Is Spirituality an Intelligence? Motivation, Cognition, and the Psychology of Ultimate Concern

Abstract This article explores spirituality as a form of intelligence. The evidence for spirituality as a set of capacities and abilities that enable people to solve problems and attain goals in their everyday lives is evaluated. Five components of spiritual intelligence are identified: (a) the capacity for transcendence; (b) the ability to enter into heightened spiritual states of consciousness; (c) the ability to invest everyday activities, events, and relationships with a sense of the sacred; (d) the ability to utilize spiritual resources to solve problems in living; and (e) the capacity to engage in virtuous behavior (to show forgiveness, to express gratitude, to be humble, to display compassion). Evidence that spirituality meets the criteria for an intelligence is reviewed. Implications of studying spirituality within an intelligence framework are discussed.