Not all transcendence is created equal: Distinguishing ontological, phenomenological, and subjective beliefs about transcendence

ABSTRACT

Psychologists have generated numerous measures designed to capture the “spiritual,” “religious,” and “transcendent” structures of human cognition, emotion, and behavior. Researchers often identify transcendence as the unifying element that brings together these constructs, but the concept itself lacks precision. Namely, they confound the distinctions between the different kinds of content that populate what is actually a diverse and dynamic set of belief systems regarding transcendence, reducing transcendence to its functional outputs. This paper outlines a more robust theoretical framework by drawing upon the resources of theology and philosophy. The aim is to describe a model that clarifies both the content and function of a variety of transcendent belief systems, which includes at least three clearly distinct but interrelated domains: ontological transcendence, which conceives of reality in terms of supernatural categories of being; phenomenological transcendence, which focuses on traversing the divide between the self and others or the self and the world; and subjective transcendence, which has in view the ever-shifting boundary that constitutes the mundane self, the crossing of which is always yet to come.

KEYWORDS:

• Transcendence
• measures
• theology
• philosophy
• spiritual
• religious

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Notes

1. Although we attempt to be ecumenical in drawing upon theological and philosophical resources from across faith and philosophical traditions, we acknowledge our bias to oversample Christian and western literature, given our expertise and the alignment between these traditions and the preponderance of research in the psychology of religion.

2. Notably, these studies primed analytic thought and examined religiousness as an outcome variable.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kutter Callaway

Kutter Callaway (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is associate professor of theology and culture and co-director of Reel Spirituality. Dr. Callaway’s most recent books are The Aesthetics of Atheism: Theology and Imagination in Contemporary Culture (Fortress Press, 2019) and Deep Focus: Film and Theology in Dialogue (Baker Academic, 2019). As a Fellow in the John Templeton Foundation's Academic Cross-Training program, he is pursuing a second PhD in psychological sciences. He is currently overseeing a project funded by the Templeton Religion Trust called Art Seeking Understanding.

Sarah Schnitker

Sarah Schnitker (PhD, University of California, Davis) is an Associate Professor in the Psychology and Neuroscience Department at Baylor University in Waco, TX. Schnitker studies virtue and character development in adolescents and emerging adults, with a focus on the role of spirituality/religion and technology in virtue formation. Schnitker has procured more than $3.5 million in funding as a principle investigator on multiple research grants. She is currently overseeing a project on building virtues through technology.

Madison Gilbertson

Madison Gilbertson (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) studies virtue and character development and interracial interactions. She holds a BA in English from Stanford University. Madison has also worked at Stanford University in student services and research roles.