Christian minister on Americans becoming more 'spiritual': 'There's sort of a yearning'

There’s a "yearning" in Americans to find a deeper, spiritual connection whether they realize it or not.

In a Pew Research Poll released earlier this month, approximately 41% of adults said that they have become more "spiritual" in their lifetimes. By contrast, only 24% said that they have become more "religious" over time. In addition, 33% of adults said they have become less religious in their lifetimes while only 13% have become less spiritual.

Fox News Digital spoke with Bay Area Christian Church executive director Russ Ewell on the findings, which he considered encouraging.

"There's a lot of movement in the landscape, I think, in America, with regard to religion and spirituality. I saw this as good news that people are spiritual. I anticipated there were some people who predicted that after the pandemic, there might be some sense of movement in that direction. For people, maybe in a particular belief system, they might be positive or negative on it, but overall, for me, spirituality was big," Ewell commented. 

A January Pew Research Poll found that 41% of Americans reported feeling "more spiritual" in their lifetimes while only 33% felt "more religious." (iStock)

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He continued, "And I thought as well that some of that may come out of the increasing amount of loneliness people are experiencing. And it may come out of the distance being created by social media, by the internet, meaning people don't have in-person, face-to-face relationships. And there's sort of a yearning. And so, when I look at things like people finding spirituality in nature or them wanting to discover their inner self more, I think these are all things that people experience, but they're not always aware of, or sometimes they suppress."

Ewell noted that the poll also found that a majority of respondents believe in a God or soul, leading him to believe that the difference is simply "people not knowing what's the actual definition of spirituality."

"To me, I don't think most people know the difference between being religious and being spiritual. And so, I didn't put much stock in the fact that there was a decrease or an increase of percentages. I just went, that's people probably expressing a less positive view of organized religion," Ewell said.

In response to atheists and agnostics remaining firmly less spiritual, Ewell called for Christians to build upon people’s desires for community.

Bay Area Christian Church executive director Russ Ewell spoke to Fox News Digital. (Photo by: Pascal Deloche/Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images/Fox News)

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"As you may or may not be familiar with, Jesus said, shine your light, let your light shine, and people see the good deeds. I think that really opens things up because people are assuming when you're coming in, you're religious, you're coming with things that I don't think most Christian-oriented people are actually trying to do, that you're coming and trying to like, convert them to do what you do. I think most people aren't doing that. So I think doing good, building great relationships, being known in the community, that's a lot of what we do. And I think it makes a difference, especially with millennials and Gen Z," Ewell said.

In a comment to Fox News Digital, Mat Staver, founder and chairman of the non-profit organization Liberty Counsel, agreed with Ewell that the difference in "spiritual" and "religious" is likely more due to people’s association with churches rather than a belief in God.

"It's not surprising to me because I think that there are a number of people that are not necessarily associated with a particular denomination or church but have become more spiritual," Staver said. "What we've also seen is people who want more spiritual connection in reality, and they may not be getting that in the typical, environments of the churches that they're attending." 

Liberty Counsel chairman and founder Mat Staver spoke to Fox News Digital about the Pew Research Poll. (iStock)

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He added, "I think it can be a move in the right direction. I have seen since COVID a change in people's attachment to churches because many churches that closed down did not meet their spiritual needs. And there has been a migration away from some of those churches to other churches that have more of a vibrant worship and a more personal worship. I think COVID has increased that for people to have a desire for a more spiritual connection with God, as opposed to just ceremonial or formal, going through the motions kind of religion."