Spirituality and social justice among American adults: examining the effect of relational intimacy with God on the importance attributed to social justice

This study investigates the relationship between spiritual intimacy – operationalized as relational intimacy with God or the transcendent – and the importance attributed to social justice. Consistent with the conceptualization of spiritual intimacy, social justice was operationalized as a multidimensional construct, which incorporates a call for action to make a positive difference in one’s community, society, and the broader world. Study data were obtained from the National Religion and Spirituality Survey 2020, a nationally representative sample of American adults. Structural equation modeling was used to test a model featuring the latent variables: spiritual intimacy, spiritual practice, and social justice. Relational intimacy with God was posited to affect social justice directly and indirectly through spiritual practice. As hypothesized, greater relational intimacy with God was associated with increased importance attributed to social justice. Conversely, no indirect effects were observed. While relational intimacy with God was positively associated with spiritual practice, the association between spiritual practice and social justice was not statistically significant. The results suggest that people with a deep personal connection with God are particularly dedicated to developing more humane and just societies. Consequently, it is important to ensure that spiritually motivated individuals have the opportunity to participate in public life on equal terms with those who hold secular worldviews. To foster movement toward that goal, it is suggested that a human rights framework – centering Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – be widely disseminated and adopted.