Contemporary psychology increasingly examines spirituality as a psychological disposition related to self-transcendence, meaning-making, and moral functioning, extending beyond religiosity to the perception of oneself as part of a broader existential whole.
This study examined the relationship between spiritual transcendence and moral foundations using the Polish adaptations of the Spiritual Transcendence Scale (STD) and the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ-PL).
The sample consisted of 105 adult participants aged 19-71 years (M = 27.92, SD = 10.50), including 77 women (M = 27.97, SD = 10.00), 26 men (M = 28.08, SD = 12.40), and 2 individuals identifying as another gender (M = 24.00, SD = 1.41).
Significant positive correlations were found between spiritual transcendence and several moral foundations. The strongest associations emerged between transcendence proper and community-oriented moral foundations, particularly loyalty, authority, and sanctity. Spiritual openness was positively related to individualizing foundations, especially care and fairness. Positive associations were also observed between overall spirituality and both community-oriented and individualizing moral dimensions, although the relationships were stronger for the community-oriented domain.
Furthermore, between-group comparisons revealed significant differences depending on declared religiosity. Participants who identified as believing and occasionally practicing reported higher levels of overall spirituality and transcendence proper, as well as higher scores on loyalty, authority, and community-oriented morality. In contrast, non-believing and non-practicing individuals scored higher on fairness and individualizing moral foundations.
Overall, the findings suggest that different dimensions of spirituality are associated with distinct moral profiles across community-oriented and individualizing moral foundations.
Keywords: spirituality, spiritual transcendence, moral foundations, Moral Foundations Theory.