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The role of community and culture in spiritual growth for individuals who are converts to Buddhism

Lienau, Amanda Marie
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1171895805

Abstract Details

2007, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Psychology.
Psychology has historically shied away from matters of spirituality. This void is problematic, due to the importance of spirituality in many clients’ lives. A 1998 Gallup Poll reported that 8 of 10 Americans (82%) believe they need to experience spiritual growth, a finding that characterized all subgroups of the population. Several theories of spirituality and its relation to development have been offered within the field of psychology. The current popular theoretical paradigms of spiritual development have, in general, failed to include the social and political systems within which people operate. Most of the theories of spirituality and spiritual development also emerged out of a Judeo-Christian worldview, and have failed to explore the experience of other spiritual communities. Empirically, only two previous studies were located that examined social and political realities, and none explored the community utilized in this sample. This study proposed to explore spiritual development for individuals who sought out a non-majority religion, examining social and cultural influences on development, building a model of spiritual development from the experience of participants using grounded theory. A short semi-structured interview ranging from 50 to 80 minutes was conducted with eleven participants who were all members of a small Buddhist community. The sample consisted of six females and five males, with ages ranging from 23 to 70. Concurrent observations and document analysis of items collected from the center were used as a method of triangulating data. Interviews were collected in stages along with observations and document analysis using the constant comparative method. A model of spiritual development emerged from these analyses that describes the shared experience of individuals who converted to Buddhism. Differences were found between those who converted from other religions or no religion compared with those who were raised Buddhist, though all but one participant was new to the particular lineage of the center studied. Gender differences were also found. Confirmatory and disconfirmatory evidence as well as a discussion of these results are discussed herein.
Pamela Highlen (Advisor)
162 p.
Spirituality; Conversion; Community; Growth; Buddhism

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Lienau, A. M. (2007). The role of community and culture in spiritual growth for individuals who are converts to Buddhism [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1171895805

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Lienau, Amanda. The role of community and culture in spiritual growth for individuals who are converts to Buddhism. 2007. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1171895805.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Lienau, Amanda. "The role of community and culture in spiritual growth for individuals who are converts to Buddhism." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1171895805

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1171895805
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© 2007, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.