What is the Spiritual Age? A Guide to Understanding and Revealing It

Last Update:23 November 2024 11:23 IST

Spiritual age is not a person’s chronological age or the number of years they have practiced a particular religion or participated in some form of spirituality; Rather, it is about a person’s spiritual maturity.

A journey beyond chronological time. (Representative Picture)

Spiritual age is a term that can simply be defined as the spiritual maturity of any person, as opposed to their chronological age. It covers the process of change and transformation of the person and the relationship between the person and the divine. So what can be generally meant by the term spiritual age? How does the concept of spiritual age differ from and intersect with the concept of age defined at various stages of the human life cycle? What are the methods of assessing a person’s spiritual age?

Understanding the Spiritual Age

Spiritual age is not a person’s chronological age or the number of years they have practiced a particular religion or participated in some form of spirituality; Rather, it is about a person’s spiritual maturity. As author Justice Coleman points out, a person may spend many years in the church but be spiritually underdeveloped, and in some cases the person may be spiritually younger than his or her chronological age. This concept has connections with the concept that spiritual rebirth, a new cycle in the spiritual development of the human soul, can occur at any point in the human life.

Stages of Spiritual Development

The journey of spiritual development can be divided into several stages:

Spiritual Infancy: In this stage, people are often beginners with little or no knowledge of spirituality. This may cause them to view spirituality primarily as a matter of personal gain and knowledge.

Spiritual Adolescence: People begin to focus on ideologies as they begin to challenge mainstream values ​​and attempt to develop their own views on the concept of spirituality. At this stage there is a struggle for one’s own opinion or thought.

Spiritual Adulthood: At this stage, the person begins to apply what he has learned or believes. Therefore, they try to be tolerant and accepting of others. They often aim to help people in need and share their experiences with others.

Spiritual Maturity: This final stage is marked by spiritual commitment as well as understanding of self and others. During this stage, people often mentor others on important life issues.

The Role of Aging in Spiritual Development

Various studies show that spirituality has a rising curve with age. A study published in ProQuest compared reported rates of daily spirituality in different age groups, and the study concluded that older citizens were more spiritual than younger people. This points to the fact that people seek spiritual guidance when it comes to small daily problems or big life issues and one’s place in the world.

The interaction between gender and spirituality was also analyzed in the study. The results show that middle-aged women report higher rates of daily spiritual interactions than their male counterparts, but this gap narrows as people get older.

Assessing Your Spiritual Age

Now think about your beliefs and experiences. Consider your personal transformation definition of what it means to be spiritual. Take note of how you react to events that occur in your life. Faith and resilience, what do you bring to the conversation?

Close your eyes and don’t think any more, just let your thoughts run free. Can you think of a specific number without thinking too hard? If your answer is yes, think about what this age means to you. There are no rules regarding a particular spiritual age, and you may go through one or more spiritual ages in a lifetime. Your spiritual age may progress along with changes in your emotional and physical development, or it may remain constant for years or even throughout your life.