Religion and the Sanctification of Family Relationships

Abstract

Despite ample evidence that global indexes of religiousness are linked to family functioning, the mechanisms by which religion uniquely influences family dynamics are not well understood or empirically documented. To advance the scientific study of religion's role in families, we delineate how the construct of sanctification applies to marital and parent-child relationships as well as to the entire family systems according to diverse religious traditions. We define sanctification as a psychological process in which objects are perceived as having spiritual character and significance. We summarize the psychometric properties of two sets of measures that we have developed to assess the sanctification of marriage, parent-child relationships, and sexuality: Manifestation of God and Sacred Qualities scales. We hypothesize that sanctification has desirable implications for family life, supporting this assertion with empirical findings from our program of research. We also highlight the potential harm that may result from the sanctification of family relationships and discuss circumstances that may present particular risks (unavoidable challenges, violations by family members, loss, conflict, and intrapsychic and institutional barriers). Finally, we discuss future research directions to study more closely the influence of religion and sanctification on family life.

Evangelicals’ Sanctification of Marriage through the Metaphor of Jesus as a Husband

“…Sanctification is about infusing human relationships with spiritual significance and meaning [20]. However, participants in this study talked a lot about how their couple relationships impacted the paths and possibilities of experiencing God-for better or for worse.…”

“…Sanctification may also present religious people with psychological risks, like when a family structure or function falls outside of what is defined as sacred, such as gender traditional households where the woman is the spiritual leader [20]. Conflict may emerge from within a family when there is disagreement on what kind of structures or roles are blessed or sanctified by God.…”

“…Sanctification is the inscribing of spiritual character or significance to natural matters [20]. This may happen through manifestations of God-when an object is a manifestation of a person's image, beliefs, or experiences of God-or through sacred qualities that attribute qualities typically associated with the divine (e.g., blessed, miraculous) to natural objects.…”

“…These occurred mostly through "Manifestations of God" in their marital relationships but also through "Sacred Qualities" [20].…”

Religious Attachment and the Sense of Life Purpose among Emerging Adults

“…All respondents who have at least a bachelor's degree or are currently enrolled in a four-year degree program are coded as 1, and all other respondents are coded as 0. Marriage has been shown to be correlated with higher levels of religiosity (Mahoney et al 2003;Waite and Lehrer 2003). In addition, the commitment of marriage can serve to imbue individuals with a heightened sense of life purpose (Umberson et al 2006;Manzoli et al 2007;Uecker 2012).…”