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In-depth interviews conducted by Dr. Jessica Eise of the University of Texas at San Antonio establish a sense of being connected to the natural world among those who view themselves as spiritual but not religious people. A common thread found in the interviews, all completed with individuals living in two Midwestern U.S. cities, was a shared priority placed on nature and the environment regardless of how different their individual belief systems were.<\/p>\n
With 27% of American adults now identifying as spiritual apart from a specific religious identity, Eise believes that exploring these spiritual dimensions may help to promote climate action. And since it\u2019s such a departure from the 1940s and 1950s, when only 2% to 3% of Americans were without a religious affiliation (primarily Christian), she also thinks it\u2019s important to understand the collective social trend that emphasizes specific values despite the individual spiritual identities.<\/p>\n
For example, strikingly diverse people chose similar words to describe these values. \u201cIf there\u2019s a God, I should live my life with love, compassion, understanding, tolerance,\u201d said one of the 28 participants. \u201cAnd if there isn\u2019t a God, I should live my life with love, compassion, tolerance. So, it just doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The strong bond with nature, the Earth, and other people is described in Eise\u2019s academic paper as \u201ca pervasive emphasis and certainty in their belief in the interconnection of living things.\u201d The work, completed with Meghana Rawat of the Utah Valley University, was published this month in the journal Public Relations Review<\/a> .<\/p>\n More than 85% of those interviewed said that spiritual beliefs influenced their lives and behavior, how they see the world, and the political candidates and positions they support. All of the participants said spirituality shapes their identity.<\/p>\n \u201cMy job, my relationships with other people, my interactions with bees, animals, plants, my garden. My garden \u2026 is like my church,\u201d said one participant. \u201cIt\u2019s my worship place.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A growing population of spiritual but not necessarily religious people may be a key demographic in terms of driving climate action. \u201cCommunication and public relations practitioners have struggled to motivate sufficient action around climate change and the environment, and this may be a space with potential to promote and encourage change and action,\u201d the paper said.<\/p>\n At the same time, many of these people said they feel largely ignored or misunderstood by the media and others who view them as outside of the discourse.<\/p>\n \u201cRich ties between spirituality and environmentalism have existed for millennia and still do in many cultures and groups around the world,\u201d says Eise. \u201cBut mainstream Western narratives have generally \u2013 and rather severely \u2013 divorced spirituality, ethics and morals from \u2018scientific\u2019 issues such as climate change and environmentalism.\u201d<\/p>\n More research is needed, she said, to better understand the spirituality trend in different geographic regions and cultures. She\u2019ll be broadening her own data with expanded study on spirituality, ethics, and climate change attitudes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to reframe our messages to an \u2018everyone\u2019 problem that we can solve and for which we have reasons to hope,\u201d Eise says. \u201cSpiritual and ethical messaging that emphasizes connection to one another and the environment has a lot of potential in this light.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Click HERE to Connect with your Daily Horoscope on OMTimes!<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Visit Our Astrology Store for Personalized Reports<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Originally Published in\u00a0 Sustainability Times<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a9 2023 Sustainability Times – Content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 SA International license.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n OMTimes is the premier Spiritually Conscious Magazine. Follow Us On Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, Linkedin<\/a>, Pinterest<\/a>, and Youtube<\/a><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/ej3atki2nc6.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Ad-Group-11-New-Inline-Article-Ads-672x560px-Astrology-Ad-11.jpg?strip=all&lossy=1&w=1170&ssl=1\")
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