Volume IV: Society, Culture, and Local Ecological Wisdom

Spiritual Counseling Experiences and the Meaning Making of Universal Religious Values among the Zilenial Generation

  • Novi Hidayati Afsari UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia

Keywords

Spiritual Counseling; Universal Religious Values; Zilenial Generation; Spiritual Resilience.

Abstract

The zilenial generation encounters diverse personal, social, and spiritual challenges that shape their spiritual needs and meaning-making processes. While they receive spiritual counseling within their respective religious traditions, they also internalize spiritual practices that are universally present across religions, including self-reflection, mindfulness, gratitude, forgiveness, compassion, and the search for meaning in life. These practices function as shared spiritual resources that strengthen personal well-being without diminishing individual religious identity. This study aims to explore the lived experiences of spiritual counseling and the meaning-making of universal religious values among the zilenial generation. Employing a qualitative phenomenological approach within a constructivist paradigm, the study investigates how participants interpret their spiritual counseling experiences and construct meanings from universal religious values encountered in everyday life. Data are collected through in-depth interviews, participant observation, and reflective narrative analysis involving zilenial participants from diverse religious backgrounds. The data are analyzed using thematic analysis to identify the essence of participants' spiritual experiences and spiritual needs. This study is expected to contribute to the advancement of spiritual counseling by identifying universally shared spiritual practices as common ground across religious traditions while respecting the uniqueness of each faith. Furthermore, the findings are expected to provide a conceptual foundation for developing an interfaith spiritual counseling framework that promotes spiritual resilience, mutual understanding, and inclusive spiritual care among the zilenial generation.

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