Perceptions of the Roles of Religion and Spirituality in the Work and Lives of Professionals in Gerontology: Views of the Present and Expectations About the Future

Abstract

The future of scholarly work in the field of religion, spirituality, and aging will need to address the various ways baby boomers understand and experience religious faith and spiritual practices. A survey of the membership of the American Society on Aging and the National Interfaith Coalition on Aging resulted in 457 responses to an e-mail survey and found that about 54% consider themselves spiritual and religious (R + S), while about 33% call themselves spiritual but not religious (SnR). This study also examined how these professionals in the aging field rate the sources of meaning in their lives today and what they think will provide meaning in the future. For both the present and future, relationships were deemed most important. There were significant differences between the R + S and SnR group regarding their views of whether religious organizations in the future will be prepared to meet the religious and spiritual needs of aging baby boomers. This study discusses the ways that religion and spirituality impact areas of meaning and religious and spiritual practice. The future of scholarship and practice in this area needs to reflect the diversity of the aging population in terms of how persons understand and experience religiousness and spirituality.