The Kendal Project
	Patterns of the sacred in contemporary society
	www.kendalproject.org.uk
	Department of Religious Studies and Institute for Environment,
	Philosophy and Public Policy, Lancaster University.

We are very much hoping that you might be able to help us with The Kendal Project, a research project based at Lancaster University. One of our key aims is to chart the growth and significance of alternative spiritual groups and complementary therapies and medicine.

You have probably been given this questionnaire by a group facilitator or a practitioner in or around Kendal. We would like to find out more about you: Your beliefs, your reasons for being involved in this activity, your life experiences and so forth. It would be extremely helpful if you could find 25 minutes to fill in this questionnaire. We think you’ll find the questions quite interesting and you’ll also be contributing to what we think is ground breaking research of wider national significance.   

There is an optional section at the end of the questionnaire for your name and address. Regardless of whether or not you provide this information, you are assured of the confidentiality of your replies. The overall results of the survey will be used in publications. 

Please return the questionnaire in the addressed, reply-paid envelope provided. We’d be grateful if you could do this by Monday 26th November at the latest. 

Many thanks for your time,

Dr. Benjamin Seel

Prof. Paul Heelas 
Dr. Bronislaw Szerszynski
Dr. Karin Tusting
Ms. Linda Woodhead

Section A

1.	Which of the following groups or therapies have you tried in or within 5 miles of Kendal? 

(Please tick to indicate when you did them, and whether they had some spiritual dimension for you. Remember: In or within 5 miles of Kendal only!)

	(If applicable, please tick one or both)	Does this activity have a spiritual dimension for you?
(Please tick if so)	
	Have attended in the past 7 days	Have tried before		
Acupressure				
Acupuncture				
Alexander Technique				
Aromatherapy				
Art therapy/group				
Astrology				
Bahai group				
Buddhist group 				
 A CancerCare group				
Chinese College of Physical Culture				
Chiropractice				
Circle Dancing				
Counselling 				
Cranio-sacral therapy				
Energy management workshops				
Flower essences therapy				
Foot massage				
GreenSpirit group				
Healing/
 Spiritual healing				
Herbalism				
Homeopathy				
Hypnotherapy				
Indian Head massage				
Inter-faith group				
Iona Group				
Kinaesiology				
Massage				
Meridian therapy				
Metamorphic technique				
	(If applicable, please tick one or both)	Did this activity have a spiritual dimension for you?
(Please tick if so)	
	Have attended in the past 7 days	Have tried before		
Naturopathy				
Nutritional therapy				
Osteopathy				
Pagan activities				
Palm readings				
Play therapy				
Psychic consultancy				
Psychotherapy				
Rebirthing				
Reflexology				
Reiki				
Relaxation therapy				
Sai Baba group				
Sea of Faith group				
Shiatsu				
Spinal touch therapy				
Tai Chi / Chi Kung				
Taize singing group				
Tarot card reading				
True Vision group				
Universal Peace dancing				
Vision therapy (not opticians)				
Wild Women group				
Women’s spirituality group				
Yoga				
Other(s)
(please write in)				

				

Section B

This next section of the questionnaire is concerned with the group or therapy you have attended (in or within 5 miles of Kendal) in the past 7 days. If you have been involved in more than one such activity, please take the one that is of most importance in your life. 

2.  Please write the name of this group or therapy here:…………………………………

3.  Please indicate your most important reasons for originally trying this activity or therapy.

(Please rank with numbers 1, 2, 3, etc – as many as are applicable)

a)	Looking for personal growth
b)	Looking for spiritual growth
c)	To meet like-minded people
d)	‘Time out’ of the daily routines
e)	Health and fitness
f)	Stress relief
g)	Bodily pain or illness
h)	Dissatisfaction with mainstream medicine
i)	To complement mainstream medical treatment
j)	Emotional support or human contact
k)	Life crisis (such as a relationship break-up, bereavement or job loss)
l)	‘Pleasure, enjoyment, or ‘a treat’
m)	Other 
n)	Don’t know

4.  Please indicate the most important reasons that you are now involved in this activity or therapy.

(Please rank with numbers 1, 2, 3, etc – as many as are applicable)
 
a)	Personal growth
b)	Spiritual growth
c)	Meeting like-minded people
d)	‘Time out’ of the daily routines
e)	Health and fitness
f)	Stress relief
g)	Pain relief or relief from illness
h)	Dissatisfaction with mainstream medicine
i)	To complement mainstream medical treatment
j)	Emotional support or human contact
k)	Life crisis (such as a relationship break-up, bereavement or job loss)
l)	Pleasure, enjoyment, or ‘a treat’
m)	Other 
n)	Don’t know

5.  If you had to rank the importance of this activity in your life from 1 to 10, where 1 indicates it is completely insignificant and 10 indicates it is of ‘life or death’ importance, what number would you give? …………
6.  Is your interest in this activity or therapy shared by any children you have had?

(please circle one) 

Yes 		No		Not applicable

Section C

The following questions are about you and your experiences and beliefs. 

7.  Which of these would you say you are?

(please circle any that apply)

a)	A spiritual person
b)	A religious person
c)	Not a spiritual person
d)	Not a religious person
e)	An agnostic person 
f)	A convinced atheist
g)	Don’t know

8.	Which of these statements comes closest to your beliefs?

(please circle one)

a)	There is a personal God
b)	There is some sort of spirit or life force
c)	There is something there
d)	I don’t really know what to think
e)	I don’t really think there is any sort of God, spirit or life force
f)	None of these

9.    We understand that the following statements are not at all mutually exclusive, but if you had to choose one, which of the following would you say is the best description of your core beliefs about spirituality?

(please circle one)

a)	Spirituality is being a caring and decent person
b)	Spirituality is healing oneself and others 
c)	Spirituality is living life to the full
d)	Spirituality is overcoming the ego
e)	Spirituality is obeying God’s will
f)	Spirituality is being in touch with subtle energies
g)	Spirituality is love
h)	I don’t know what spirituality is
i)	I’m not concerned with spirituality
j)	I don’t believe in ‘spirituality’

 
10.	Do you believe in any of the following?

(please tick one column for each)

	Yes	No	Don’t know	
Life after death				
Reincarnation				
Heaven				
Hell 				
The power of prayer				
Miracles				
Special healing powers 				
That humankind is entering a New Age of spiritual evolution				
A true self				
A soul				
Some sort of spirit or life force that pervades all that lives				
Chakras				
Subtle energy (or energy channels) in the body				
Extra sensory perception				
Precognition				
God				
Jesus was the son of God				
Jesus was just a man				
Jesus was just a story 				
Sin				
The devil				
Angels				
Other holy or higher beings				
A spirit world				
UFOs				
Ley lines				
Other (please state) ………………….				
…………………………………..				
…………………………………..				

11.	 How often, if at all, do you think about the meaning and purpose of life?

(please circle one)

a)	Often
b)	Sometimes
c)	Rarely
d)	Never
e)	Don’t know

12.	 How important is spirituality in your life?

(please circle one)

Not at all							        Very
1		2	3          4	5	6	7	8	9	10

13.  People sometimes describe special personal experiences. Have any of the following ever happened to you?
	And if they have, would you describe the experience as religious, spiritual or neither?

	If Yes, please tick	If yes, please tick any that apply	
		Religious	Spiritual	Neither	
An awareness of receiving help in answer to prayer					
A feeling of being in touch with someone who had died					
An awareness of spirits or ghosts					
An awareness of the presence of God					
A sacred experience of nature 					
A pattern of events in your life that convinces you that they were your destiny					
A pattern of events in your life that convinces you that they were controlled by a higher power					
A sense of great peace					
An extraordinary feeling of inner bliss					
An out of body experience					
A near-death experience					
An extraordinary inner experience triggered by giving birth					
An extraordinary inner experience triggered by having sex					
An extraordinary inner experience triggered by taking drugs					
An accurate precognition of future events					
Extra sensory perception of events or someone’s thoughts					
Other (please state) 
……………………………………………
……………………………………………					

14. Which of the following most closely describes your attitude to mainstream Christianity? Are you,

(Please circle one)

a)	A committed, church-going Christian
b)	Not a committed Christian, but support Christian values
c)	Indifferent to Christianity
d)	Critical of Christianity
e)	Don’t know

15.	In political matters, people talk of “the left” and “the right”. How would you place your views on this scale, generally speaking?

(please circle one)

Left			                                                                                            Right	
1		2	3          4	5	6	7	8	9	10

Don’t know	

16.	On balance, do you think scientific developments are helping or harming mankind?

(please circle one)

Mostly helping					  Mostly harming
1		2	3          4	5	6	7	8	9	10

Don’t know

17.  On balance, do you think economic growth is helping or harming mankind?

(please circle one)

Mostly helping					  Mostly harming
1		2	3          4	5	6	7	8	9	10

Don’t know

18.  Would you say you were ‘a child of the 1960s’?

(please circle one)

Yes 		No 		Don’t know 

19.  Did you live in or within five miles of Kendal for some or all of your childhood?

(Please circle one)

Yes 		No 	

	Section D

The following questions are about various activities in your life. 

20.  Which of the following have you purchased, read, watched, or listened to during the last year?

(please circle any that apply)

a)	Spiritual or religious (not specifically Christian) books or magazines
b)	Christian books or magazines
c)	Spiritual or religious (not specifically Christian) videotapes, TV or films
d)	Christian videotapes, TV or films
e)	Spiritual or religious (not specifically Christian) music or relaxation tapes
f)	Christian music or relaxation tapes 
g)	Other mind, body and spirit products (healing oils, crystals, spiritual art, etc.)
h)	Other Christian products

21.  Do you ever do any of the following at home?

(please circle any that apply)

a)	Meditate
b)	Pray
c)	Yoga 
d)	Tai Chi
e)	Massage (give or receive)
f)	     Healing (give or receive)
g)	Other spiritual / therapeutic activity (please write in)
 	…………………………..
	……………………………
	……………………………

22.  What, if any, was your religious or spiritual upbringing?

(please circle any that apply)

a)	Brought up with a religious faith at home
b)	Brought up with a religious faith at school
c)	Brought up with a religious faith at church
d)	Brought up to be spiritual
e)	Not brought up to be religious or spiritual
f)	Brought up to make up my own mind

23.	If you used to attend church regularly but no longer do so, at around what age did you give up going?

(please circle one)

Under 15			45-49
10-15			50-54	
16-19			55-59
20-24			60-64			
25-29			65-69
30-34			70-74
35-39			75 and over
40-44			Not applicable

24.  Have you ever been a member of any of the following organisations?

(please circle any that apply)

a)	The Conservative Party
b)	The Labour Party
c)	The SLDP/ Liberal/ SDP
d)	The Green Party
e)	Another political party
f)	CND or other peace organisations
g)	Feminist organisations
h)	Human rights organisations 
i)	Environmental organisations
j)	Other (please state) ………………………………..

25.  Which, if any, of the following things have you done in the last year or two?

(please circle any that apply)

a)	Read or watched TV about wildlife, conservation, natural resources or the Third World
b)	Given or raised money for wildlife, conservation, or Third World charities
c)	Selected one product over another because of its environmentally friendly packaging, formulation or advertising 
d)	Requested information from an organisation dealing with wildlife, conservation, natural resources, or the Third World
e)	Subscribed to a magazine concerned with wildlife, conservation, natural resources or the Third World
f)	Been a member of an environmental group or charity (even if you joined more than two years ago)
g)	Visited or written a letter to an MP or councillor about wildlife, conservation, natural resources or the Third World
h)	Campaigned about an environmental issue
i)	Written a letter for publication about wildlife, conservation, natural resources or the Third World

26.  Which, if any, of these things do you do, or have you done in the last 12 months as a result of concern for the environment? 

(please circle any that apply)

a)	Bought products which come in recycled packaging
b)	Bought products made from recycled material
c)	Bought household, domestic, or toiletry products that have not been tested on animals
d)	Bought free-range eggs or chickens
e)	Regularly used a bottle bank
f)	Kept down the amount of electricity and fuel your household uses
g)	Sent your own waste paper to be recycled
h)	Bought 'environmentally friendly' phosphate-free detergents or household cleaners
i)	Avoided using chemical fertilisers or pesticides in your garden
j)	Bought products which come in biodegradable packaging
k)	Bought food products which are organically grown
l)	Avoided using the services or products of a company which you consider has a poor environmental record
m)	Kept down the amount you use your car
n)	Avoided buying chlorine bleached nappies
o)	Have a catalytic converter fitted to your car
p)	Have loft insulation

27.  Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your home life?

(please circle one)
	
Dissatisfied                                                                           Satisfied
1		2	3          4	5	6	7	8	9	10

28.  Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your work life?
	
(please circle one)
	
Dissatisfied                                                                           Satisfied
1		2	3          4	5	6	7	8	9	10

29. What would you say are the three most important problems facing you, personally, these days?

(please write in)

1. .……………………………………………………………………………………………
2. …………………………………………………………………………………………….
3. …………………………………………………………………………………………….

Section E

The following questions are designed to test certain areas of knowledge. Please just go by your present ‘off the top of your head’ knowledge and do not consult friends or books.  

(please circle one for each question)

30.  Where is Findhorn?

a)	Wales
b)	America
c)	Australia
d)	Scotland
e)	Don’t know

31.  What is chi?

a)	An oriental drink
b)	A martial art
c)	A life force or energy
d)	A kind of meditation
e)	Don’t know

32.	 What is the Celestine Prophecy?

a)	A spiritual novel 
b)	A sermon in the Old Testament
c)	A prediction of Nostradamus
d)	A film about ecology and spirituality
e)	Don’t know

Section F

About You. 

33.	Are you,

(please circle one)

Male		Female

34.	How old are you?

(please circle one)

under 16			45-49
16-19			50-54
20-24			55-59
25-29			60-64
30-34			65-69
35-39			70-74
40-44			75 and over
35.  All in all, how would you describe your state of health these days?

(please circle one)

a)	Very good
b)	Good
c)	Fair
d)	Poor
e)	Very poor

36.  Are you currently,

(please circle one)

a)	Living with husband or wife
b)	Living with partner
c)	Lone parent living with children
d)	Living with non-family members
e)	Living alone

37. What is your marital status?

(please circle any that apply)

a)	Never married
b)	Presently married
c)	Divorced
d)	Separated
e)	Widowed.

38.  Are there any children under the age of 18 living in your household?

(please circle one)

Yes			No

39.  How many adults (including yourself) do you have in your household aged 18 or over?  

(please write in)   ………………

40.	Which member of your household would you say is the Chief Income Earner, that is, the person with the largest income, whether from employment, pensions, state benefits, investments or any other source?

(please circle one)

	Myself		Partner or Spouse			Other

41. Which of these best describes what you and the household’s Chief Income Earner were doing last week (during the seven days ending last Saturday)? (If you were on holiday, what were you doing in the way of work before your holiday?) 
	
(please tick)

	You	Chief income earner
 (if this is not you)	
In full-time work			
In full-time education			
O  On a government training/employment scheme			
In  In part-time work			
Waiting to take up paid work in a definite job			
Unemployed and registered at a benefit office			
Unemployed and not registered			
Permanently sick or disabled, or wholly retired from work			
Looking after the home			
Other (please specify)……………………………………….			

42.  What is your occupation and your household’s Chief Income Earner’s occupation?

(please tick)

	You	Chief income earner
(if this is not you)	
Farmer or farm manager			
Farm worker			
Skilled manual worker (e.g. plumber, electrician, fitter, driver, cook, hairdresser)			
Semi-skilled or unskilled manual worker (e.g. postman, machine operator, assembler, waiter, cleaner, labourer)			
Clerical worker (e.g. clerk, secretary, telephone operator)			
Sales worker (e.g. shop assistant, commercial traveller)			
Supervisor or foreman of manual or clerical workers			
Professional or technical occupation (e.g. doctor, teacher, social worker, accountant, computer programmer)			
Manager or senior administrator (e.g. company director, executive officer, local authority officer)			
Other (please specify)……………………………………….			

43.  What type of employer do you and your household’s Chief Income Earner work for? 

(please tick)

	You	Chief income earner
(if this is not you)	
Private firm or company			
Private firm or company			
National industry/ public corporation			
Local authority			
Health authority/ hospital			
Primary or secondary school			
College or university 			
Charity			
Never had a job			
Self-employed			
Other (please specify)			
Not applicable			

44. 	At what age did you (or will you) complete your full-time education?

(please write in) …………………….

45a.  Have you ever attended (or are you now attending) a university or college to study for a degree?

(please circle one)

Yes		No

45b.  (If yes) What was (or is) your main field of study?

(please circle one)

a)	Arts and humanities (e.g. languages, philosophy, history)
b)	Social sciences (e.g. sociology, psychology, politics, planning)
c)	Business, law, management or economics
d)	Engineering
e)	Biology
f)	Other natural sciences (e.g. physics, chemistry)
g)	Medicine
h)	Other (please specify)………………………….

46.  And do you,

(please circle one)

a)	Own your own home outright (without mortgage)
b)	Own with a mortgage
c)	Rent from a council or development corporation
d)	Rent from a private landlord
e)	Other

The Kendal Project team and Lancaster University thank you very much for the time and help you have given. You are assured of the confidentiality of your replies, but the overall results will be used in publications.

If you would be happy for us to contact you to discuss things further, or if you would like to receive Kendal Project newsletters (which will, amongst other things, present the findings of this survey), please fill in the following section. 

* Please tick if you would be willing to take part in a Kendal Project focus group…….

* Please tick if you would be willing to take part in a Kendal Project interview……….. 

* Please tick if you would like to receive copies of Kendal Project newsletters………. 

 Name:

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