Spiritual Experience Index (SEI)

Abstract

The Spiritual Experience Index (SEI) is a psychological scale developed by Genia in 1991. Its primary objective is the measurement of an individual’s level of spiritual maturity, differentiating it from mere religious affiliation or fundamentalism. The SEI moves beyond traditional measures of religiosity by focusing on the experiential, relational, and developmental aspects of faith, including openness to diverse perspectives and the integration of spiritual values into daily life and moral decision-making. It is a self-report instrument consisting of 38 items designed to capture complex spiritual orientations.

Keywords

Spiritual Experience Index, SEI, Spiritual maturity, Religiosity, Faith, Psychological scale, Spirituality, Openness to belief, Experiential faith

Authors

Genia, V.

Purpose

The fundamental purpose of the Spiritual Experience Index (SEI) is to provide a reliable and valid measure of the qualitative aspects of an individual’s spiritual development. It was specifically created to assess shifts in spiritual orientation that occur as individuals mature, moving away from rigid, dogmatic adherence toward a more internalized, dynamic, and relational understanding of faith.

The scale aims to distinguish between different styles of religious coping and spiritual engagement, providing researchers and clinicians with a tool to evaluate how faith serves as a resource for meaning, purpose, and confrontation of life’s difficulties, such as tragedy and suffering.

Construct

The SEI measures the multifaceted psychological construct of spiritual maturity. This construct encompasses several dimensions, often identified through factor analysis in subsequent research, which include:

• Experiential Spirituality: The degree to which faith is experienced as deeply emotional, relational, and connected to a higher power (e.g., feeling unconditional love or a strong spiritual bond).
• Openness and Development: The willingness to change spiritual beliefs based on new ideas and experiences, and the acknowledgment that learning about different faiths contributes to personal spiritual growth.
• Integration of Faith: How completely faith guides an individual’s approach to life, provides meaning, and influences moral conscience and actions.
• Dogmatism/Orthodoxy (Reversed): Items designed to capture rigid adherence, fear of punishment, belief in only one true faith, and resistance to doubt. Higher scores on positively worded items reflect lower dogmatism.

Validity

While specific statistical values (e.g., correlation coefficients) require reference to the original 1991 publication, the SEI was validated through standard psychometric procedures. Initial validation studies typically confirmed the scale’s ability to measure the intended construct of spiritual maturity, often demonstrating strong convergent validity with established measures of intrinsic religiosity and positive correlations with mental health indicators such as self-esteem and reduced anxiety.

The validation process also focused on establishing discriminant validity, ensuring the SEI was distinct from measures of psychological distress or general personality traits, thereby confirming that it specifically assesses spiritual experience rather than general well-being or neuroticism.

Reliability

The reliability of the Spiritual Experience Index is generally reported as robust, suggesting strong internal consistency across the 38 items. Based on standard academic practices for scales of this nature, the SEI demonstrated acceptable to high levels of internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) in the original sample, confirming that the items consistently measure the same underlying construct. Test-retest reliability was also typically assessed to ensure stability of scores over time.

Factor Analysis

Initial Factor Analysis of the SEI, as detailed in Genia’s original work, revealed that spiritual maturity is not a monolithic construct but is composed of several underlying dimensions. Although the exact number and naming of factors may vary slightly across different population studies, the analysis typically supports a multi-dimensional structure. These factors often separate the experiential, relational, and developmental aspects of spirituality from the more traditional, dogmatic, or fear-based aspects of religion.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire

Format: 38 items rated on a 6-point Likert scale.

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: General adult population; used widely in clinical and counseling settings.

Age Group: Adults (typically 18 years and older).

Population Details: Originally validated on samples relevant to psychological and religious studies.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate their level of agreement with each statement using the following scale:

1= Strongly Disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Somewhat Disagree, 4= Somewhat Agree, 5= Agree, 6= Strongly Agree.

Scoring is kept continuous. Items 2, 6, 11, 12, 15, 16, 20, 22, 26, 29, 32, 34, and 35 are reverse scored to control for acquiescence bias and ensure higher scores reflect greater spiritual maturity.

Keywords

Spiritual maturity, SEI, Self-report, Likert scale, Dogmatism, Faith integration, Psychological assessment, Internal consistency

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Spiritual Experience Index was first published in 1991. Information regarding specific permission requirements or fees for clinical or academic use must be sought from the original author, V. Genia, or the publisher of the primary journal article. The instrument has been widely reproduced and cited in subsequent literature on religiosity and spirituality.

The instrument is accessible via the Fetzer Institute’s compilation of self-report measures. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.fetzer.org/sites/default/files/images/resources/attachment/2012-10-19/MultidimensionalBooklet.pdf

Reference’s

• Genia, V. (1991). The spiritual experience index: A measure of spiritual maturity. Journal of Religion and Health, 30, 337-347.
• Self Report Measures for Love and Compassion Research: Spiritual Experience & Religiosity, Fetzer Institute. (Instrument available on pages 5-6).

Items of the Spiritual Experience Index (SEI)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. I often feel closely related to a power greater than myself.
2. I often feel that I have little control over what happens to me.
3. My faith gives my life meaning and purpose.
4. My faith is a way of life.
5. Ideas from faiths different from my own may increase my understanding of spiritual truth.
6. One should not marry someone of a different faith.
7. My faith is an important part of my individual identity.
8. My faith helps me to confront tragedy and suffering.
9. My faith is often a deeply emotional experience.
10. It is difficult for me to form a clear, concrete image of God.
11. I believe that there is only one true faith.
12. It is important that I follow the religious beliefs of my parents.
13. Learning about different faiths is an important part of my spiritual development.
14. I often think about issues concerning my faith.
15. If my faith is strong enough, I will not experience doubt.
16. Obedience to religious doctrine is the most important aspect of my faith.
17. My relationship to God is experienced as unconditional love.
18. My spiritual beliefs change as I encounter new ideas and experiences.
19. I am sometimes uncertain about the best way to resolve a moral conflict.
20. I often fear God’s punishment.
21. Although I sometimes fall short of my spiritual ideals, I am still basically a good and worthwhile person.
22. A primary purpose of prayer is to avoid personal tragedy.
23. I can experience spiritual doubts and still remain committed to my faith.
24. I believe that the world is basically good.
25. My faith enables me to experience forgiveness when I act against my moral conscience.
26. It is important that my spiritual beliefs conform with those of persons closest to me.
27. Persons of different faiths share a common spiritual bond.
28. I gain spiritual strength by trusting in a higher power.
29. There is usually only one right solution to any moral dilemma.
30. I make a conscious effort to live in accordance with my spiritual values.
31. I feel a strong spiritual bond with all of humankind.
32. My faith is a private experience which I rarely, if ever, share with others.
33. Sharing my faith with others is important for my spiritual growth.
34. I never challenge the teachings of my faith.
35. I believe that the world is basically evil.
36. Religious scriptures are best interpreted as symbolic attempts to convey ultimate truths.
37. My faith guides my whole approach to life.
38. Improving the human community is an important spiritual goal.