“Whatsoever You Do unto the Least of My Brethren, You Do unto Me:” Using the <i>Assessment of Spirituality and Religious Sentiments</i> (ASPIRES) Scale in a Socially and Economically Marginalized Rescue Mission Sample

Abstract

Homelessness is a continual problem around the world, leaving many organizations uncertain of how to serve these individuals. Although 60-percent of homeless are being served by faith-based organizations, religiosity and spirituality have been largely ignored by researchers as a way of treatment. In this study, we looked at 121 men who were admitted to a Christian-based rescue mission. The mission offered programs such as NA/AA and Spiritual Development. Those that agreed to participate in the study filled out the survey after the first 7-days of treatment, and again after 3 months. Our results revealed that due to the program, there was an overall increase in Religious Involvement, and a significant decrease in Religious Crisis. It is evident that religious and spiritual counsel is vital to improving the lives of those who are economically marginalized, and to ignore this is to not treat these individuals holistically.

Keywords

• ASPIRES
• construct validity
• spirituality