College student definitions of religiosity and spirituality.

Abstract

Students at four institutions of higher education were invited to participate in a study exploring the constructs of religiosity and spirituality. Utilizing a web-based survey, college students were asked a series of forced-choice and open-ended questions. This study explored four primary areas: (1) how students characterized themselves, using religious and spiritual labels, (2) how they defined the constructs of religiosity and spirituality, (3) to what degree spiritual and religious identities were associated with their perceptions of the social environment, and (4) the relationship between perspectives of the validity of holy writings, self-reported beliefs in a higher power, and personal identification with spirituality and religiosity. The study found that the largest proportion of students self identified as both religious and spiritual (41.5%). Over one quarter of the sample was inclined toward spirituality but not religiosity. A smaller percentage (14.2%) reported being neither religious nor spiritual, and roughly five percent of the sample described themselves as religious but not spiritual. Students identified religiosity and spirituality as different terms that shared common themes. Religiosity was portrayed as practice-oriented activity, with a faith in a divine or supreme being, often conducted within a religious community, that involved regulation of actions and behavior. Spirituality was associated with a faith in the existence of a higher power, a connection with something larger than the individual, and a deeper relationship with God or this higher power. The models constructed to investigate the relationship between spiritual and religious identities and perceptions of the social environment found common predictors for both models: belief in a supreme power, involvement in religious and spiritually oriented activities, the influence of parental religiosity or spirituality, and a conviction that their religiosity and spirituality had been negatively influenced by their collegiate experience. Models constructed to explore linkages between perspectives on holy writings and self-reported beliefs in a higher power with personal identification with spirituality and religiosity also found common elements shared in both models: the belief in a higher power or supreme being, the validity of holy texts, and involvement in religious and spiritually-oriented activities.