Spirituality and affect: a function of changes in religious affiliation

We tested the hypothesis that changes in religious affiliation constrain the relationship between spirituality and affect. Hospital employees in Korea completed questionnaires, including items about their religious affiliation at present and in childhood, spirituality (Spiritual Transcendence Index), religiousness (Duke Religion Index), and affect (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule). Spirituality was positively and linearly associated with positive emotions (i.e., general positive affect, joviality, self-assurance, attentiveness, and serenity) among individuals who were raised with a religious affiliation and had none currently or those who currently had a different affiliation from the one as raised. Spirituality was also negatively and linearly associated with sadness among individuals who currently had a different affiliation from the one as raised. An inverted U pattern between spirituality and guilt or between spirituality and shyness was also found among individuals whose religious affiliation had changed since childhood. Identifying individual’s history of changes in religious affiliation helped clarify the relations between spirituality and emotional well-being.