In this project, I plan to add to the conversation of the effects of religious affiliation by doing interviews with a select number of people who have changed from being religiously affiliated to none affiliated
Participants 1. Austin Fuller, 20 - Previously Muslim 2. Taylor Mays, 21 - Previously Christian 3. Alicia Wright, 19 - Previously Christian 4. Miranda Addison, 20 - Previously Christian 5. Christian Olivier, 23 - Previously Christian 6. James Humphrey, 22 - Previously Christian 7. Douglas Brooks, 22 - Previously Muslim 8. Anna Starks, 22 - Previously Christian 9. Elijah Fabre, 22 - Previously Christian 10. Miranda Vinaccia, 19 - Previously Christian
I gathered a small sample of individuals (10) from Chicago, IL – all ages 19-23, 5 men and 5 women, and interviewed them about how their life has changed since moving away from being religiously affiliated.
Questions asked: When you were religiously affiliated, were you highly involved? When did you leave behind your religion and become less or not at all affiliated? Why? What religion did you associate with previously? How did you become a part of that religion? Do you feel like your life has changed in a significant way (if at all) since leaving behind your religion? If so, how? Although you do not consider yourself religious, are you spiritual? In your opinion, what is the difference between religiousness and spirituality? Do you feel like you are more or less happy since leaving behind your religion?
From the interviews, only 2 of the 10 individuals I spoke with considered themselves “highly” involvedin the religion they were part of. The other 8 individuals considered themselves not really involved.
Each of the individuals answered that they had left their religion behind officially within the last 1-3 years. Half of the interviewees said that had been veering away from the religion that they were affiliated with for 3-5 years, but officially rejected it more recently.
Only 3 out of the 10 interviewees voiced that they felt their life had changed in a significant way since leaving behind their religion. Christian Olivier stated that he felt his life had changed significantly since leaving behind the Christian faith because he felt “free to be himself” and was no longer “tied down and restricted by made up barriers.” Miranda Vinaccia said that her life had changed in a somewhat significant way because she used to go to church every weekend in order to appease her family so when she stopped going she had more freedom to participate in activities she genuinely found important to her life—mainly painting. When she informed her parents that she would no longer attend Saturday Bible study and Sunday service, at first they were not pleased. But since she first informed them, over a year ago, they have come to accept her individual choices. Lastly, Elijah Fabre had a similar response as Christian Olivier. He also said he felt freer.
8 out of 10 of the participants considered themselves spiritual although they are not religious. 2 of them considered themselves neither religiously affiliated nor spiritual. When asked what the difference was in their opinion I received a variety of responses:
Austin Fuller: “To me, spirituality is your connection with the universe and the creator. It’s the vibrations you feel when you meet someone you connect with. It’s the vibrations you give off and your striving to raise your vibrations. None of that has anything to do with religion”
Taylor Mays:“Spirituality is what’s inside in relation to what’s out there. Religion is… annoying”
Alicia Wright:“I think spirituality is whatever you want it to be. For some people it’s about putting out good vibes, for some people it’s about listening to the universe, for some people it’s about yoga and chakras and all that. For me, it’s about my relationship with God and the spirits around me. I don’t need a religion to believe in the Creator”
Miranda Addison:“Spirituality is weird. I don’t know how people can actually think they feel and see ghosts and stuff. I don’t know”
Christian Olivier:“Spirituality is freedom. We come into this world and we have to figure everything out on our own. Religions claim to already have it figured out. But if religions really had it figured out, why are there so many? Spirituality without religion is the freedom to find out what we are supposed to. We don’t know what’s out there. The earth is vast. The universe is vast. We have to explore. And I think people do that through spirituality”
James Humphrey:“Spirituality has to do with ‘spirits’ I guess. I don’t know, I don’t’ believe in any of it. I believe in what I can observe”
Douglas Brooks:“Spirituality is what you get when you take the bullshit out of religion”
Anna Starks: "Spirituality is the journey to find what it takes to feel perfect on the inside. Spirituality is about balance. Religion is about control”
Elijah Fabre:“Spirituality is when I’m sitting on my floor, painting a picture or writing a poem… or better yet it’s when I eat tacos. Spirituality is whatever makes you feel good. Your spirit is you”
Miranda Vinaccia:“Spirituality is when you’re in tune with the things you can’t control”
8 of the 10 individuals I interviewed considered themselves happier since leaving behind their religious affiliation. The other 2 individuals, James Humphrey and Miranda Addison, said they didn’t feel that they were happier or less happy since officially rejecting their previous religious affiliations.
Conclusion: From the perspectives of the individuals I interviewed, it seems that being religiously affiliated is not a guarantee to having more self-described happiness despite the trends found in previous research. 80% of the people I spoke with considered themselves to be happier after leaving behind their religious affiliations; however, my research is not conclusive. It must be considered that I only interviewed a small sample of people whom are all from similar backgrounds. But still, my results lead me to question the demographics of the samples taken in other studies that have concluded that religious people are happier. Because my research does not support this claim, it leaves the discussion of the relationship between religious affiliation and happiness open.