I am in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and Saint Paul), Minnesota as part of my semester’s study leave from college. I have been visiting Luther Seminary, partly to use their library but also to meet with their faculty members.
Yesterday I attended a day seminar hosted by Search Institute’s Centre for Spiritual Development. Search Institute has embarked on a decade long project to assess the characteristics and contribution of spiritual development to the lives of young people. This is being developed as a global and multi-faith project. About a year ago, focus groups of young people and adults (parents, youth leaders, youth workers) were held around the world to identify factors to study and appropriate language. Peter Eckermann and I conducted two groups in Adelaide.
Search Institute subsequently developed a 200 item survey which has been tested around the world and is in the process of being refined. The initial survey results were presented to us in a report titled “With Their Own Voices“, now available on the CSD website. Just over 6,800 young people were surveyed across 8 countries.
This initial sample was not random, but has provided a range of useful information for further research.
Here are the study’s hypotheses:
1. Spiritual development is an intrinsic part of being human. It includes processes that are manifested in many diverse ways among individuals, cultures, traditions, and historical periods.
2. Spiritual development involves both an inward journey (inner experiences and/or connections to the infinite or unseen) and an outward journey (being expressed in daily activities, relationships, and actions).
3. Spiritual development is a dynamic, nonlinear process that varies by individual and cultural differences.
4. Spiritual development, though a unique stream of human development, cannot be separated from other aspects of one’s being.
5. Spiritual development can be conceptually distinguished from religious development or formation, though the two are integrally linked in the lived experiences of some people, traditions, and cultures.
I will write further on these studies shortly, and make some comments in relation to the recent Australian research as well.
I got to be part of an international panel giving comments on the study’s findings.
Spirituality Panel
