This is my presentation at one small meeting

1. Paweł M. Socha
Institute for the Study of Religions
Jagiellonian University, Krakow
Tow ard a comprehensive theory of
spirituality:
Ritual as the behavioral side of
sanctification

2. IMPORTANT REMARK
The word „TRANSCENDENCE” may have two different
applications in the theory of spirituality
Firstly, it may function as the noun:
Most of the times this is the case of
understanding spirituality in the
religious or metaphysical context –
noun points to a transcendent object
(God, Absolute)
Secondly, it may function as the verb:
This application identifies the process or
behavior focused on breaking
borders, limits or deficits – transcending
them in a way.
BOTH SPIRITUALITY AND RITUAL ARE ABOUT DOING

3. Ritual behavior as an element of a comprehensive theory of spirituality
 Among many theories of spirituality, one of the most widespread themes
is the starting point defined in terms of existential struggle.
 From Sigmund Freud to Ernest Becker – no matter if religious or secular
– worldviews deal with individual and communal dire straights.
 Transcending incomprehensible, mysterious and uncontrollable powers
of nature, of social group, and finally, of one’s own mental processes, is
the leitmotiv of human beings. Anything but perish…
Being so low on the
food chain makes me
wonder what life is
really all about…

4. Bernard Spilka
 What differs individual subjects from all other species is
the existential struggle, molded by self-consciousness and a
set of intellectual skills
 Most of the theories of religion and spirituality focus solely
on cognitive aspects of such struggle.
 The exemplary application is the implementation of the
attribution theory to the psychology of religion by Bernard
Spilka and his colleagues.

5. Any signpost walks the way it points!
Such an approach is fully justified, as long as it sufficiently
reveals motivation of a person to decide, which
worldview, ideology or mode of perception to choose, to get
meaning.
Nevertheless, when it comes to facts, ALWAYS
BEHAVIOR is the proof of the validity of perceptual and
intellectual comprehension.
This evokes criticism to many psychological and
other theories, like that of moral reasoning by
Lawrence Kohlberg.

6. However
Our cognitive capabilities are evolutionary adaptations
still vital for our existence.
Behavior witness the existence of these capabilities.
Ritual behavior functions both
as the result of cognitive processes,
and as the means of triggering the process of
transcendence: a cognitive shift or transformation.
One of the elements of that transcendence is the
process of sanctification – resulting in the rise or
enhancement of feeling of sacredness.
Feeling of sacredness is also the significant index of
transcending limitations or borders of our existence.

7. In other words, ritual behavior mediates
in the
process of sanctification preceding the feeling of
sacredness
Włodzimierz Pawluczuk Annette Mahoney Kenneth Pargament
SANCTIFIED, UPLIFTED,
Mundane, p
rofane, unb
Ritual WONDERFUL , NEW
earable
VISION OF REALITY
DAILY, MUNDANE MODE CONCEPT OF CELEBRATED – „HOLY”
OF LIVING WŁODZIMIERZ PAWLUCZUK MODE OF LIVING
Following the concept of sanctification
proposed by Kenneth Pargament and Annette Mahoney,
I propose to see ritual as the relevant way of sanctification

8. Testing the feeling of sacredness can be considered as useful
for measurement of the degree of transcendence
RESEARCH ON THE FREE-CHOSEN OBJECTS IMBUED WITH SACREDNESS (N = 177)
WEIGHTED POSITIONS
OF THE FIRST 10 OBJECTS OF SACREDNESS
MEASURED BY THE FEELING OF SACREDNESS TEST
60
50
Weighted index of 40
FRIENDSHIP
sacredness
CHURCH
30
MORALITY
POPE [JP2]
CHILD
GOD
FAITH
ICON
20
FAMILY
LOVE
10
0
Object of sanctification

9. What is a sanctification?
• Sanctification is a process of attribution of some unusual
meaning to any object – no matter if substantial or
abstract, detailed or general – in order to transmit it from the
mundane mode of comprehension of reality to the mode of
celebration of it.
– For example, many young people live extremely workable life
– except from Saturday night, when they go crazy in a club. Their perception of
reality turns to exceptional
RAT RACE
FOXHOLE

10. •EXAMPLES:
•Religious rituals
•births, weddings, funerals , and other identifying or socially unifying behaviors
•pilgrimages and modern functions of religious shrines in the age of consumerism
•exorcisms and healing
•Secular rituals – as above, plus:
•fan clubs
•sports, even watching on TV
•professions

11. PUTTING FORWARD RITUAL BEHAVIOR
MAKES POSSIBLE AN EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
ON THE PROCESS OF SPIRITUAL TRANSCENDENCE,
RESULTING IN TRANSFORMATION, SANCTIFICATION, TRANSGRESSION, ETC.
Proposed design for testing the influence of ritual at arriving
on the transformed vision of the world or self:
PRE-TEST DRINKING GREEN TEA POST-TEST
E FOLLOWING SOME JAPANESE PRESCRIPTION
C PRE-TEST DRINKING GREEN TEA WHILE RESTING OR WORKING POST-TEST
FEELING OF SACREDNESS
SELF-ESTEEM
IMAGE OF THE WORLD
 GROUP – PARTICIPANTS OF A RITUAL
 GROUP – NOT INFORMED ON ANY POSSIBILITY OF RITUAL

12. CONCLUSION
Ritual behavior is a powerful means
of enhancing the shift
from the mundane to the sanctified,
marked by the feeling of sacredness
As such, it must be included in any
theory dealing with the existential
issues, no matter if understood in
terms of religion or spirituality
One obvious advantage of ritual is that this is the behavioral
variable, allowing for more opportunities in psychological research