Cross-Cultural Generalizability of the Spiritual Transcendence Scale in India

Spirituality can be perceived as a universal human experience, as evidenced by recent advances in theobiology and neurotheology. Our aspiration to find meaning within our own mortality is fundamental to human strivings. Spirituality has been found to comprise a unique factor to explain human behavior above and beyond the heritable features that comprise personality. However, little research has been conducted validating spiritual transcendence across diverse religious and cultural groups. The Spiritual Transcendence Scale (STS) along with additional attitude and personality measures were administered in an Indian sample of Hindus, Christians, and Muslims. Results showed structural validity of the STS and predictive validity independent of personality factors, consistent with U.S. samples. Gender differences between the three religions indicated that religiousness and spirituality are not isomorphic constructs. These results provided support for use of the STS in diverse samples and evidence of the universality of spiritual experience.