Brooks, Sarah E. (2016) The Relationship Between Wisdom, Spirituality and Religion. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
This study has attempted to contribute to the small body of literature, investigating the relationship between wisdom, spirituality, and religion. To consider this relationship, the current study’s purpose was to identify some of the limitations in research as a step toward producing more accurate results for a more accurate understanding of wisdom and how it is related to religion and spirituality. To achieve this purpose, the present study aimed to (a) examine commonly used wisdom measures in comparison with the Vignette Wisdom Scale (VWS), recently developed by Knight, Mitchell, & Laidlaw (2015), (b) re-examine the relationship wisdom has with spirituality and religion, and (c) further examine the limitations of studies particularly related to wisdom, spirituality, and wisdom. Participants over the age of 18 were recruited to complete an online survey which included measures of wisdom, spirituality, and religiousness. Firstly, results revealed different relationships with variables between the VWS and the SAWS. Secondly spirituality had a stronger relationship with wisdom compared to religiousness, and both religiousness and spirituality were good predictors of wisdom. Interestingly, self-rated religiousness was negatively correlated with education and the VWS. Also, participants identified as being more spiritual than religious, with older participants reporting higher levels of religiousness and spirituality. Therefore, psychologists may benefit by focusing more on spirituality rather than religion in their practice because of its strong relationship with both wisdom and health. The main limitations were the lack of diversity in the different religious denominations, and the over representation of non-religious participants. To continue on from this research, it is recommended that the current study be replicated with a more diverse sample of participants from different religious affiliations to allow for comparisons to be made between religious groups. Also more complex analyses would further validate these findings, particularly analyses comparing the different factors in both the wisdom scales, as well as analyses that establish causation (e.g. longitudinal studies). Overall, this study proves that (a) different wisdom scales highlight diverse facets of wisdom, (b) the VWS can be used to collect large amounts of data with minimal costs and time, and (c) spirituality has a stronger relationship with wisdom, and is more accepted in society than religiousness.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
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| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Bob Knight |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Aug 2025 01:30 |
| Last Modified: | 13 Aug 2025 01:30 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | relationship between wisdom, spirituality, and religion ; psychology practice and spirituality |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52182 |
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