Abstract:

This study examined the experience of spirituality in children. For the purposes of this research, spirituality is defined as the holistic experience, both physical and nonphysical, of the child. It does not pertain to religious beliefs, learned values, or cognitive conceptions. Five areas of spiritual experience were chosen in order to identify the manifestation of the spiritual experience of the children: Nature, Mysticism, Wisdom, Wonder, and Relating. A set of 14 questions was developed for the child research participants who ranged in age from 4 to 11 years old. A qualitative multimodal method of engagement was used with the children utilizing interactive questions, observations, pictures, and creative play. There were a total of 15 child participants as well as 15 parent participants for a total of 30 research participants. Each parent completed a questionnaire designed to elicit information regarding his/her perception of his/her child's behavior, beliefs, and characteristics as they relate to spirituality. The experience of spirituality was shown to manifest in the children an average of 38% of the time. The experience of spirituality was evident in all 5 of the chosen areas: Nature, Mysticism, Wisdom, Wonder, and Relating--with Nature appearing most frequently and Wisdom least frequently. The parents indicated observation of spiritual experience in their children an average of 21% of the time, again with all 5 areas present. A correlation coefficient was conducted comparing the overall child and adult scores. The resulting correlation was .205. This correlation was not significant. Overall, both the child and parent participants indicated the presence of an active spiritual experience in children. These results contribute to the understanding of the spiritual experience and nature of children.