Those who do not participate in religious or spiritual matters, including not believing in a higher power, not attending religious services and not participating in religious activities such as praying.
pro-social behavior
Used to describe those who are more likely to take actions such as performing favors for others or expressing gratitude and appreciation, as well as praying for someone who is not a close friend or family.
Posted in Religion and culture
religiosity
The measure of how religious a person or society is. Generally measured using factors such as how often one participates in religious activities and how significant a role religion plays in one’s life.
Posted in Religion and culture
religious intermarriage
Marriage between individuals from different religious traditions. According to Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study, 39% of American marriages since 2010 have been religious intermarriages, compared with 19% of American marriages before 1960.
Posted in Religion and culture
religiously affiliated
Those who identify with a particular religious group. As of 2017, the majority of Americans (77%) identify with a particular religious faith.
Posted in Religion and culture
religiously unaffiliated
Those who do not identify with any religious group. Includes those who identify as atheists or agnostics. As of 2017, accounts for 24% of the adult public. This group has tripled in size in the last 25 years.
Posted in Atheism/Agnosticism
secular religion
Generally understood as a widely held belief system that does not take metaphysical, spiritual or religious aspects into account; a governing system with rules, practices, rituals and organization that does not discuss such topics as the afterlife or the divine.
Posted in Atheism/Agnosticism
spiritual activities
Mental or physical practices that relate to a person’s beliefs about supernatural phenomena and the soul. Can include religious activities such as praying or going to a service at a house of worship. New Age spiritual activities include (but are not limited to) meditating with crystals and channeling.
Posted in Religion and culture
spiritual but not religious
An increasingly popular phrase used to describe those who are spiritually active or engaged but who do not identify with a particular religious denomination.
Posted in Religion and culture
spirituality
Individual-based beliefs about the universe and the soul, including supernatural phenomena, as opposed to organized religions that are characterized by defined guidelines, rituals and belief systems. “Spiritual” identification overlaps with “religious” identification, although increasingly the percentage of those who identify as “spiritual but not religious” is on the rise.
Posted in Religion and culture