Christian Meaning-Making, Suffering and the Flourishing Life

Our study explores the core theme of Christian meaning-making in suffering and its relationship to flourishing. We ask the Big Questions: (1) How does Christianity shape the search for meaning and purpose in the context of suffering? and (2) How does the Christian worldview influence the human capacity to flourish in the midst of suffering? While religiosity in general has been shown to benefit those who suffer, the resources of specific religions must be studied in order to advance our understanding of religious meaning-making. Philosophical and theological perspectives have not yet adequately informed psychological research on suffering, leaving a key area with important clinical applications poorly understood. We endeavor to fully integrate perspectives from psychology, theology and philosophy to more comprehensively answer these questions. Specifically, we propose to conduct a sequential set of studies, beginning with theological research and qualitative studies of cancer survivors from Roman Catholic and historically black churches to identify important meaning-making constructs in Christianity. This research will inform our development of new tools to assess the newly-identified constructs. In turn, these tools will allow us to conduct quantitative studies of four different highly stressed groups in the midst of suffering to more fully understand the Christian meaning-making process and its relationship to aspects of flourishing. Our project will lead to greater appreciation of the role of emic religious constructs by researchers and mental and physical healthcare providers. Deliverables include submission of at least 7 scholarly papers to peer reviewed journals, at least 9 presentation proposals to professional conferences, submission of many articles to popular magazines, a theological whitepaper, 5 measures, Open Science products, and hosting of a teleconference with leaders in meaning-based therapeutic interventions.