Carlos Biaggi from a search for the sacred. The term ‘search’ refers to attempts to identify, articulate, maintain, or transform. The term ‘sacred’ refers to a divine being, divine object, Ultimate Reality, or Ultimate Truth as perceived by the individual”. In addition, Spilka (1993) found that contemporary definitions of spirituality can be described as (1) God-oriented, (2) world-oriented, or (3) humanistic or people-oriented. Therefore, for the purpose of this paper spirituality is defined as the individual level feelings, thoughts, experiences, and behaviours that relate to an individual’s search for God. The literature review shows that the spirituality construct has been confused and often overlaps with the construct religiosity. Basically there are three views: a) researchers that see proximity between the concepts posit that religious beliefs are core to spirituality and are strongly related (e.g. Hill et al 2000; Lynn, Naughton and VanderVeen 2011; Vitell, Keith and Mathur 2011); b) researchers that contend that “spirituality and religion are not necessarily one and the same” (Conger, 1994: 12); c) and finally researchers that assert that there seems to be no connection between spirituality and religion (e. g. Giacalone and Jurkiewicz 2003; Mitroff and Denton 1999). Whereas spirituality is described as a quest for the sacred, religion has been described as a quest for the sacred plus other elements like identity, belongingness, meaning, and the support of an identifiable community (Hill et al 2000). Moberg (2002) argues that spirituality is quest until it finds embodiment in beliefs, values, or practices, becoming religion or philosophy. Therefore, this study accepts that both constructs have common aspects and for the purpose of choosing the dimensions of spirituality, will review the dimensions of both spirituality and religiosity. Cornwall et al (1986) developed a conceptual model of religiosity, which they empirically tested. The base for that model takes from psychology the “distinction between knowing (cognition), feeling (affect), and doing (behaviour)” (Cornwall et al, 1986: 227). Their empirical test of the model, done on 1,874 Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) in the United States, revealed five dimensions: one cognitive, two affective, and two behavioural. Later, using Cornwall et al’s model Parboteeah, Hoegl, and Cullen (2008) empirically tested the relationship between religion and ethics. Using data from the World Values Survey (2000), a large sample of 63,087 respondents from 44 countries, they found support for three dimensions of religiosity cognitive, affective, and behavioural- and their negative relationship to ethics. They argue that a multidimensional model explains better the relationship between religion and ethics than a unidimensional construct of religiosity, such as religion affiliation or church attendance. Other researchers also support the notion that religiosity should be measured by cognitive and behavioural dimensions, but leave out the affective dimensions (McDaniel and Burnett 1990; Rashid and Ibrahim 2007). However, early studies of religiosity have distinguished between religious beliefs, religious feelings, and religious practices (e.g. Hall 1891; Starbuck 1899). Following Cornwall et al (1986) and Parboteeah, Hoegl, and Cullen (2008) this paper builds a conceptual model of spirituality formed by three dimensions: affective, cognitive, and behavioural. Proposition 1: Three dimensions form spirituality: communion with God (affective), belief in God’s truths (cognitive), and walking with God (behaviour). 2.1.1 Affective dimension: Communion with God Cornwall et al (1986: 227) argue that the affective dimension “is the feeling dimension and encompasses feelings toward religious beings, objects, or institutions”. They posit that the affective dimension is the religious experience in which individuals have a relationship with God. De Jong, Faulkner and Warland’s (1976) cross cultural study of the dimensions of religiosity also found evidence for a ‘religious experience’ dimension. They pictured this affective dimension as closeness to God, joy of forgiveness, and repentance. Thus, what activities do Christians perform to communicate with God? White (1948: 112-113) argues that Christians who want to be connected with God should dedicate time every day to Bible study, prayer, and meditation. Gallagher and Newton (2009) argue that conservative Protestants seek to be different from ‘the world’ by Bible reading, among other activities. According to Johnson (2008: 13) “the use of literature such as the Bible… can guide us in making choices that are consistent with our deepest and best desires, and with God's will for our lives”.
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