A qualitative examination of sanctification: Sources and varieties of appraisals of sacredness.
Elizabeth J Krumrei-Mancuso, Janet P Trammell, Jennifer A Harriger, Joshua A Evans
International journal of clinical and health psychology : IJCHP January 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2025.100578 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractPeople often interpret everyday experiences as sacred, and these appraisals involve a mix of emotions and sensory perceptions. In a study where 144 religious or spiritual individuals recalled a time they felt something was sacred, divine, miraculous, spiritual, holy, or blessed, the most common descriptions involved people, relationships, and places considered sacred by association with a higher power or transcendent reality, rather than being inherently sacred. Different sacred adjectives were linked to distinct features. The findings suggest that mental health professionals should recognize how clients may spontaneously sanctify ordinary aspects of life.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 144 |
| Population | Religious and/or spiritual individuals |
| Interventions | event reconstruction of a time they experienced something as sacred divine miraculous spiritual holy or blessed |
| Keywords | Cognitive appraisal Emotion Religion Sacred Sanctification |
| Key finding | People most commonly sanctify people, relationships, and places by association with higher powers or transcendent realities, with emotions and sensory experiences being common features of these appraisals. |
Abstract
Most mental health professionals are expected to have some basic competency in religious and spiritual issues. Such competency includes knowledge about the role of religion/spirituality in people's lives, particularly as it relates to mental health. The current research explored people's cognitive appraisals of sanctification, by which individuals interpret stimuli to be sacred. To gain a better understanding of the spontaneous cognitive appraisals of sanctification people form during daily life, we randomly assigned religious and/or spiritual individuals (N = 144) to an event reconstruction of a time they experienced something as sacred, divine, miraculous, spiritual, holy, or blessed. We qualitatively coded 28 features of these event reconstructions. Participants' most common descriptions involved sanctification of people, relationships, and places that were not considered sacred in and of themselves, but were considered sacred by association to higher powers or transcendent realities. Common features of sacredness reconstructions included emotions and sensory experiences. We also observed differences in the features associated with each sacred adjective (sacred, divine, miraculous, spiritual, holy, or blessed). We discuss implications for mental health professionals and for the advancement of the science of sanctification.