Around 4 in 10 Americans have become more spiritual over time

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Most Americans are spiritual or religious in some way and many also say their spirituality and level of religiosity have changed over time.

But Americans are far more likely to say they have become more spiritual than to say they have become more religious, according to a new analysis of a 2023 Pew Research Center survey.

Some 41% of U.S. adults say they have grown more spiritual over the course of their lifetime, compared with 24% who say they have become more religious.

In contrast, 13% of U.S. adults say they have become less spiritual over time, while 33% say they have become less religious.

The rest say their spirituality and level of religiosity have either stayed the same or fluctuated – sometimes increasing and at other times decreasing.

We asked respondents how their spirituality and religiosity have changed as part of a wider U.S. study that explored the concept of spirituality and how it differs from religion. We did not define the words “spiritual” or “religious” in the survey, nor did we ask whether any changes in spirituality or religiosity were part of a gradual long-term shift, a sudden dramatic one or something else.

However, the broader study did ask respondents to describe, in their own words, what the word “spirituality” means to them. Roughly a quarter gave descriptions tied to organized religion – for example, citing a belief in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit or other elements of Christian theology.

About a third of respondents offered responses that we categorized as “beliefs in something else,” such as belief in a higher power or belief in the unseen or otherworldly.

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