Who are the "Spiritual but not Religious" in Nordic Countries?

What is it about?

There is a popular way of describing one’s relationship to religion by saying that one is “spiritual, but not religious”. Increasing numbers of people also in the Nordic countries want to distance themselves from “religion”, while at the same time show openness to “spirituality”. This way of speaking reveals that there are new, more complex ways of positioning oneself regarding religion. This article examines those with the “spiritual, not religious” orientation through the analysis of survey data from five Nordic countries. The data shows that such orientation is increasingly prevalent among the younger generations. Further analysis shows that such people are characterized by stronger than average religious beliefs while at the same time lower than average likelihood of frequent participation in church services. They are also likely to have liberal attitudes toward sexual morality and more than average skepticism toward key societal institutions. These results indicate that increasing numbers of people seek an individual approach to religiosity that also conforms with the value orientations prevalent in modern societies.

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Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash

Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Various statistics on religiosity show that secularization is an important overall trend that accompanies modernization globally. However, in many societies majorities of people can be characterized as neither conventionally religious nor completely secular. While secularization may be an accurate characterization of the broad picture, the situation is more complex if one takes a closer look at what is happening to religious orientations in this middle ground. While some orientations decrease, others may show an opposite trend. The study presented here examines in more depth one of the important emerging patterns of religiosity in this middle ground.

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