Conceptual overlap of spirituality and religion: An item content analysis of several common measures

ABSTRACT

Despite growing usage of the term “spirituality,” there is no agreed upon operational definition for the term, and measures of the construct vary in content. The following research analyzed several common measures of spirituality. In Study 1, 70 participants rated items on common instruments for spirituality and religiosity. Items containing the word “God” were more related to religiosity and less related to spirituality. In Study 2, 256 participants responded to the same surveys, and a principal components analysis was conducted. Four factors were derived, with one pertaining to religiosity, two to spirituality, and a fourth composed of difficultly worded items.

KEYWORDS:

• Spirituality
• religion
• methodology