Spirituality, Religion, and Faith

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My faith and my family.

Female, 53, in response to being asked what contributes to your well-being

Older adults commonly report spirituality or religion and faith as integral to their well-being. Spirituality and/or religion can offer meaning in life, coping mechanisms (e.g., trusting in God regarding life’s problems), a hopeful outlook, social support in community, and social activity including volunteerism/giving back. For religion, studies have shown correlations with improved physical and mental health, but it is undetermined whether this relationship is causal. It is also unclear if religion itself would be the reason for improved well-being or if the factors that accompany it (such as social engagement) are responsible.¹ Nevertheless, the importance of spirituality, religion and faith in the lives of people 50 and older is palpable in numerous research studies. Topics related to this include:

• Importance of spirituality/religion
• Religious affiliation

Importance of Spirituality/Religion

Most adults ages 50–80 (84%) say that religious and/or spiritual beliefs are important to them.

Spiritual beliefs are somewhat more likely to be considered important than religious beliefs, likely indicative of the encompassing nature of spirituality. Specifically, 80% of those ages 50-80 say their spiritual beliefs are important in their lives (50% very important, 30% somewhat important) while seven in ten (71%) say religious beliefs are important (45% very important, 26% somewhat important).³

Adults 50 and older who are more likely to assign importance to both religion and spirituality in their life include:

• Black/African American adults
• Women
• Those with a household income of less than $100K
• Those living in the Midwest or South

The importance of spirituality is somewhat more consistent than that of religion when looking across demographic groups.

Spirituality maintains an elevated level of importance across age and education levels, however younger adults and adults with higher levels of education are somewhat less likely to say religious beliefs are important in their life.

Adults ages 50-64 are 11 percentage points more likely to say spiritual beliefs are important than religious beliefs; this gap narrows to five percentage points for those 65-plus. Those with postgraduate study are 17 percentage points more likely to say spiritual beliefs are important than religious beliefs; this gap narrows to 2 percentage points for those with a high school degree or less. This could indicate that, in general for older individuals and those with lower levels of education, there is a stronger relationship between spirituality and religion than for younger individuals and those with higher levels of education.⁵

Among those with important religious or spiritual beliefs, 63% report belonging to a community or organization that shares those beliefs. Further, many adults ages 50-80 report that their religious beliefs (39%) or spiritual beliefs (46%) have become more important as they have gotten older.⁶

Religious Affiliation

Religion and spirituality remain important to older adults, although Americans overall are becoming less religiously affiliated.

While only around one in ten of those 80 and older are religiously unaffiliated, around two in ten of those in their 50s are. According to Pew Research Center, “the change in America’s religious composition is largely the result of large numbers of adults switching out of the religion in which they were raised to become religiously unaffiliated.”⁷

Key Takeaways

• Religious and spiritual beliefs are important to most older adults, and many report their importance growing as they age. Older adults find community with those who share their beliefs.

• Parsing out spirituality and religion, adults 50 and older are more likely to place importance on spiritual beliefs than religious beliefs, likely due to the expansive, broad nature of spirituality. Spirituality and religion are seen in a more interconnected way by adults 65 and older as well as those 50 and older with lower levels of education.

• Religion and spirituality have outsized significance for certain groups like Black adults. There is a deep, generation-spanning history that explains the importance of religion to the Black community, shaping key cultural traits like optimism and perseverance, as well as serving as a source for support and solace.