Becoming “spiritual but not religious”: narratives on family of origin, conversion, and commitment

Abstract

This qualitative narrative study explored how individuals raised within organized religion(s) came to associate with the orientation of “Spiritual but Not Religious” (i.e., SBNR). Ten semi-structured interviews delved into topics such as family upbringing, religious environment, spiritual development, cognitive dissonance, and resolutions. Notable parental relationship qualities within categories of being positive, distant, strict, and/or abusive emerged. Parental conflict with at least one parent was a shared experience across the sample. It was more common for conflict with fathers to exist as previous literature has suggested. Compared to those raised in more severely religious environments, those raised within less religious environments were more prone to feeling confident and committed with their present spiritual beliefs. This work contributes to further understanding the various developmental pathways and influences on spirtual identity exploration and commitment. Further considerations and implications of the study are discussed.