CBS News
Why more Americans are identifying with spirituality
The number of Americans who identify as spiritual is on the rise, while many are distancing themselves from organized religion. According to a 2023 Pew Research study, seven out of 10 Americans describe themselves as spiritual in some way, a concept that can be tied to organized religion or exist outside of it.
Lisa Miller, a clinical psychologist at Teacher College, Columbia University and author of “The Awakened Brain” and “The Spiritual Child,” says humanity is at a crisis point without spirituality. In an interview at her Connecticut home, she led Lisa Ling through a meditation that evoked a spiritual experience.
“Religion, our beautiful world faith traditions, it is a gift of our parents and grandparents,” Miller explained after the meditation. “Spirituality is innate. Spirituality is an inborn human capacity.”
Miller pointed to scientific research, including MRI studies, that shows spirituality is embedded in the human brain.
“We now have an excellent peer review science of 20 years that says we are innately spiritual beings,” Miller said. “When we strengthen our spiritual core, we are healthier. We are more resilient.”
A 2023 Gallup Poll found that 82% of Americans have some type of spiritual belief system. At the same time, fewer people are identifying with organized religion. Varun Soni, interfaith chaplain at the University of Southern California, has witnessed this shift. He says people often associate religion with violence, misogyny, and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. But he believes they are missing part of the picture.
“Religion is also a place of social services, liberation theology, hospitals, and schools,” Soni said.
Despite discussing faith and spirituality, Soni said God is rarely mentioned in his conversations with students.
“You don’t need religion and you don’t need God, but you need something sacred. You need something that gets you up in the morning,” he said.
Soni oversees more student religious groups than any other chaplain in the country and has observed a trend: About 50% of students entering college have no religious background. While at the same time, depression is on the rise. He sees a direct link between the absence of faith and the increase in depression, with many young people turning to social media as a replacement for their spiritual identity.
Miller agrees that nurturing spirituality is essential for adolescents and young adults. Without it, she warns, “spiritual emergence can devolve into emptiness…despair, and depression.”
For those seeking to awaken their spiritual core, Miller encourages people to pay attention to moments of synchronicity—events that seem coincidental but she believes hold deeper meaning.
During a guided meditation with Ling, a white bird flew past the window. Ling took that as a sign, as she was thinking about synchronicity in her own life at the time it happened. Miller called it a “sacred synchronicity.”
For two decades, consumers have turned to Yelp to post their own reviews as well as to get the scoop on everything from restaurants to tourist spots. Now, the review site is disclosing the 20 most popular businesses among its millions of reviewers.
Yelp, which is marking its 20th anniversary, said the list of top 20 spots are based on nearly 300 million customer reviews of 691,000 restaurants, stores, cultural institutions and more since the site started in 2004. Places that earned top spots in the ranking ranged from museums and scenic sites to independent eateries.
The online forum kicked off in October 2004 with its first post from a reviewer named Jon B., who posted about Kabuki Springs & Spa in San Francisco. (“Show up early and take advantage of their sauna, showers and fruit bar before your massage.”)
Interestingly, Yelp’s top rated business isn’t a retailer or restaurant, but a cultural landmark: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The museum is known for more than 1.5 million pieces of art, including masterpieces such as Vincent van Gogh’s “Starry Night.”
“The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is a favorite among Yelp users for its stunning exhibits and breathtaking architecture. Reviewers rave about the beautifully curated galleries and often highlight the friendly and knowledgeable staff,” Yelp said about its No. 1 spot.
Yelpers have left more than 3,500 reviews of the Met since 2004.
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The second most popular business or establishment was Balboa Park, a park in San Diego, California, known for its expansive gardens, museum and cultural programming. It is particularly popular among tourists, Yelp reviewers noted.
The Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, rounded out the list’s top three most popular establishments. Many restaurants, including a Las Vegas, Nevada barbecue spot and a Burbank, California bakery, also made the list.
Stefanie Keenan
Here’s a list of the 20 most popular businesses on Yelp since it began 20 years ago:
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
- Balboa Park, San Diego
- The Getty Center, Los Angeles
- Central Park Conservancy, New York, NY
- The Huntington, San Marino, California
- Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle
- Gangnam Asian BBQ Dining, Las Vegas
- Howlin’ Ray’s, Los Angeles
- Kualoa Ranch, Kaneohe, Hawaii
- Marugame Udon, Honolulu, Hawaii
- Oracle Park, San Francisco
- Pike Place Market, Seattle
- Smoke & Fire Social Eatery, La Habra, California
- Shang Artisan Noodle – Flamingo Road, Las Vegas
- Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles
- Craft by Smoke & Fire, Anaheim, California
- The Vox Kitchen by Kei Concepts, Fountain Valley, California
- Porto’s Bakery & Cafe, Burbank, California
- Nova Kitchen & Bar, Garden Grove, California
- Morrison Atwater Village, Los Angeles
Most photographed
On the occasion of its anniversary, Yelp also compiled a list of the top 20 most photographed places by users on its website.
The happiest place on Earth is also the most photographed, according to Yelp user data. Reviews shared nearly 50,000 photos of Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California — more than they did of any other place they posted about. The Met also earned the seventh spot on the most photographed list.
CBS News
One first-time homebuyer has searched for 3 years for a house amid real estate “perfect storm”
Shruti Chauhan, 45, knows all too well how brutal the real estate market can be for a first-time homebuyer — she’s been searching for her first house for almost three years, putting up to three hours a day into the hunt and making over 30 bids.
“Go home, crunch the numbers, whether this is the right fit or not, both in terms of finances and whether you see yourself there,” Chauhan, a consultant who lives in New Jersey, told CBS News.
Still, this isn’t where Chauhan expected to be when she first embarked on her search for a home — without a house after years of fruitless hunting. She offered $50,000 over asking price for one home, but lost out when another bidder offered $5,000 more. She had one offer accepted, only for the house to fail inspection.
“I always thought that, yes, there will be a time where I’ll get a home. Never happened,” she said.
Chauhan exemplifies the often demoralizing financial and other challenges confronting many first-time homebuyers, who are facing not only record home prices but also mortgage rates that are still more than double their pandemic-era lows. Many people trying to put their foot on the property ladder also find themselves bidding against current homeowners who have equity in their properties, giving them more financial power to outbid competitors.
As a result, first-time homebuyers now make up just 32% of purchasers, down from almost 50% of the market in 2009 and near a historic low.
It’s “the perfect storm, which, of course, is affecting the first-time homebuyer the absolute worst,” said Stacy Esser, the founder of SEG Realty.
How would a Fed rate cut impact mortgage rates?
Homebuyers recently have gotten some relief on borrowing costs, with the average interest rate on a conventional 30-year mortgage sliding to 6.29% earlier this month. That marks the lowest level since February 2023, as lenders ratchet their rates lower ahead of an expected Federal Reserve rate cut starting on September 18 in what experts say is likely to be a series of moves to ease borrowing costs.
By May 2025, the Fed’s benchmark rate could be as low as 3%, according to economists polled by FactSet.
Yet there’s a very real downside to lower rates, said Esser of SEG Realty.
“It’s going to add another level of hardship onto the first-time homebuyer because what’ll happen is more people will jump back in, so you’re going to see more competition, and more competition means prices are going to rise,” she said.
While it can be emotionally draining to strike out on buying your first home, it’s important to keep one’s financial goals in perspective, CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger advises.
“There is a psychic benefit that people have from owning a home, and I understand that, but it never makes sense for you to buy a house and not be able to fund your own retirement,” Schlesinger said. “Try not to make this the most important thing, my forever home. These are things that can really be emotional traps.”
There are also some benefits to renting, Schlesinger added. For one, renting may provide more financial flexibility, since it means you don’t have to pay for the upkeep of a home and other costs. And that could help free up some money to invest in your 401(k).
As for Chauhan, she said she hasn’t given up on finding her dream home.
“Yes, this is the year,” she said.
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