Is Spirituality an Intelligence? Motivation, Cognition, and the Psychology of Ultimate Concern

This article explores spirituality as a form of intelligence. The evidence for spirituality as a set of capacities and abilities that enable people to solve problems and attain goals in their everyday lives is evaluated. Five components of spiritual intelligence are identified: (a) the capacity for transcendence; (b) the ability to enter into heightened spiritual states of consciousness; (c) the ability to invest everyday activities, events, and relationships with a sense of the sacred; (d) the ability to utilize spiritual resources to solve problems in living; and (e) the capacity to engage in virtuous behavior (to show forgiveness, to express gratitude, to be humble, to display compassion). Evidence that spirituality meets the criteria for an intelligence is reviewed. Implications of studying spirituality within an intelligence framework are discussed.

[1]  J. Hunter.  The human factor. , 2001, Nursing standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987).

[2]  R. Piedmont.  Does Spirituality Represent the Sixth Factor of Personality? Spiritual Transcendence and the Five-Factor Model , 1999 .

[3]  Raymond F. Paloutzian,et al.  Religious Conversion and Personality Change , 1999 .

[4]  L. Eaves,et al.  Understanding biological and social influences on religious affiliation, attitudes, and behaviors: a behavior genetic perspective. , 1999, Journal of personality.

[5]  S. Mcfadden.  Religion, personality, and aging: a life span perspective. , 1999, Journal of personality.

[6]  Julie J. Exline,et al.  Virtue, personality, and social relations: self-control as the moral muscle. , 1999, Journal of personality.

[7]  L. Kirkpatrick.  Toward an evolutionary psychology of religion and personality , 1999 .

[8]  K. Pargament,et al.  Marriage and the spiritual realm: The role of proximal and distal religious constructs in marital functioning. , 1999 .

[9]  Robert A Emmons,et al.  The Psychology of Ultimate Concerns: Motivation and Spirituality in Personality , 1999 .

[10]  N. Duan,et al.  Breast Cancer Screening Adherence: Does Church Attendance Matter? , 1998, Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education.

[11]  L. Francis.  The relationship between intelligence and religiosity among 15–16-year-olds , 1998 .

[12]  Robert A Emmons,et al.  Assessing Spirituality Through Personal Goals: Implications for Research on Religion and Subjective Well-Being , 1998 .

[13]  D. Dollahite.  Fathering, Faith, and Spirituality , 1998 .

[14]  Andrew B. Newberg,et al.  The Neuropsychological Basis of Religions, or Why God Won't Go Away , 1998 .

[15]  P. Wong.  Meaning-centered counseling. , 1998 .

[16]  J. Mayer,et al.  Intelligence as a subsystem of personality: From Spearman's g to contemporary models of hot-processing , 1998 .

[17]  A. Newberg,et al.  The neuropsychology of spiritual experience , 1998 .

[18]  George M. Marsden.  The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship , 1999 .

[19]  G. Peterson.  Cognitive Science: What One Needs to Know , 1997 .

[20]  R. Sternberg.  The concept of intelligence and its role in lifelong learning and success. , 1997 .

[21]  S. Guthrie,et al.  Shamanic healing, human evolution, and the origin of religion. Commentary , 1997 .

[22]  K. Pargament,et al.  The Psychology of Religion and Coping , 1997 .

[23]  D. Wulff.  Psychology of religion: Classic and contemporary, 2nd ed. , 1997 .

[24]  J. Brand.  Challenges for a Christian psychology from cognitive science , 1997 .

[25]  R. Sternberg,et al.  Conceptions of intelligence in ancient Chinese philosophy , 1997 .

[26]  P. Salovey,et al.  Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Educational implications. , 1997 .

[27]  J. Saver,et al.  The neural substrates of religious experience. , 1997, The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences.

[28]  S. Schimmel.  The seven deadly sins : Jewish, Christian, and classical reflections on human psychology , 1997 .

[29]  M. Novak.  Business as a Calling: Work and the Examined Life , 1997 .

[30]  D. Wulff.  Psychology of Religion: Classic and Contemporary , 1996 .

[31]  Howard Gardner,et al.  Probing More Deeply into The Theory of Multiple Intelligences , 1996 .

[32]  D. Lykken,et al.  Personality and divorce: a genetic analysis. , 1996, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[33]  M. R. Levenson,et al.  Three Models of Adult Development , 1996 .

[34]  Auke Tellegen,et al.  Happiness Is a Stochastic Phenomenon , 1996 .

[35]  Crystal L. Park,et al.  Assessment and prediction of stress-related growth. , 1996, Journal of personality.

[36]  Peter C. Hill,et al.  The psychology of religion: An empirical approach, 4th ed. , 1996 .

[37]  C. Thoresen,et al.  Reducing Type A behavior patterns: A structured-group approach. , 1996 .

[38]  M. Hunter,et al.  Shared parenting agreements after marital separation: the roles of empathy and narcissism. , 1996, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[39]  R. Sternberg,et al.  Intelligence: Knowns and unknowns. , 1996 .

[40]  L. Kirkpatrick,et al.  Introduction: The Scope of Religious Influences on Personal and Societal Well‐Being , 1995 .

[41]  Crystal L. Park,et al.  Merely a Defense? The Variety of Religious Means and Ends , 1995 .

[42]  Seymour Epstein,et al.  You’re Smarter Than You Think , 1995, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

[43]  H. Gardner.  Reflections on Multiple Intelligences: Myths and Messages. , 1995 .

[44]  A. Shulman.  Drinking The Rain , 1995 .

[45]  Alan A. Godlas.  Ibn Al ‘Arabī: The Bezels of Wisdom , translated by R.W.J. Austin (The Classics of Western Spirituality Series) 302 pages, bibliography, index. New York: Paulist Press, 1992. $10.95 (Paper) ISBN 0-8091-2331-2 , 1994, Middle East Studies Association Bulletin.

[46]  J. Davidson,et al.  Religion and the meaning of work. , 1994 .

[47]  C. Dweck,et al.  Toward an integrative model of personality and intelligence: A general framework and some preliminary steps. , 1994 .

[48]  M. Ford.  A living systems approach to the integration of personality and intelligence. , 1994 .

[49]  Robert J. Sternberg,et al.  Personality and intelligence , 1994 .

[50]  Jan D. Sinnott,et al.  Interdisciplinary Handbook of Adult Lifespan Learning , 1993 .

[51]  Anne Colby,et al.  Some Do Care: Contemporary Lives of Moral Commitment , 1992 .

[52]  Brad Dudley.  Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home, Richard J. Foster , 1992 .

[53]  Thomas Lickona,et al.  Educating for Character. How Our Schools Can Teach Respect and Responsibility. , 1991 .

[54]  A. Tellegen,et al.  Genetic and Environmental Influences on Religious Interests, Attitudes, and Values: A Study of Twins Reared Apart and Together , 1990 .

[55]  W. K. Estes,et al.  Journals, Journals, Journals , 1990 .

[56]  C. Dweck.  Self-theories and goals: their role in motivation, personality, and development. , 1990, Nebraska Symposium on Motivation. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation.

[57]  R. Sternberg.  Metaphors of mind: Conceptions of the nature of intelligence. , 1990 .

[58]  D. Elkins,et al.  Toward a Humanistic-Phenomenological Spirituality , 1988 .

[59]  Susan Kwilecki.  A Scientific Approach to Religious Development: Proposals and a Case Illustration , 1988 .

[60]  L. King,et al.  Conflict among personal strivings: immediate and long-term implications for psychological and physical well-being. , 1988, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[61]  N L Segal,et al.  Personality similarity in twins reared apart and together. , 1988, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[62]  Robert A Emmons.  Personal strivings: An approach to personality and subjective well-being. , 1986 .

[63]  David Goldblatt,et al.  Brain, Mind, and Behavior , 1985 .

[64]  M. Apter.  6 – Religious states of mind: a reversal theory interpretation , 1985 .

[65]  R. Gorsuch.  Measurement: the boon and bane of investigating religion , 1984 .

[66]  D. Ball.  Chariots of fire. , 1984, Nursing times.

[67]  H. Gardner,et al.  Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences , 1983 .

[68]  R. Paloutzian.  Invitation to the psychology of religion , 1983 .

[69]  J. W. Fowler,et al.  Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning. Author's Response , 1982, Horizons.

[70]  Sandy Lovie.  How the mind works , 1980, Nature.

[71]  Howard M. Weiss,et al.  Self Esteem, Information Search and Problem Solving Efficiency. , 1979 .

[72]  H. Sacks.  The Effect of Spiritual Exercises on the Integration of Self-System , 1979 .

[73]  James D. Wallace,et al.  Virtues and Vices , 1978 .

[74]  Graham Greene,et al.  The Human Factor , 1978 .

[75]  J. Bowker.  Information Process, Systems Behavior, and the Study of Religion , 1976 .

[76]  Michael Murphy,et al.  王国のゴルフ = Golf in the Kingdom , 1971 .

[77]  W. Ware,et al.  Characteristics of Best and Worst College Teachers. , 1971 .

[78]  G. Comstock,et al.  Response to a program of screening for cervical cancer. , 1968, Public health reports.

[79]  P. Tillich.  Christianity and the encounter of world religions , 1963 .

[80]  R. May,et al.  Symbolism in religion and literature , 1961 .

[81]  A. J. Heschel.  God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism , 1955 .

[82]  P. Meehl,et al.  The individual and his religion. , 1950 .

[83]  William Cronon,et al.  On Human Nature , 2022, Nature.