The spirit moves Baby Boomers

AARP has found that Baby Boomers are intensely spiritual, believing in divine healing, miracles and guardian angels.

AARP's Knowledge Management division commissioned a study to measure, in its words, "what Americans 45 and older think about miracles and miraculous events, including what they believe about divine healings, guardian angels, the circumstances under which someone may receive a miracle, and how miraculous events have changed their outlook on life."

The telephone survey included an oversample of Hispanic respondents.

The survey found:

• 80 percent said they believe miracles occur today as they did in antiquity,
• 67 percent said they believe illness and injuries can be divinely healed,
• 37 percent said they witnessed a miracle,
• 27 percent have witnessed a divine healing,
• 11 percent of seen an angel.

In addition, younger Boomers hold to more spiritual beliefs than older Boomers: Respondents age 45-54 were more likely to believe in miracles (85 percent) than those age 55 and older (77 percent).

Also, from the oversample the survey found that Hispanic Boomers have stronger spiritual beliefs in this regard than their white counterparts:

• 86 percent believe in miracles,
• 86 percent believe in spirits and angels,
• 82 percent believe in divine healing.

 

 

Topics: Baby Boomers , Spirituality