Madonna and Child,
Sandro Botticelli
Credit: Sala /Art
Resource, NY.


pirituality is a way of thinking and behaving, but it’s also a way of seeing the world. That’s the animating insight behind “Through a Sacred Lens”, a new four-year program funded by the Foundation. “The ability to perceive the sacred is a core ingredient of spirituality, an essential building block of spiritual life akin to the essential building blocks of physical life, DNA and RNA,” says psychologist Kenneth Pargament. “Unfortunately, as yet, we possess very little knowledge about this critical spiritual process.”

As a way of studying spirituality, Pargament, and his Bowling Green State University colleague Annette Mahoney, are leading scientific research into the relationship between viewing the world though a sacred lens and new parenthood. “This foundational transformation, the shift from marriage to parenting, is something that’s really been neglected when it comes to the study of spirituality,” says Pargament. “And yet we believe that couples who approach life with a sacred lens are probably better equipped to manage this critical transition.”

The research team at Bowling Green State University has pioneered theory and scientific study on the process of seeing divinity in the world, a process referred to as “sanctification.” “The research Annette and I have been doing shows that it makes a great deal of difference to people, and the psychological, social, and spiritual quality of their lives, whether they see themselves and others through a sacred lens or not.”

Pargament points out that viewing the world through a sacred lens is not limited to religious traditions, “Every religious tradition is very concerned about helping people see life in sacred terms, but even people who aren’t formally involved in a particular religion can see many aspects of their lives through a sacred lens. For instance, you can see a marriage as sacred even if you’re not a member of a particular church or religious organization.”

The project is studying 175 pregnant couples expecting their first child. They were primarily recruited for the study from childbirth classes in Northwest Ohio, pulling couples from both rural and urban areas. “We’re going out and interviewing them, observing them, having them complete a survey in the third trimester in order to get information about their spirituality and the degree to which they see themselves, their marriage and their family through the sacred lens,” says Pargament. “After the child is born, we’ll follow them for the next three, six, and 12 months as well as videotaping interactions between the couple and the baby.”

Pargament and his research team have developed precise ways of measuring “sanctification” in other spirituality studies, including those that focused on marriage, sexuality and the environment. These research techniques form the basis for the “Through a Sacred Lens” project, “We have two approaches to measuring it. One is to measure it in a theistic sense, which is measuring the degree to which people see different aspects of life as manifestations of the divine. So, for instance, in terms of marriage some people will feel like God is present in their marriage and that the marriage is more than two people. We also have a non-theistic way of assessing sanctification too, in which we focus on the degree to which people attribute sacred qualities to some aspect of life. For instance, to what degree do they call their marriage “blessed” or “holy” or “everlasting.” These kinds of qualities have a divine connotation, but people can attribute qualities of the divine or the sacredness of marriage without even believing in God.”

When the results are completed in 2009, the plan is to communicate the findings in a variety of venues, including the mainstream media, radio and newspapers, as well as traditional scientific channels, including conferences and publications.

“This idea of looking at married couples embarking on the creation of a family is important,” says Pargament, “because this particular phase of life is a window into spirituality. Becoming a parent raises all kinds of feelings of wonder and amazement. I think people who see life through sacred lens are able to experience more of that. And it also equips them to deal with the ups and downs that are going to unfold later on. When we work with our couples in the third trimester it’s truly a very happy, very exciting time for them. But I also know, as the parent of two, these couples have some bumps in the road ahead and my sense is that spirituality is a resource for them to draw on.”

www.bgsu.edu/organizations/cfdr