African American Women’s Definitions of Spirituality and Religiosity

Abstract

These two qualitative studies explore the meanings of spirituality for African American women and the distinctions that women make between spirituality and religiosity. In Study 1, content analyses of women’s (N = 128) written narratives reveal 13 categories of meaning that are assigned to spirituality. In Study 2, indepth interviews with a subsample of women (N = 21) reveal three key differences between religiosity and spirituality. First, whereas religiosity is associated with organized worship, spirituality is defined as the internalization of positive values. Second, religion is conceptualized as a path and spirituality as an outcome. Finally, whereas religion is tied to worship, spirituality is associated with relationships.

Psychometric characteristics of the spiritual perspective scale in pregnant African‐American women

“…Spirituality plays a central role and powerfully influences virtually all aspects of the lives of many African-American women (Mattis, 2000). It is a resource from which African-American women draw personal strength and a fundamental foundation of their decision-making and behavior (Banks-Wallace & Parks, 2004; Newlin et al; Van & Meleis, 2003).…”

Cultural and Spiritual Health Assessment

“…The word 'spirituality' has also been defined as 'one's relationship with God/Deity, Supreme Being' (Mattis, 2000). This implies a sense of connectedness with God and may be expressed through prayers, meditation (Black, 2003;Dossey, 2002), presence, physical touch (Kendrick & Robinson, 2000) or an appreciation of spiritual music.…”

Estudos psicométricos da Escala de Avaliação da Percepção da Religiosidade

“…Nessa mesma direção, Emmons e Paloutzian (2003) atribuem à espiritualidade a existência de forças não materiais e, mais especialmente, o conceito de que ela é um fenômeno humano universal. Mattis (2000) e Zinnbauer et al (1997) já haviam afirmado que a espiritualidade é universal, embora o conteúdo específico de crenças espirituais varie em cada cultura. Além disso, as religiões procuram ajudar as pessoas a lidar com o núcleo existencial das preocupações, com as regras e os valores que norteiam as relações dos indivídu-os, bem como os seus esforços para lidar com as dificuldades da vida.…”