THEORY: "Sacred Matters: Sanctification as a Vital Topic for the Psychology of Religion"

In this article and those that follow, we suggest that sacred matters represent a vital interest for the psychology of religion. We note that people can perceive virtually any aspect of their lives as having divine character and significance. Furthermore, people can sanctify objects theistically as...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Authors: Pargament, Kenneth I. 1950- (Author) ; Mahoney, Annette ca. 20./21. Jh. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group 2005
In: The international journal for the psychology of religion
Year: 2005, Volume: 15, Issue: 3, Pages: 179-198
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:In this article and those that follow, we suggest that sacred matters represent a vital interest for the psychology of religion. We note that people can perceive virtually any aspect of their lives as having divine character and significance. Furthermore, people can sanctify objects theistically as a manifestation of their images, beliefs, or experiences of God and nontheistically by investing objects with qualities that characterize divinity. We discuss several implications of sanctification for human functioning: people invest a great deal of time and energy in sacred matters; people go to great lengths to preserve and protect whatever they perceive to be sacred; sacred aspects of life elicit spiritual emotions; sanctification offers a powerful personal and social resource that people can tap throughout their lives; and the loss of the sacred can have devastating effects. We conclude with a call for further studies of sacred matters and specific directions for research.
ISSN:1532-7582
Contains:Enthalten in: The international journal for the psychology of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1207/s15327582ijpr1503_1