Kenneth Pargament
Encyclopedia
Kenneth I. Pargament is a professor of psychology
at Bowling Green State University
(Ohio
, USA).
in 1977. He currently studies various relationships between religion
, psychological well-being and stress, as well as other closely related subjects. He is also licensed in Clinical Psychology
and has a private practice.
Pargament has published over 100 papers on the subject of religion and spirituality in psychology. He is world renowned for his scholarly contributions to the psychology of religion
, and for providing clinically relevant scientific analyses of religion's role in mental health. Pargament has also written two books: The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice
(1997; see article
), and Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy: Understanding and Addressing the Sacred (2007). Both of these seminal works provide a systematic program of empirical research, guided by theory, that is of practical relevance to helping professionals.
One of Pargament's best known areas of research has pertained to Religious Coping, which involves drawing on religious beliefs and practices to understand and deal with life stressors. Pargament has also helped to design a questionnaire
called the "RCOPE" to measure Religious Coping strategies.
Thus, Pargament's work has helped set the stage for a large scale program of research on this subject: currently there have been over 250 published studies on religious coping.
Pargament distinguishes between three types of styles for coping
with stress:
1) Collaborative, in which people co-operate with God to deal with stressful events;
2) Deferring, in which people leave everything to God; and
3) Self-directed, in which people do not rely on God and try exclusively to solve problems by their own efforts.
Pargament has described four major stances toward religion that have been adopted by psychotherapists in their work with clients. He called them the religiously rejectionist, exclusivist, constructivist, and pluralist
stances.
Pargament has also linked attribution theory to the psychology of religion
, doing empirical research distinguishing between different forms of religious attribution.
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
at Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
(Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, USA).
Biography
Born in 1950 in Washington, D.C., Pargament received his Ph. D from the University of MarylandUniversity of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
in 1977. He currently studies various relationships between religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, psychological well-being and stress, as well as other closely related subjects. He is also licensed in Clinical Psychology
Clinical psychology
Clinical psychology is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development...
and has a private practice.
Pargament has published over 100 papers on the subject of religion and spirituality in psychology. He is world renowned for his scholarly contributions to the psychology of religion
Psychology of religion
Psychology of religion consists of the application of psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to religious traditions, as well as to both religious and irreligious individuals. The science attempts to accurately describe the details, origins, and uses of religious beliefs and behaviours...
, and for providing clinically relevant scientific analyses of religion's role in mental health. Pargament has also written two books: The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice
Psychology of Religion and Coping (book)
The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice by Kenneth Pargament was published in the US in 1997. It is addressed to professional psychologists and researchers, and has been reviewed in many professional journals....
(1997; see article
Psychology of Religion and Coping (book)
The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice by Kenneth Pargament was published in the US in 1997. It is addressed to professional psychologists and researchers, and has been reviewed in many professional journals....
), and Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy: Understanding and Addressing the Sacred (2007). Both of these seminal works provide a systematic program of empirical research, guided by theory, that is of practical relevance to helping professionals.
One of Pargament's best known areas of research has pertained to Religious Coping, which involves drawing on religious beliefs and practices to understand and deal with life stressors. Pargament has also helped to design a questionnaire
Questionnaire
A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although they are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case...
called the "RCOPE" to measure Religious Coping strategies.
Thus, Pargament's work has helped set the stage for a large scale program of research on this subject: currently there have been over 250 published studies on religious coping.
Pargament distinguishes between three types of styles for coping
Coping (psychology)
Coping has been defined in psychological terms by Susan Folkman and Richard Lazarus as "constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing" or "exceeding the resources of the person".Coping is thus expending...
with stress:
1) Collaborative, in which people co-operate with God to deal with stressful events;
2) Deferring, in which people leave everything to God; and
3) Self-directed, in which people do not rely on God and try exclusively to solve problems by their own efforts.
Pargament has described four major stances toward religion that have been adopted by psychotherapists in their work with clients. He called them the religiously rejectionist, exclusivist, constructivist, and pluralist
Religious pluralism
Religious pluralism is a loosely defined expression concerning acceptance of various religions, and is used in a number of related ways:* As the name of the worldview according to which one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus that at least some truths and true values...
stances.
Pargament has also linked attribution theory to the psychology of religion
Psychology of religion
Psychology of religion consists of the application of psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to religious traditions, as well as to both religious and irreligious individuals. The science attempts to accurately describe the details, origins, and uses of religious beliefs and behaviours...
, doing empirical research distinguishing between different forms of religious attribution.
Published books
- Kenneth I. Pargament (2007). Spiritually integrated psychotherapy: Understanding and addressing the sacred. New York: Guilford. ISBN 9781572308442
- Kenneth I. Pargament (1997). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, practicePsychology of Religion and Coping (book)The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice by Kenneth Pargament was published in the US in 1997. It is addressed to professional psychologists and researchers, and has been reviewed in many professional journals....
(see articlePsychology of Religion and Coping (book)The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice by Kenneth Pargament was published in the US in 1997. It is addressed to professional psychologists and researchers, and has been reviewed in many professional journals....
). New York: Guilford. ISBN 9781572306646 - Michael E. McCullough, Kenneth I. Pargament & Carl E. ThoresenCarl E. ThoresenCarl E. Thoresen is a psychologist on the faculty of Stanford University. Since 2005, he has also been a Senior Fellow at Santa Clara University.- Education and academic career :...
(Eds.) (2000), Forgiveness: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Guilford. ISBN 9781572307117
See also
- Multidimensional Measurement of Religiousness/SpiritualityMultidimensional Measurement of Religiousness/Spirituality (book)Multidimensional Measurement of Religiousness/Spirituality for Use in Health Research is a report, originally published in 1999, by a Fetzer Institute / National Institute on Aging working group on the measurement of religion/spirituality. A revised version was published in 2003 that incorporated a...
(book containing 2 chapters, scales, by Pargament)