Participation in the 10th European Conference on Religion, Spirituality and Health in Basel

On June 4–6, 2026, I took part in the 10th European Conference on Religion, Spirituality and Health, held in Basel, Switzerland. The conference brought together researchers exploring the intersections between religion, spirituality, health, and human well-being.

During the conference, I gave a presentation entitled “Attachment to Nature Is Associated With Increases in Existential Life Scheme Over Six Months”. The presentation was part of the session Experience of Nature and Wondering Awe: Awe, Gratitude, and the Experience of Nature as Encounter with the Sacred, chaired by Prof. Arndt Büssing from Universität Witten/Herdecke.

In my presentation, I discussed the results of a two-wave longitudinal study on the relationship between attachment to nature and spiritual well-being among young adults. The study included 190 young adults from southern Poland and examined whether different dimensions of connection to nature predicted changes in spiritual well-being over a six-month period.

The results showed that emotional attachment to nature was associated with an increase in existential life scheme over time. In other words, participants who reported a stronger emotional bond with nature tended to experience a greater sense of meaning, coherence, and existential orientation six months later. No significant effects were found for the self-efficacy domain of spiritual well-being.

This study contributes to the growing discussion on the role of nature experiences in psychological and spiritual well-being. The findings suggest that nature may serve not only as a source of restoration and calm, but also as a meaningful context for developing a deeper sense of existential coherence.