Religiosity and spirituality in the elderly

The present paper presents results regarding religious attitudes and behaviors as well as the perceived social support by religious communities in n = 593 elderly over 60 years (31.2% female, mean age 69.5 years) from the German general population. The results are based on the German 15-item version SBI-15R-D of the "Systems of Belief Inventory" (Holland et al., 1998). Furthermore, religiosity was analyzed as a potential protective factor regarding body complaints in the elderly. Higher scores on religiosity could be found in women compared to men and in elderly from Western Germany compared to those from Eastern Germany. There were no significant correlations between religiosity and body complaints. It is discussed whether the self-ratings of religiosity reflect conventional ideas of a religious orientated person rather than a genuine spiritual attitude.