Religious Objects and the Coping Process

مرکز و کتابخانه مطالعات اسلامی به زبان های اروپایی

منو

" Religious Objects and the Coping Process "
Mikael Lundmark

Document Type	:	AL
Record Number	:	1065417
Doc. No	:	LA109046
Call No	:	‭10.1163/15736121-12341301‬
Language of Document	:	English
Main Entry	:	Mikael Lundmark
Title & Author	:	Religious Objects and the Coping Process [Article]\ Mikael Lundmark
Publication Statement	:	Leiden: Brill
Title of Periodical	:	Archive for the Psychology of Religion
Date	:	2015
Volume/ Issue Number	:	37/1
Page No	:	54–83
Abstract	:	This study addresses the psychological functions of physical religious objects in religious coping by presenting case studies on the use of prayer cloths. The cases are selected from a qualitative, in-depth interview study among Swedish practising Christians suffering from cancer, on religious experiences and expressions that serve in the process of coping with a life situation changed by the disease. It is argued that current psychological theories on coping and religion lack tools for understanding the role of physical religious objects in the process of religious coping. A theoretical framework that remedies this problem is suggested and applied to the case studies. The key feature of the theoretical framework is that it modifies and extends the coping theory of Kenneth Pargament by drawing on resources from object relations theory, especially the concept of “transitional object”. The results suggests that the creation and/or handling of transitional objects is a reconstructing or preserving coping method, and that prayer cloths function as transitional objects when they (a) facilitate transition/movement between the inner subjective world and the outer objective world by being charged with significance, and (b) function as a coping tool for conserving this significance. This study addresses the psychological functions of physical religious objects in religious coping by presenting case studies on the use of prayer cloths. The cases are selected from a qualitative, in-depth interview study among Swedish practising Christians suffering from cancer, on religious experiences and expressions that serve in the process of coping with a life situation changed by the disease. It is argued that current psychological theories on coping and religion lack tools for understanding the role of physical religious objects in the process of religious coping. A theoretical framework that remedies this problem is suggested and applied to the case studies. The key feature of the theoretical framework is that it modifies and extends the coping theory of Kenneth Pargament by drawing on resources from object relations theory, especially the concept of “transitional object”. The results suggests that the creation and/or handling of transitional objects is a reconstructing or preserving coping method, and that prayer cloths function as transitional objects when they (a) facilitate transition/movement between the inner subjective world and the outer objective world by being charged with significance, and (b) function as a coping tool for conserving this significance.
Descriptor	:	coping
Descriptor	:	object relations theory
Descriptor	:	prayer cloths
Descriptor	:	psychology of religion
Descriptor	:	religious objects
Descriptor	:	transitional objects
Location & Call number	:	‭10.1163/15736121-12341301‬