Americans may be stepping away from religion, but their interest in spirituality is way up.
Thats according to a new report from the Pew Research Center, which found that 59 percent of Americans feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being at least once a week, while 46 percent also feel wonder about the universe. These are both 7 percent higher numbers than they were in 2007.
Americans have become less religious in recent years by standard measures such as how important they say religion is to them and their frequency of religious service attendance and prayer, Pew reported. But, at the same time, the share of people across a wide variety of religious identities who say they often feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being as well as a deep sense of wonder about the universe has risen.
Feelings of spirituality are not uncommon for believers in general. As Pew reported, Christians, non-Christians and unaffiliated Americans all feel spiritual throughout the week.
While Jehovahs Witnesses (82 percent), Mormons (81 percent) and evangelical Christians (75 percent) feel the most spiritual every week, about one in three atheists and agnostics also get these feelings, too.
Raising spiritual children can sometimes be difficult today, especially when children are often exposed to secular values and ideas in school and in public arenas, which Kelsey Dallas wrote at length about in May 2015. Dallas spoke with author Lisa Miller, who said its important for parents to raise their children to be spiritual.
"We want our kids to know that sometimes the questions you spend your whole life thinking about are the most important, and that it's OK not to know the answer right away," Miller wrote in her book "The Spiritual Child: The New Science on Parenting for Health and Lifelong Thriving in 2015. Spirituality gives us the space to sit and hold the uncomfortable, to understand moral nuance, ambiguity and our ultimate potential."
Thats according to a new report from the Pew Research Center, which found that 59 percent of Americans feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being at least once a week, while 46 percent also feel wonder about the universe. These are both 7 percent higher numbers than they were in 2007.
Americans have become less religious in recent years by standard measures such as how important they say religion is to them and their frequency of religious service attendance and prayer, Pew reported. But, at the same time, the share of people across a wide variety of religious identities who say they often feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being as well as a deep sense of wonder about the universe has risen.
Feelings of spirituality are not uncommon for believers in general. As Pew reported, Christians, non-Christians and unaffiliated Americans all feel spiritual throughout the week.
While Jehovahs Witnesses (82 percent), Mormons (81 percent) and evangelical Christians (75 percent) feel the most spiritual every week, about one in three atheists and agnostics also get these feelings, too.
Raising spiritual children can sometimes be difficult today, especially when children are often exposed to secular values and ideas in school and in public arenas, which Kelsey Dallas wrote at length about in May 2015. Dallas spoke with author Lisa Miller, who said its important for parents to raise their children to be spiritual.
"We want our kids to know that sometimes the questions you spend your whole life thinking about are the most important, and that it's OK not to know the answer right away," Miller wrote in her book "The Spiritual Child: The New Science on Parenting for Health and Lifelong Thriving in 2015. Spirituality gives us the space to sit and hold the uncomfortable, to understand moral nuance, ambiguity and our ultimate potential."