Czesław Walesa

Gravity is a natural force found in different dimensions. Mental gravity includes inertia, addiction, mindlessness and other similar processes or states. Anti-gravity, on the other hand, includes activity, freedom, openness, mindfulness, etc. Religiosity is a personal and positive relation of human to God. Processes of religiosity – according to its structural definition – include the following clusters of processes (parameters): (1) religious awareness, (2) religious feelings, (3) religious decisions (preferences), (4) a bond with a community of believers, (5) religious practices, (6) religious morality, (7) religious experiences, and (8) forms of confessing the faith (especially prayerful and sacrificial acts and the sense of mystery). The article is meant as an analysis of anti-gravitational processes of religiosity in the abovementioned domains. It presents a specific language about and a fragment of the language of religiosity.

The aim of the study was to examine the differences in religious experience in early, middle and late adulthood. The study examined 608 people who were a part of catholic religious communities. Religious Experience Scale, which includes five dimensions: Importance rating, Negative experiences, God’s support, Entrusting in God and Openness to God, was used. Statistical analyzes showed that the level of religious experience was significantly differentiated by the age of the respondents for four out of five dimensions of Religious Experience: Importance rating, God’s support, Entrusting in God and Negative experiences. People in late adulthood were characterized by the highest level of Importance rating, God’s support, Entrusting in God and the lowest level of Negative experiences compared to people in early and middle adulthood. The nature of late adulthood – i.e., the ability to discover the specificity of religious experience to understand and interpret the signs of God’s presence and action in everyday events – may account for the observed effects. The results of the study add to the knowledge on religious experience depending on the developmental stage of the person. They could be used to adjust the character of pastoral counseling to the needs of specific age groups of adult clients.