S p i r i t ua l i t y S t u d i e s 2 - 2 Fa l l 2 0 1 6 3 9 Amir Azarvan Figure 1. Ideological Breakdown of Sample (Percentages) 0 10 20 30 40 36 35 17 3 8 1 4.2 Askesis and Ideology On the 1–10 ideological scale, the average scores of my samples in Rounds 1 and 2 were 5.9 and 6.3 – in both cases indicating a center-right orientation (see Figure 2 for the distribution of self-reported ideological scores). In Round 1, however, the spirituality index was not significantly correlated with this particular measure of ideology. In Round 2, there was a positive association (the more spiritually involved, the further to the right one placed oneself ideologically), although the correlation was not particularly strong or significant at a conventional level (p < .1). Figure 2. Distribution of Self-Reported Ideology on the 1-10 Scale (Percentages) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Those whose responses to the OSPIT placed them in one of the four “pure” ideological types analyzed in my study (i.e., the communitarian, conservative, liberal, and libertarian) varied considerably in their level of spiritual involvement. Communitarians and conservatives were the most spiritually active (see Figure 3). Liberals were on average 9 and 11 points less spiritually involved than their conservative and communitarian counterparts, respectively [11]. Figure 3. Average Spirituality Index Score by Ideological Group Communitarian Conservative Liberal Liberal-Communitarian Libertarian 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 70 68 59 55 52
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