This study sought to determine whether measures of religion and spirituality could discriminate between emerging adult males who self-identified as both religious and spiritual (B), religious only (R), spiritual only (S), or neither (N). Two religion measures and three spirituality measures were employed to assess the constructs. It was predicted that those who self-identify as religious only would score significantly higher on the religion measures than those who identified as spiritual only, and those that identified as spiritual only would score significantly higher on the spirituality measures than those who identified as religious only. Results supported the first hypothesis, but not the second. The relationship between spirituality and religion measures indicated substantial overlap and the possibility of differential relationships between emerging male and female adults.

We begin with a review of death anxiety in emerging adults and then report on a descriptive survey study using the Revised Livingston-Zimet Death Anxiety Scale (RLZDAS). Research questions dealt with the RLZDAS' factor structure, demographic patterns, and hypothesized correlations with distress and religiosity/spirituality. We surveyed university-enrolled emerging adults (n = 706). Findings included a 3-factor solution on the RLZDAS (cognitive, repressive, and affective) and no appreciable relationships with demographic factors. Clinical symptomatology was correlated with death anxiety (r = .40), particularly cognitive death anxiety (r = .45), especially in non-believers (r = .58). Religiosity/spirituality did not buffer death anxiety, and some components were actually positively correlated. We argue that death anxiety in emerging adults is multidimensional, clinically relevant, and relatively universal and that broad notions of worldview/belief are not necessarily protective factors.

According to previous literature, levels of religiousness decrease among emerging adults, but similar research has not been done regarding levels of spirituality. The current study examined the responses of college students to measures of religiousness and spirituality. The participants in the study were from a private, religiously affiliated university in the Midwest, between ages 18 and 24. Participants completed the Personal Religious Inventory (PRI), the Duke Religion Index (DUREL), the Spiritual Transcendence Scale (STS), the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) and the Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale (SIBS). Significant differences were found between first-year and upper-class participants on religious attendance, non-religious attendance, and the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale. Based on these results, it is suggested that multi-dimensional measures provide a more accurate view of religiousness than one-dimensional measures.

The last ten years has witnessed a sharp increase in research related to spirituality as well as the proliferation of numerous measures of the construct. However, there has been little research examining the relationship between and among measures of spirituality, much less to measures of religion. This study sought to determine whether measures of spirituality and religion could discriminate between participants who self-identified as both religious and spiritual (B), religious only (R), spiritual only (S), or neither (N). Two religion measures and three spirituality measures assessed the constructs. It was predicted that those who self-identified as religious only would score significantly higher on the religion measures than those who identified as spiritual only, but those that identified as spiritual only would score significantly higher on the spirituality measures than those who identified as religious only. Results supported the first hypothesis, but not the second. The relationship between spirituality and religion measures suggested substantial overlap.

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