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Thursday, January 25th, 2024

Around 4 in 10 Americans have become more spiritual over time; fewer have become more religious

Author:     ASTA KALLO
Source:     Pew Research Center
Publication Date:     JANUARY 17, 2024
 Link: Around 4 in 10 Americans have become more spiritual over time; fewer have become more religious
Stephan:  

A very important trend in the U.S. has gotten only a small amount of attention. One of the schisms splitting America into two countries is that a large percentage of the population is becoming less religious and more spiritual. What does that mean? I suggest to you that what it means is this growing “spiritual” movement ought to be thought of less in a religious context, and more in terms of consciousness. These are people who have begun to see all life as interconnected and interdependent. To recognize that humans are part of the Matrix of Consciousness, not something apart from it. This is not about dogmas and scriptures, this is about recognizing, as science is increasingly doing, that consciousness is causal and fundamental. This is why a great number of people have begun to meditate. This is why more people are becoming aware of what climate change is doing to the earth’s ecosystem. It is not so much religious / spiritual, I think it should be understood as religious sectarian / consciousness.

Most Americans are spiritual or religious in some way and many also say their spirituality and level of religiosity have changed over time.

But Americans are far more likely to say they have become more spiritual than to say they have become more religious, according to a new analysis of a 2023 Pew Research Center survey.

Some 41% of U.S. adults say they have grown more spiritual over the course of their lifetime, compared with 24% who say they have become more religious.

In contrast, 13% of U.S. adults say they have become less spiritual over time, while 33% say they have become less religious.

The rest say their spirituality and level of religiosity have either stayed the same or fluctuated – sometimes increasing and at other times decreasing.

We asked respondents how their spirituality and religiosity have changed as part of a wider U.S. study that explored the concept of spirituality and how it differs from religion. We did not define the words “spiritual” or “religious” in the survey, nor did we ask whether any changes in spirituality or religiosity were part of a gradual long-term […]

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