Large majorities of Americans say they feel a deep sense of wonder about the universe (71%) or a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being (66%) several times a year or more often.
Other types of spiritual experience are less common, yet still experienced by many Americans.
Almost half of U.S. adults (45%) report ever having had a sudden feeling of connection with something from beyond this world, while three-in-ten say they have personally encountered a spirit or unseen spiritual force.
This chapter explores these topics in greater detail.
Regular experiences of wonder or connection
Wonder about the universe
Among all U.S. adults, 71% say they feel a deep sense of wonder about the universe at least several times a year, including 46% who have this feeling monthly or more often.
Atheists (60%) and agnostics (58%) are more likely than members of other religious groups in this analysis to say they feel a deep sense of wonder about the universe monthly or more often, as are adults under 50 compared with those who are older.
Asian adults (31%) are less likely than those who are White (46%), Black (46%) or Hispanic (45%) to feel a deep sense of wonder about the universe monthly or more often.
Spiritual peace and well-being
Two-thirds of U.S. adults say they feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being at least several times a year, including 44% who have this feeling monthly or more often.
Jews (28%) and the religiously unaffiliated (30%) are less likely than Catholics (41%) and Protestants (53%) to say they feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being monthly or more often. Evangelical Protestants and those in the historically Black Protestant tradition are the most likely of the religious and nonreligious groups analyzed in this report to say they feel this (60% and 56%, respectively).
Atheists are the least likely of all the religious and nonreligious groups in this analysis to say they regularly feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being. In fact, most atheists – 63% – say they seldom or never feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being.
Nearly six-in-ten Black adults (57%) say they feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being monthly or more often, which is greater than the share of Hispanic (46%), White (41%) or Asian (29%) adults who say the same.
Additionally, women are more likely than men to say they feel this sense of spiritual peace at least monthly (48% vs. 39%).
Pew Research Center previously asked these questions about experiences of wonder and peace in our 2007 and 2014 Religious Landscape Studies. However, those surveys were conducted by telephone, and so it is not clear whether those earlier results can be directly compared with the new estimates (which come from a self-administered online survey).
Sense of connection with humanity
Roughly three-in-ten U.S. adults (31%) say they feel a deep sense of connection with humanity monthly or more often. Demographic differences on this question are relatively modest, though Black adults (38%) are more likely than White adults (28%) or Asian Americans (27%) to say they feel a deep sense of connection with their fellow humans monthly or more often.
Feeling the presence of something from beyond
One-in-five Americans (22%) say they feel the presence of something from beyond this world at least monthly. That includes about three-in-ten Protestants (29%) and smaller shares of Catholics (19%), religiously unaffiliated adults (13%) and Jews (9%).
Additionally, adults who are Black (31%) or Hispanic (27%) are more likely than those who are White (20%) or Asian (11%) to say they feel the presence of something from beyond this world monthly or more often.
Sudden encounters with the spiritual realm
In addition to asking respondents about repeated or frequent experiences of spirituality, we also asked if they have ever had certain kinds of encounters.
Sudden connection with the beyond
Many U.S. adults (45%) say they have ever had a sudden or unexpected feeling of connection with something from beyond this world, including 49% of Protestants who say this.
Catholics, Jewish Americans and religiously unaffiliated adults look similar on this question, with roughly four-in-ten in each group saying they have had such an experience.
Personal encounters with spirits
Fewer U.S. adults say they have ever personally encountered a spirit or unseen spiritual force: 30% of Americans say they’ve had such an encounter, though roughly two-thirds believe in the existence of spirits or unseen spiritual forces. For a discussion of spiritual beliefs, turn to Chapter 2.
Of the country’s large religious groups, Protestants (36%) are the most likely to say they have personally encountered a spirit or unseen spiritual force, while smaller shares of the religiously unaffiliated (26%), Catholics (25%) and Jews (11%) say the same.
Around one-third of women (35%) report having personally encountered a spirit or unseen spiritual force, compared with one-quarter of men.
And 39% of Black Americans have encountered a spirit or unseen spiritual force, compared with 30% of Hispanic adults, 29% of White Americans and 18% of Asian Americans.
Communication from the deceased
About four-in-ten Americans say they have ever had a strong feeling that someone who has passed away was trying to communicate with them. That includes 51% of adults in the historically Black Protestant tradition and 47% of Catholics.
Smaller shares of Jews (31%) and evangelical Protestants (30%) say they have ever had a strong feeling that a dead person was trying to communicate with them. Among the religiously unaffiliated, 35% say this.
Among the religiously unaffiliated, 44% of those who say their religion is “nothing in particular” say they have had a strong feeling that someone who has passed away was communicating with them, compared with 24% of agnostics and 15% of atheists.
And women are much more likely than men to have had a strong feeling that a deceased person was trying to communicate with them (47% vs. 29%).
A recent Pew Research Center survey conducted in spring 2023 found that 53% of U.S. adults said they had ever been visited by a dead family member in a dream or other form. That survey also found that in the past 12 months, 34% had felt the presence of a dead relative and 15% said dead family members communicated with them.
A different Center survey, conducted in September 2021, explored what Americans think heaven and hell are like. It found that among U.S. adults who believe in heaven, 25% think it is definitely or probably true that the deceased are able to have relationships with people who are still living on Earth.
Turn to Chapter 2 for a discussion of Americans’ views about the deceased and their abilities.
