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.