Is Implicit Religion Spirituality in Disguise?

Abstract

Two important developments in the world of religion and spirituality have occurred over the last couple of decades. Even as mainline church attendance has been declining, there has been a growing preoccupation with spirituality. During this same period there has been increasing interest in implicit religion, a concept which has been applied to illuminate a variety of social phenomena. Are these two developments merely a coincidence, or is there a link between them? A number of authors presuppose a close connection between implicit religion and spirituality, without specifying how these two concepts are related. This article will explore, from a psychological perspective, the relationship between implicit religion and spirituality to determine if they are in fact identical.