Conceptualizing Human Nature and the Divine: Qualitative Interviews with Christians and Buddhists from a Mixed-Methods Study

• Published in: Journal of ethnographic and qualitative research Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 9 - 23
• Main Authors: Crane, Lauren Shapiro, Burns, Emily M, Johnson, Hannah E, Brown, Betsy R, Ufholz, Kelsey E, Riehle, Jennifer L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cedarville University 2009
• Subjects: Beliefs; Buddhism; Christianity; Content Analysis; Correlation; Death; Interviews; Religion; Religious Factors; Self Concept
• ISSN: 1935-3308

This study investigated the possibility that a link exists between an individual's concept of Divinity and concept of self. Participants were 12 Christians (6 Catholic, 6 Methodist) and 8 Buddhists. They answered open-ended questions about sacredness, after-death experience, and humanity's relation to the natural world. Content analyses focused on participants' descriptions of (1) the nature of The Divine and (2) the spiritual nature of human beings. Some between-group overlap did emerge; however, at both levels of analysis Christians were more likely to mention independence-oriented themes and Buddhists were more likely to mention interdependence-oriented themes. These findings suggest that across both religions, individuals' understanding of spiritual reality goes hand-in-hand with their understanding of human nature. (Contains 1 table.)