The Content and Function of Religious and Spiritual Beliefs (original) (raw)

on religious beliefs hasused a fixed research method thatonlyallows confirming or disconfirming a priori notions of religious beliefs. This study used a flexible, data-driven research method to derive an inductive theory concerning thecontent andfunction ofreligious beliefs. Data from interviews with28 undergraduates were content analyzed, yielding 7 distinct beliefdomains: higher power, creation, soul, life after death, spiritual connection with others, fate, and supernatural occurrences. Function domains for each content domain, and for belief systems as a whole, were preliminarily identified. Implications forfuture research and therapeutic interventions are discussed.