Tradition-Specific Measures of Spiritual Well-Being

Spiritual well-being (SWB) is an often-overlooked aspect of a person’s overall well-being. Existing generic measures of SWB are not sufficiently specific to capture the principal ends and concerns of most particular religious communities; tradition-specific measures are needed. To that end, the authors provide conceptual background and develop a set of items for a measure of Christian SWB. Within the Christian religion, the measure is intended to be ecumenical in being broadly applicable across Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox traditions. The chapter discusses ways in which such a measure might be of use both for research purposes and for religious communities themselves to advance their own ends. The authors discuss the possible development of other tradition-specific measures of SWB in the context of a pluralistic society. These measures may be of use in ensuring that research on religion and well-being is not only of academic interest, but also serves the ends of religious communities themselves.