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Spiritual age is not a person’s chronological age or the number of years they have been either practising a particular religion or participating in some form of spirituality, rather it is about one’s spiritual maturity.
A journey beyond chronological time. (Representative Image)
Spiritual age is a term that can be defined simply as the spiritual maturity of any given person, as opposed to their chronological age. It encompasses a process of change and transformation of the person and the relationship between the person and the divine. So, what broadly can be meant by the term spiritual age? How does the concept of the spiritual age differ and intersect with the concept of age defined across various stages of the human life cycle? What are methods to assess one’s spiritual age?
Understanding Spiritual Age
Spiritual age is not a person’s chronological age or the number of years they have been either practising a particular religion or participating in some form of spirituality, rather it is about one’s spiritual maturity. As pointed out by author Justice Coleman, one may spend many years in church yet one may not be spiritually growing and in certain instances, one may possibly be spiritually younger than one’s chronological age. This concept has connections with the notion according to which spiritual rebirth, a new cycle in the spiritual development of a human soul, can take place at any point in human life.
Stages of Spiritual Development
The journey of spiritual growth can be categorised into several stages:
Spiritual Infancy: In this stage, people are usually beginners with no or little knowledge of spirituality. This may cause them to primarily view spirituality as matters of personal gain and knowledge.
Spiritual Adolescence: People start to focus on ideologies, mainly because they start to challenge general values and try to develop their own views on the concept of spirituality. At this stage, there is a fight for one’s own opinion or idea.
Spiritual Adulthood: At this stage, people begin to practise what they have learned or what they believe in. Hence, they try to be tolerant and accepting of others. They usually aim at helping people in need and sharing their experiences with others.
Spiritual Maturity: This last phase is marked by an understanding of self and others as well as spiritual attachment. In this stage, people usually serve as mentors to other people in important matters of life.
The Role of Aging in Spiritual Development
Various studies show that spirituality is a rising curve of age. A study published in ProQuest compared daily spiritual quotients reported in different age groups and the research concluded that senior citizens were more spiritual than the young. This, in turn, points to the fact that, when it comes to small everyday problems or major life issues and one’s place in the world, people seek spiritual guidance.
The interaction between gender and spirituality has also been analyzed in the study. The results suggest that middle-aged women report a higher incidence of daily spiritual interactions than their male counterparts, but the gap narrows as people get older.
Assessing Your Spiritual Age
Now think of your beliefs and experiences. Think about your personal definition of transformation of what it means to be spiritual. Take note of how you react to things that happen in your life. Faith and resilience, what do you bring to the conversation?
Close your eyes and think no more, let your thoughts run free. Can you think of a specific number without giving it much thought? If yes, then think about what this particular age can mean to you. Notably, there is no rule to spiritual age and you can go through one or more in one lifetime. Your spiritual age may progress concurrently with the changes to your emotional and physical development or remain stagnant for years or even a lifetime.
