Research Description:

This study is a semantic analysis of the word spirituality. The objective was to prove that under the guidance of individual experience, the meaning and usage of spirituality had evolved from a strictly religious connotation into the realms of both the sacred and the secular. Data was collected from interviews with 20 female undergraduate students at the University of Florida. The semantic features were derived from interview material and mapped, categorized and analyzed to determine cultural patterns. The results showed that spirituality had progressed from religious experience. Furthermore, different individuals attributed different meanings to spirituality. No single perspective dominated the test group, but rather multiple perspectives existed simultaneously. This research facilitated a better understanding of how people defined spirituality in terms of their own experience. The semantic features identified were vital ingredients to the consideration of spirituality as an ever-changing concept.