Leisure and spirituality.

Spirituality plays an important role in the life of Americans. A recent survey of religious identification found that 90% of the American population identified themselves as religious (Goldman, 1991). Research at the Princeton Religion Research Center found that 94% of Americans believe in God or a universal spirit, 69% are members of a church or synagogue, 55% view religion as "very important," prayer is an important part of daily life for 43%, and 61% believe religion can answer most of today's problems (Bezilla, 1991). Despite the centrality of spirituality in American life, there is a paucity of empirical research on the relationship between spirituality and leisure. MacDonald, Guldin, and Whetherhill (1988) proposed two reasons for the lack of attention to this topic. First, much leisure research is government funded, and spirituality has often been viewed as inappropriate for government participation. Second, clear understanding of what the term "spirituality" means leads to ambiguity in operational applications.

McDonald and Schreyer (1991) noted that for many people, spirituality suggests some notion of a Divine Being, yet, spiritual experience is not necessarily synonymous with religious experience. They suggested that a more general definition may be a person's attempt to understand his/her "Place" in the universe. This article will review recent research on leisure and spirituality. Descriptive and theoretical studies will be reviewed as well as leisure factors influencing spiritual experience and benefits of spiritual experience. Following the lead of McDonald and Schreyer (1991) the terms religious and spiritual will be used interchangeably in this article.

Descriptive Studies

Several descriptive articles about leisure and spirituality exist. Sylvester (1987) reviewed literature which described the absolute ultimate end (the highest good) and its relation to play, leisure, and recreation. Nine categories of ultimate end were considered. The most common category was divine ends (including God, Christ, divine contemplation, and general spiritual themes) closely followed by happiness in which divine elements also were apparent, providing evidence of religion's influence on leisure.

Writers have continued to develop the relationship between leisure and divine ends. The style of life God intended for humanity has been described as a crucial balance and creative rhythm of work and play (Johnston, 1983). From this perspective, work and leisure are viewed as complementary parts of a God-ordained whole, which although similar, also balance each other in the rhythm of work and leisure (Ryken, 1987). A more transcendent understanding of leisure presents leisure as a sign of God's presence in the world and a source of life in God (Wilcox, 1991). The Christian doctrines of creation, rest, worship and celebration, freedom, grace, and calling have been explored as theologically foundational in establishing leisure as a virtue (Trunfio, 1991).

In a more specific exegetical and hermeneutical study, the Judeo-Christian concepts of sabbath and rest have been shown to have implications for a qualitative and quantitative understanding of leisure (Heintzman, 1994).

Paul Heintzman is Executive Director of Gracefield Camp and Conference Centre, Gracefield, Quebee and co-editor of Christianity and Leisure: Issues in a Pluralistic Society.

Glen Van Andel is Professor of Recreation at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI and is co-editor of Christianity and Leisure: Issues in a Pluralistic Society as well as Therapeutic Recreation: A Practical Approach (1995) Waveland Press: Chicago, IL.