Religiosity and Spirituality of German-Speaking Pilgrims on the Way of St. James

The article examines the intensity and structure of religiosity and spirituality of German-speaking foot and bicycle pilgrims on the Way of St. James within the framework of a multidimensional model of religiosity. The following nine aspects are distinguished: religious questions, faith, religious and spiritual identity, worship, prayer, meditation, monistic and dualistic religious experiences. Data of N=425 German-speaking pilgrims of the Way of St. James from the years 2017 and 2018 are analyzed. The data of the Religion Monitor 2017 from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (N=2837) serves as a population-representative comparison sample. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and multiple regression analyses are used to analyze and to compare the two groups. The results show that German-speaking pilgrims in the analyzed sample have substantially higher values on all dimensions of religiosity than the general population in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. This difference is most pronounced in the spiritual self-concept. However, for most pilgrims, the categories religious and spiritual are not mutually exclusive. Rather, spirituality forms a basis shared by almost all pilgrims in the sample, to which religiousness is added for many. Further, results are discussed in the light of the existing foot and bicycle pilgrimage research. Conclusively, it can be said that tourism and church actors should consider the religious character of pilgrims, which remains despite all changes in the religious landscape.

Shifts in Spiritual and Religious Self-Perceptions in the First Year of College

This study draws on an original national and longitudinal survey to examine patterns and predictors of change in religious and spiritual self-perceptions among over seven thousand college students in their first year on campus. The chapter identifies the personal characteristics, institutional contexts, and collegiate experiences that shaped students’ perceptions of themselves in relation to religion and spirituality. Twenty-eight percent of first-year students changed their self-perception in the first year of college; a switch to “spiritual but not religious” was the most common type of change. The study illuminates parallel reactions to religious and spiritual descriptors among certain groups. For example, both atheists and evangelical Christians were less likely than mainline Protestants to adopt the “religious but not spiritual” and “spiritual but not religious” labels. Lived experiences in the first year of college made a notable impact on students’ self-perceptions of spirituality.

Religious Self-Identification and Culture—About the Role of Religiosity in Cultural Participation

Culture has its source and anchoring in religion, but the presence of religious values in social life takes place in terms of culture and through culture. Religiosity plays a key role in defining the boundaries of cultural differences, and this paper raises questions as to the extent, ways and environments where religiosity may influence active cultural participation. The research paper attempts to identify the impact of religiosity on such activities. This involves determining which dimensions of religiosity should be distinguished and are most relevant for cultural participation in Poland. The study showed that religiosity influences cultural participation, but ambiguously. Religious self-identification and spiritual self-identification turned out to be the most significant factors. Religiosity is relevant for cultural participation, but mainly when it is a significant element of individual identity.

FROM BIOPOLITICS TO THE PRECARITY OF COMMODIFIED BODIES, OR THE APOGUE OF PERFORMANCE

The article presents a philosophical study of the social, political, legal, labor, cultural and anthropological status of a person in modern conditions of informatization, economic liberalism, limited employment, post-democracy, visual culture and a pandemic. The growth of the precariat is regarded as a catalyst for the movement of opposite vectors: the activities of the power and the performative actionism of political subjects. As the optimal integrative tactics of a person of late capitalism, his bodily and spiritual self-exploitation is considered.

The Mediating Effect of Spiritual Well-Being and Quality of Life for Persons with Parkinson’s Disease in Northern Taiwan

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD), a degenerative disease with irreversible motor dysfunction, impacts patients’ quality of life (QoL). Spirituality can provide a sense of hope and meaning when individuals are faced with adverse life events, such as a diagnosis of PD. However, few studies have examined the relationship between spiritual well-being and QoL for persons with PD. Objective: To explore the relationships between the disease characteristics, spirituality and QoL for persons with PD, and verify the mediating effects of spirituality on the relationship. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited patients with PD (n = 110) by convenience sampling from a neurological clinic in northern Taiwan. Variables were measured using the Spirituality Index of Well-Being Chinese version (SIWB-C) and the 39-item Parkinson’s disease Quality of Life Questionnaire Chinese version (PDQ-39-C) self-report questionnaires. Descriptive analysis and linear hierarchical regression were conducted to examine the studied variables and explore the mediating effect of spiritual wellbeing. Results: Those whose scores were significantly better in PDQ-39 were younger, employed, with shorter disease duration and less severe condition with better functioning on their early stages and lower LEDD; additionally, those who had better quality of life also experienced better spiritual wellbeing than the counterparts. The regression model demonstrated spiritual self-efficacy had mediating effects between disease characteristics and QoL, explaining 69.8%of the variance (adjusted R 2 = 65.3%). Conclusion: The results can be the references for future strategies and interventions, focusing on increasing spiritual self-efficacy and reducing the impact of disease severity to improve QoL for persons with PD.

Spiritual Resilience and Transactional Analysis Model – Holistic Paradigm for Facing a Global Crisis

Faced with the challenge of Covid pandemic, the world will change its existence forever. In such circumstances of the common global crisis, humanity will form new narratives between suffering and survival. From the positioning to this experience, it will depend on whether it will remain a trauma or the deepest inner resources will be activated by building “new personal relationships” on a transpersonal level, and by forming a new alliance, versus the current alienation from nature and the planet. Spiritual resilience is the dimension of the overall mental framework, besides the cognitive, emotional and neurobiological one. This paper postulates the preventive, co-creative, and salutogenic capacity of this essential potential of one’s spiritual self even in the most painful and stressful life events. It offers the models based on Christian psychotherapy and Transactional analysis in re-emerging one’s inner power in forming adaptive coping mechanism and well-being. Within the TA we operate with the classical approach and two dimensions: intrapersonal and interpersonal and in the domain of spiritual TA- transcedental level regarding the cor self. Christian psychotherapy offers the union of the Holy Eucharist as a pastoral dimension of unity and the individual ascetic discipline through the FCP Method. Expanding the frame of reference – from the narrow anthropocentric to the wider and unlimited theocentric model – such a holistic approach can be successfully applied to all organized forms: family, organizations, and global community, thus creating a strong, aware, and compassionate society.

Translation and Validation of the Spanish Version of the Spiritual Care Competence Questionnaire (SCCQ)

We aimed to validate the Spanish version of the Spiritual Care Competence Questionnaire (SCCQ) in a sample of 791 health care professionals from Spanish speaking countries coming principally from Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Spain. Exploratory factor analysis pointed to six factors with good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha ranging from 0.71 to 0.90), which are in line with the factors of the primary version of the SCCQ. Conversation competences and Perception of spiritual needs competences scored highest, and Documentation competences and Team spirit the lowest, Empowerment competences and Spiritual self-awareness competences in-between. The Spanish Version of the SCCQ can be used for assessment of spiritual care competencies, planning of educational activities and for comparisons as well as monitoring/follow-up after implementation of improvement strategies.

Evidence for the Brief Mysticism Scale: Psychometric Properties, and Moderation and Mediation Effects in Predicting Spiritual Self-identification

How are mystical experiences related to self-rated spirituality? Is the recently developed short 8-item version of Hood’s (1975) Mysticism Scale an efficient measurement? The current study expands evidence for both questions using N = 1,582 American and N = 1,492 German samples measured in three waves, average 4 to 5 years apart. Results show that the 8-item brief M-Scale has good psychometric property evidenced by 1) measurement invariance across time, and 2) good test-retest reliability. Results further demonstrate that the 8-item brief M-Scale 3) moderates the effect of self-rated religiosity on self-rated spirituality, and 4) mediates the prediction of self-rated religiosity on self-rated spirituality over time. We conclude that the M-Scale can be used as a measure for self-attributed spirituality and that the 8-item brief version of the M-Scale can be used, when questionnaire length is an issue.