Abstract

This article explores the conceptions of spirituality in a large and representative sample of the general population in the Netherlands. Spirituality is described mostly in cognitive terms, especially in the form of general references to a transcendent reality. Experiential expressions are used in more than a quarter of the descriptions. Important patterns in the descriptions are: spirituality as the transcendent God, spirituality as inwardness, and spirituality as mental health. In the sample, 21% distance themselves from spirituality; among people with a secular outlook this percentage is 35%. We paid special attention to differences in conceptions of spirituality between people inside and outside institutional religious contexts and between people who self-identify as ‘spiritual’ and those who do not.