The soul of St Davids: Mapping the spiritual quest of visitors to St Davids cathedral

Electronic versions

Documents

  • Jennifer Annis

    Research areas

  • Phd, School of Philosophy and Religion

Abstract

It is well documented that church attendance figures in Great Britain fell consistently throughout the twentieth century and there is little sign of the trend abating at the beginning of the twenty-first century. There are scholars who argue that this decline in traditional religiosity has been accompanied by diverse expressions of alternative spiritualitites. This study explores and maps the contemporary quest for spirituality through an examination of the visitors to St Davids Cathedral in West Wales, the birthplace and home of the patron saint of Wales, St David. Within this context, four aspects of spirituality were investigated, characterised as: Spiritual Awareness, Spiritual Experience, participation in the Spiritual Revolution, and Spiritual Health. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection, employing a questionnaire survey( which yielded around 2700 responses), interviews, and case studies. The analysis of the questionnaire survey explored whether individual differences of sex, age, church attendance and psychological type preferences affect individual spirituality. Analysis of the data suggests that visitors to St Davids Cathedral are very much spiritually aware and undergo various spiritual experiences. The evidence presented in this study also concurs with Heelas and Woodhead(2005) that, while there is an undoubted increase in the participation of the holistic milieu, it is premature to suggest Britain is undergoing a spiritual revolution. It also shows that the visitors to St Davids Cathedral are in goods piritual health.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
Supervisors/Advisors
  • Leslie Francis (Supervisor)
Award dateJan 2009