Chapter 6 What Is above Everything?
Conceptions of the Sacred among Finnish Youth
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Abstract
Individuals’ conceptions and understandings of the sacred illustrate the deepest levels of their identity and spiritualty. Our chapter presents the findings of our research based on representative data from Finnish youth (Ranta et al., 2016). We examine how understandings of the sacred are related to religiosity and non-religiosity, and how the definitions vary across gender. Interestingly, more than in older age groups, youth link elements of both individuality and togetherness to their understanding of the sacred. Our study reflects cultural interpretations of what the sacred means for Finnish youth. All in all, in order for teachers to understand young peoples’ world view, sense of purpose, and values, exploration of these understandings is crucial. This will help the teachers of tomorrow’s schools to support the wellbeing and identity construction of youth.