ~culture

Approximately 70 percent of U.S. adults can be considered “spiritual”

119 sats \ 3 comments \ @roytheholographicuniverse 4 Jan culture

And apparently roughly four-in-ten Americans meditate at least a few times a month. That seems higher than I would expect.

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/12/07/spirituality-among-americans/

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45 sats \ 2 replies \ @pi 6 Jan

I cannot find a satisfying, objective definition of "spiritually." When I read definitions likethis one, I cannot stop wondering “What do they even mean?”

Some define spirituality as beliefs or experiences connected with the supernatural: “something beyond” humans or beyond the material world. Others think spirituality also can be about looking inward into the depths of the self, or about feeling connected with other humans, other creatures or nature.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @roytheholographicuniverse OP 8 Jan

Very valid. I thought the survey attempted to do a decent job getting at "spirituality" for those survey respondents.

They note: "For all these reasons, we did not begin this research project with preconceived definitions of spirituality or religion. Rather, we took a practical or functional approach, posing a series of questions to a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults:

Do you think of yourself as spiritual? (Yes or No) Do you think of yourself as religious? (Yes or No) How important is spirituality in your life? (Very, Somewhat, Not too, or Not at all important) How important is religion in your life? (Very, Somewhat, Not too, or Not at all important)

We also posed a follow-up question to those who think of themselves as spiritual or who say spirituality is very important to them, presenting a list of 10 possible aspects of spirituality and asking them to say which ones are essential to them.

And, we asked all the survey respondents, no matter how they labeled themselves, to tell us in their own words what “spiritual” means to them.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @roytheholographicuniverse OP 8 Jan

To further gauge how Americans think about spirituality, the survey asked those who are spiritual whether each of 10 items is “essential,” “important but not essential,” or “not important” to what being spiritual means to them.

Most spiritual Americans say “being connected with something bigger than myself” (74%) is essential to what being spiritual means to them, along with “being connected with God” (70%) and “being connected with my true self” (64%).

Many also say “being open-minded” (53%), “being connected with nature” (43%), “following a religious faith” (40%), “being connected with other people” (39%) or “finding a set of beliefs that I make for myself” (39%) are essential to being spiritual.

Fewer spiritual Americans say “being connected with loved ones who have passed” (31%) or “continuing family traditions” (27%) are essential to what being spiritual means to them.