Americans Increasingly Defining Themselves as Spiritual Rather Than Religious: Pew Study

Most of us have met that person who tells us that they’re “spiritual,” not religious.

It used to mean, generally, that they believed in the basic tenets of Christianity but were too lazy to go to church or pray.

But a new Pew Research Center study reveals that more Americans are not just rejecting traditional Christianity; they are defining “spiritual” with concepts that connect more to paganism.

The survey of over 11,000 Americans shows widespread belief in concepts like the soul, the afterlife, and a spiritual realm beyond the physical world. For example, 83 percent said they believe people have a soul or spirit apart from their body.

Strong majorities affirmed belief in broad Christian concepts — 71 percent said they believe in heaven, while 61 percent still believe in hell.

“57% of U.S. adults believe that in the afterlife, people definitely or probably can reunite with loved ones who also have died. Explore our full report on spirituality among Americans here:”  https://t.co/9oVmvwbogE pic.twitter.com/sFwgFrAJbS

— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) December 8, 2023

However, the research also shows that while these broad concepts are still accepted, many Americans are deviating from Biblical concepts of life after death. According to the poll, 46 percent believe the dead can guide the living, and 27 percent of Americans believe in reincarnation.

Roughly one in four U.S. adults also believe that spirits or spiritual energy can live in certain objects, including crystals, jewels or stones.

The main takeaway from the poll was that a growing number of Americans are turning away from Christianity toward “their own mix of spiritual elements.” These people, around 21 percent, referred to as “Spiritual But Not Religious” or SBNR, are more inclined to locate spirituality within the natural world. Roughly seven in ten SBNRs say spirits or energies can be found in nature, compared to less than half of religious and spiritual Americans.

The study confirms earlier ones that show fewer Americans are part of organized religion.

According to Higher Ground Times, in May, the Southern Baptist Convention reported a massive decline in 2022, losing over 457,000 members, erasing decades of expansion.

A Pew Research study published at the end of 2021 also echoes broader Christian erosion found across the U.S. in recent Pew surveys. At the end of 2021, Pew data showed self-identified Christians made up 63 percent of the American population, a significant drop from 75 percent just one decade prior. Over that same period, the share of adults saying they have no religious affiliation climbed to 29 percent, Higher Ground reported.

Part of the reason for this decline in traditional religious faith may be attributed to the shutting down of churches in 2020.

A Gallup Poll released in 2021 revealed that for the first time in the polling organization’s 80-year tracking trend, less than half of Americans claimed membership in a religious institution in 2020.

Another contributing factor could be that, according to the Pew Research study, 42 percent of Americans saw religion as causing division and intolerance.

But the trend has been declining long before then.

A key insight that can be drawn from research on modern spiritual practices is that while a majority of Americans still meditate — most now do so outside of a formal religious context. Nearly half describe their intention as connecting with their “true self” rather than anything divine.

Christian practices like prayer, meditation and repentance cemented moral codes and a relationship with God. Their purpose was humble submission before the higher power at the center of one’s faith.

But today, meditative introspection is often framed as self-empowerment. Everything that once centered on God now centers around the self.

The Bible tells us in the third chapter of Genesis that the serpent tempted Eve to eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil by shifting her focus off God’s sovereignty and onto her desire to have ultimate control: “You will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen 3:5).

Thousands of years later, the game that started in the Garden of Eden is still being played.