Religion, Spirituality, Globalization Reflected in Life Beliefs Among Urban Asian Indian Youth

Spiritual and religious values/beliefs/practices are entwined in all aspects of functioning among people in the Indian subcontinent. The current study focuses on understanding the spiritual zeitgeist entwined in the mundane day-to-day functioning (e.g., lifestyles/beliefs) of young people in India. Undergraduates at Xavier's College in Mumbai, India (N = 361; M-age = 19 years; Females = 67.7%; Hindus = 41.1%, Christian/Catholic = 38.7%; Other = 20.02%) completed a 30-item survey of lifestyle beliefs. Exploratory factor analysis indicated the presence of 6 factors: collectivism, materialism, collectivism, religiosity, personal agency, spirituality/wellness, and karma. These factors can be conceptualized as karma (action/word/deed-rewards/punishments) and dharma (duty/responsibility/righteousness) and tradition and nontradition (materialism/ambition). Data from a subgroup of the sample (n = 153; female: 92%; Hindu: 42.5%; Christian: 44.4%; Other: 9.8%; Muslim: 3.3%) indicated some overlap in traditional Indian values and Western conceptualizations of spiritual and religious well-being; specifically, collectivism (r=.22), religiosity (r=.75), and karma (r=.21) positively correlated and materialism (r=-.24) negatively correlated with religious well-being; religiosity (r=.16) and collectivism (r=.17) were positively correlated with existential well-being. Interdependent self-construal correlated with collectivism (r=.46), religiosity (r=.23), and karma (r=.22). Identification with being Indian correlated with collectivism (r=.23), religiosity (r=.29), spirituality/wellness (r=.16), and karma (r=.23) indicating a strong association between self-perceived Indianness and traditional values. This sample represents young people in Mumbai, which is at the forefront of globalization. Overall data indicate resilience of traditional Indian values and beliefs (e.g., karma/dharma) and change as reflected in endorsement of materialism, ambition, and self. These preliminary data provide avenues for further exploring the influences of forces of globalization on resilient traditional Indian values.