Examination of Types and Effects of Spiritual Seeking
Abstract:
Recent studies on religious attitudes and behavior tend to suggest that Americans are becoming more spiritual and less religious. The spiritual seeking is seen as characterizing the present moment – creating what Roof (1999) calls a culture of spiritual quest. In this changing cultural landscape that is characterized by differences in belief and practices between the spiritually versus religiously committed, there is little empirical evidence for different types of spiritual questing and its effects, if any, in a individuals consumer centric life. In this article, the authors investigate the effects of three different types of spiritual seeking: Religion as Means, Religion as End, and Religion as Quest. The data for this research, which comes from a survey using an online panel, reveals six different effects of spiritual seeking: materialism, Superordinate life goals and goal conflict, Integrating the presumed values of the marketer into purchase decisions, Integrating the well- being of others into purchase and consumption decisions, Charitable Intentions, and Religious Dogmatism. In addition to presenting quantitative evidence of the effects of spiritual seeking, this article concludes with a call for further research on the role of spiritual seeking on consumer behavior and recommendations for future research.
Recommended Citation:
Rao, K., Ball, D., & Hampton, R. (2007). Examination of Types and Effects of Spiritual Seeking. Paper presented at the American Association of Public Opinion Research, Anaheim.
Attached Documents:
- AAPOR 2007 Program (see page #10 for the mention)
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