Spirituality, a broad field of inquiry, can be interpreted in many ways. It includes aspects such as the cognitive or philosophic, the experiential and emotional and the behavioral (behaviors such as involvement in religion, prayer, meditation, community service). It often overlaps with religious beliefs and values but can also encompass more universal concepts such as love, connection, meaning, hope and purpose. It also entails experiences and practices that promote inner peace, wellbeing and self-actualization (Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs). The breadth of the concept and lack of consensus on definitions makes it difficult to study it systematically.
A growing number of people identify as spiritual rather than religious, and some who say they are religious describe themselves as more spiritual than active participants in their faith. The vast majority of those who identify as spiritual are not affiliated with any organized religion. In fact, many of those who describe themselves as spiritual are not religious at all and would not call themselves believers in any particular God. They may instead rely on experiences such as meditation, time in nature or quiet reflection to connect with themselves and their spiritual selves.
Research on spirituality is evolving rapidly, but the existing research is mostly descriptive in nature and not designed to measure spirituality. In order to fill this gap, my current research focuses on gaining a better understanding of lived spirituality—how spirituality operates in the day-to-day lives of individuals and communities. This includes the use of qualitative and quantitative methods such as interviews, surveys, ethnographies, focus groups and surveys of archival data.