Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

Before You Write Another Goal Goals, Meaning, and Faith Have you thought about goals for the new year? The question annoys some and engages others. And some use the occasion of a calendar event to assess their progress on life goals. Goals add meaning to life. Goals reflect a sense of purpose – so it’s no surprise that research on goals and purpose would include a study of the role of religion or spirituality. Even if you are not familiar with the scientific study of religion, you would probably find it easy to see that religion or spirituality, however defined, offers people a sense of purpose in life and ways to connect various life events so they make sense. Perhaps this is behind the popular book by Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life ? And on the downside, as I have written elsewhere, there is a purpose driven death —seen in those who sacrifice their lives for a religiously motivated goal. A favorite reference for writers on meaning and purpose is Victor Frankl ...

Soldiers, Heroes, Faith and Identity Normandy, France 8 March 2012 / Geoff Sutton 1. War Memorials offer the living evidence that another human being lived and died . And in that war, that person made a significant contribution to us -- the one living and able to observe the memorial. Even when not connected by a family tree, we feel connected to someone who helped preserve our nation. 2. Memorials reveal identities . But the identities are often limited to a name and a date. Somehow a name is such a vital part of who we are. Some people get pretty upset when their names are mispronounced. What’s in a name? A lot really-- an entire life can be called up by a name. And we care for those unnamed—a place reserved in time and space for the “Unknown.” Sometimes we get a glimpse into another piece of identity. My father-in-law was a World War II American Veteran. There's a symbol representing his military service, wheat identifying his farmer-life, and a fish in mem...

How Religious People Create Meaning God let me live for a purpose. I know God has a plan for my life. But for the grace of God, there go I. All things work together for good… That’s a sign from God that we need to repent or ... Religious and spiritual people have attributed life events to God or gods, or other supernatural forces for millennia. Attribution theory is one of the leading social and cognitive psychology theories in the psychology of religion that helps guide research. Attributions explain life events We attribute positive outcomes like winning a game or lottery and getting a plum job and negative outcomes such as vehicle accidents, house fires, and the life changing powerful tsunamis, tornadoes and earthquakes to natural causes or to supernatural interventions. We explain events based on a sense of how it happened. When perplexed, many spiritual people seek answers from God or their spiritual advisers. The clergy appear on TV and issue prono...