CV NEWS FEED // As the number of Americans who participate in organized religion continues to decline, a new study reveals a corresponding increase in those who identify with new age spirituality.
In a new survey from Pew Research Center, results indicate that while “in recent decades, Americans have become less likely to identify with an organized religion,” adherence to “belief in spirits or a spiritual realm beyond this world is widespread, even among those who don’t consider themselves religious.”
The study notes a marked “decline in traditional religious beliefs and practices,” to include an additional “drop in the shares of U.S. adults who say they believe in God with absolute certainty…”
The report notes that although it is not necessarily possible to determine whether people are “replacing” their belief in God with belief in spirituality due to “the difficulty of defining and separating those concepts,” statistical results from the polling indicate an undeniable rise in spirituality and troubling predicament for organized religion.
Approximately 48% of Americans said they believe “parts of the natural landscape—such as mountains, rivers, or trees—can have spirits or spiritual energies,” the report stated, adding:
About a quarter of U.S. adults believe that spirits or spiritual energy can reside in certain objects, such as crystals, jewels or stones (26%).
The report continued, “22% of U.S. adults fall into the category of spiritual but not religious.” This demographic indicated they were more likely to “see spiritual forces at work in nature,” expressing belief in “energies” existing in inanimate objects in nature.
Six out of ten Americans said they “spend time looking inward or centering themselves at least a few times a month” in lieu of organized religion.
In addition, approximately one quarter of Americans (26%) expressed belief in objects such as crystals, jewels, or stones having spiritual energies.
