A majority of U.S. adults say that the overall health of the nation’s economy is dependent on how spiritual Americans are, a survey by The Gallup Organization shows.
Seventy-seven percent of the respondents said the nation’s economic health depends a "great deal" or "some" degree on its spiritual health.
The survey, called "The Spiritual State of the Union," was conducted for the Spiritual Enterprise Institute, a West Palm Beach, Fla.-based center that focuses on building understanding of how spiritual values affect economic life.
"This in-depth study, which examined the role of spiritual commitment on many facets of life, as well as society as a whole, makes it abundantly clear that one can’t understand America, unless one has an awareness and understanding of her spiritual underpinnings," wrote Theodore Roosevelt Malloch, the institute’s founder, and pollster George Gallup of The Gallup Organization in a joint analysis of the study that was released Jan. 30.
Of those surveyed, more than half said their religious beliefs greatly affect their feelings about the future and more than one-third said they affect their relationships at work and how involved they are in volunteer activities.
Fourteen percent of those surveyed said they consider a decline in society — ethically, morally or religiously — to be among the top problems facing America today.
Other findings show that 79 percent of people believe that there are clear guidelines about what is good or evil that apply to everyone.
Sixty-nine percent said their faith is what gives their life meaning, but a smaller percentage, 65 percent, considered themselves spiritually committed. (RNS)
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