With the current focus on a new national health care program, perhaps the legislators may want to consult
with a local clinical psychologist.
For more than three decades Dr. Kenneth Pargament has been doing research in a rare area of study –
spirituality as it relates to various aspects of life and health.
"We’re not only psychological, social and physical creatures, we are also spiritual beings. The
spiritual dimension intersects with the other aspects of life," Pargament summarized of his body of
work.
"Up to now we have really neglected the role of spirituality in health and well-being, at least in
scientific circles," he added. "When you attend to it and are willing to study it, you learn
that it is really a potent part of life for better and worse."
The professor said all this information can be put to use to foster more effective health care.
"That’s what we’re doing now, we’re moving from research to practice," he stated.
His work, along with that of his colleague Dr. Annette Mahoney, has caught the attention of the national
Christian Broadcasting Network’s "The 700 Club."
Debbie Harper, a reporter and producer for the program which is heard in 70 languages and more than 200
countries globally, visited the psychology department at Bowling Green State University on Wednesday to
prepare several segments on the ground-breaking work of Pargament, Mahoney and the graduate students and
members of the Spirituality and Psychology Research Team, called SPiRiT.
Harper said the one thing which really interested her was the documentation which shows those who attend
church having a healthier and longer life.
"He has so much knowledge in so many areas," Harper said of Pargament and his work. "We
are very excited to share that with our viewers."
The segments will be part of the news area of the program and will also be available online at cbn.com.

Mahoney welcomes this opportunity to get more information out to the public through the syndicated show.

"Religion and spirituality have the potential to be profound resources of strength and
support," Mahoney said.
Conversely she noted how those same factors can be causes of stress and pain for some individuals.
"We’re very interested in going deeper into understanding the ways religion and spirituality can be
helpful or potentially harmful," she added.
Mahoney has joined with Pargament for the last 15 years in their efforts in the scientific study of
spirituality and faith.
"It’s been a great collaboration," Pargament said of his work with Mahoney.
Both professors noted the limited amount of work being done in this area of study. What is being done is
usually individual in nature and often at religious institutions. Few, if any, programs have the volume
of personnel involved as the BGSU program, including more than a dozen graduate students.
"We are unique in a secular state university," Mahoney said. "There really is a lot of
interest in this."
Pargament noted the support from BGSU, which has not put up barriers to his work.
For the last several years, they have been working on a major research study called "Through a
Sacred Lens, the Transition to Parenthood." The research is complete, but due to the volume of
material and information, Mahoney says they are still preparing the data for dissemination.
For those participating in the study, they knew the project as "New Arrivals Passage to
Parenthood."
"We did not frame it as a religious study, thereby implying that you have to be religious to
participate," Mahoney said.
The results of the major project will be announced in greater detail at a later date.
For now The 700 Club will air segments on SPiRiT, the Winding Road intervention program, and other works
of Mahoney and Pargament.
One of the focuses will be their body of work involved with religion and coping.
Winding Road was a project last year at the university which helped college students deal with their
spiritual struggles.
"Some students come here and have experiences which raises questions about their faith, the church,
and who they are as spiritual beings," Pargament said.
The Winding Road not only was designed to help the students, but also garner more information on
spirituality and its effects on people.
Mahoney and some of the graduate students are also involved with a study on divorce and its relationship,
not only on the people who are being divorced, but also on their families, including young children and
grown children from a divorced home environment.
SPiRiT is a group of psychology graduate students and faculty committed to understanding and facilitating
the connections between spirituality, health and well-being through the methods of psychology. The 700
Club crew was on hand for a SPiRiT session late Wednesday afternoon led by one of the members on her
in-depth study on spirituality within marriage as it relates to sexuality.
Photographer Lionel Harris tapes 700 Club reporter Debbie Harper in front of the Pyschology building on
the campus of Bowling Green State University. 9/16/09 (Photo: J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune)