Supernatural and Religious Beliefs among Rural and Urban Older Adults

INTRODUCTIONSpirituality plays an important role in the lives of older peoples. Spirituality is one of the most important sources of strength and direction in people's lives. It is a human phenomenon, which exist in almost all persons. The term spirituality generally used to denote certain positive inward qualities and perceptions while avoiding implications of narrow, dogmatic beliefs and obligatory religious observances (wulff, 1996). Spirituality is a unified quality of mind, heart, and soul. It is concerns with individual subjective experiences, sometimes shared with others. Spirituality plays an important role in Indian society across all ages. As one gets older, the role of spirituality becomes more prominent.Spirituality was defined as a common human experience that forms an integral. part of every person's search for meaning and purpose in life, suffering and illness and the outward expression about an intra, inter and transpersonal experience of the individual (Reed, 1992, Tanyi, 2002; Swinton, 2001). Spirituality is a complex and has many dimensions, for example, Miller and Thorenson (2002) proposed three broad measurement domains; spiritual practices, beliefs, and experiences. Spirituality can be assessed in a variety of ways like clinical interview, spiritual measures in three domains viz., belief, and behaviour experience.Spiritual life can give people strength and impress their well-being. But some people experiences of spirituality may be damaging to their mental health. They may find certain belief systems repressive and their follower's judgmental. King et al (2013) investigated religion, spirituality and mental health: results from a national study of English households they found out that people who have a spirituality understanding of life in the absence of a religious framework are vulnerable to mental disorder. Interest in spirituality and aging has increased recently, primarily owing to empirical research overwhelmingly demonstrating the various health benefits of spirituality and religious participation. Studies have also shown that spirituality tends to increase during later adulthood. Interestingly, this trend of increased spiritual growth and religious activities in older age people continues in modern society, despite significant secularization of the society compared with 50 years ago. Spirituality moderates positive relationships with various measures of life satisfaction.The term religiosity refers to religious attendance, practice or activity and faiths. It involves the degree to which a person may be identified as religious. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines religiosity as a state, quality of being religious, emotional zeal of religion. Religiosity means faith in a power beyond himself whereby the individual seeks to satisfy the demands of life and which he expresses in acts of worship and service (Ghufran & Ansari, 2008). In day to day life, religion plays an important role in molding our personality. Many people suffering from the pain of mental illness, emotional problems, or situational difficulties seek refuge in religion for comfort, hope, and meaning. While some are helped, not all such people are completely relieved of their mental distress or destructive behavioural tendencies. In other instances, especially in the emotionally vulnerable, religious beliefs and doctrines may reinforce neurotic tendencies, enhance fears or guilt, and restrict life rather than enhance it. In such cases, religious beliefs may be used in primitive and defensive ways to avoid making necessary life changes.Religiosity seems to play an important role in health and society. Another aspect of religion which can be significantly associated with individual and his beliefs is 'spirituality'. Spirituality can be referred to as belief in a higher power or the supreme power; it can be awareness of life and its meaning, the centering of a person with purpose in life. It involves relationships with a higher being, with self, and with the world around the individual. …