Exploration of spirituality in a general population in Thessaly

Background: Spirituality is an international matter of high gravity. It is very important to understand its meaning and importance in all human reactions in order to be able to understand the world and deal with the difficulties of life. The purpose of this study is to distinguish and to make apparent the terms of religiosity and spirituality in a general population in Thessaly. Design/participants: In order to have a reliable tool of measurement of spirituality and religiosity in Greece it was used “The Royal Free Interview for Religious and Spiritual Beliefs” questionnaire. In the study, 393 Greek citizens, living in Thessaly, completed the questionnaire, generally. The choice of the sample was at random, via place of work, homes and hospitals in the area of Thessaly. Measurements/ results: The average age of participants was 36,39 years, 149 (37,9%) were men and 244 were women in a percentage of 62,1%. Moreover, 95, 9% of the sample stated that they were Christians Orthodox. It was found that in a percentage of 57,7%, the participants have as much of spiritual and religious understanding of their lives in a relevance of a 11,7 of those people who have only spiritual understanding.Ιt was also, found that, people who have a high understanding of spirituality and religiosity had higher scores in the practice of faith in contrast to those who had only a spiritual understanding. It was also interesting that those who demonstrated both religious and spiritual understanding declared that they believe there is a spiritual power or force above them influencing the international facts. This was not the case with the participants who declared only religious beliefs. 85% stated that praying plays an important role in their lives. Sixteen people stated that they have experienced a situation related to death while 165 were certain that we exist in some kind of form after death. Conclusions: Findings from this study indicate that religion and spirituality are significant and fulfilling in the lives of the participants. The process to explain the importance of spirituality is difficult and painful.

Keywords: Spirituality, Nursing care, Religiosity, Pray