What makes for a meaningful, fulfilling or satisfying life?
In an attempt to answer this question, Pew Research Center conducted two surveys late last year. The first survey utilized open ended questions while the second leveraged forced-choice questions using a list of 15 possible sources.
Family First
In the open-ended survey nearly 7 out of 10 respondents (69%) mentioned family. This finding was consistent with the closed-ended survey result of those claiming that family provides “a great deal of meaning” (69%).
In the second survey, respondents were able to select one item from among those they had chosen as providing “a great deal of meaning” as the item that was “the most important source of meaning.” Family was chosen more than any other option (40%) as “the most important source of meaning”
Religious Faith
In the closed-ended survey 2 out of 10 respondents (20%) selected religious faith as the item that was “the most important source of meaning. Overall, this made religious faith the second most popular answer.
Religious faith didn’t fare quite as well in the category of providing “a great deal of meaning.” Slightly more than 1 out of 3 respondents (36%) made such a selection leading it to rank behind reading (37%), listening to music (44%), caring for pets (45%), spending time with friends (47%), being outdoors (47%), and spending time with family (69%).
So What?
Among the religious, the relative meaningfulness of religious faith differed significantly from that of the survey population as a whole and from non-religious groupings.
| Most Important Source of Meaning | Provides a Great Deal of Meaning | |
| All Survey Respondents | 20% | 36% |
| Christian | 29% | 52% |
| Unaffiliated | 2% | 7% |
| Atheist | 0% | <1% |
| Agnostic | 1% | 2% |
| Nothing in particular | 4% | 11% |
Within Christianity significant variation exists.
| Most Important Source of Meaning | Provides a Great Deal of Meaning | |
| All Christian | 29% | 52% |
| Catholic | 17% | 41% |
| All Protestant | 35% | 47% |
| Mainline Protestant | 15% | 39% |
| Evangelical Protestant | 45% | 65% |
| Historically Black Protestant | 38% | 62% |
Of all religious groups, Mainline Protestantism is closest to the overall average
- Most important source of meaning: -5%
- Provides a great deal of meaning: +3%
Two religious groups stand out with the highest rates in both categories: Evangelical Protestant and Historically Black Protestant. When compared to the overall average
- Evangelical Protestant
- Most important source of meaning: +25%
- Provides a great deal of meaning: +29%
- Historically Black Protestant
- Most important source of meaning: +18%
- Provides a great deal of meaning: +26%
For Reflection
- Would your religious faith be one of the items you would rank as providing a great deal of meaning, the item you’d select as being the most important source of meaning, or neither?
- If people within your congregation were given this survey how similar do you think the results would be compared to the survey results for the religious tradition with which your congregation is affiliated?
- Are the findings about the role of religious faith in American adults somewhat similar to what you would have expected or markedly different? Explain.