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Abstract:
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Many Americans report experiences of divine guidance. For example, the 2004
General Social Survey showed that 57% of Americans selected ‘most days’ to ‘many
times a day’ when asked if they ‘feel God’s guidance in the midst of daily activities.’
Further, a 2008 study by Baylor University found that 20% of Americans agreed with the
statement, “I heard the voice of God speaking to me,” and 44% agreed with the
statement, “I felt called by God to do something.” Thus it is well established that many
people in the US claim to experience divine guidance. However, much less known is how
people who report these experiences actually understand and interpret them, and what
kinds of decision-making result.
This thesis explores this gap in knowledge through in-depth interviews with 20
carefully selected respondents from various Christian and spiritual backgrounds, each of
whom reported high levels of experiencing divine guidance. Patterns are discussed
around how people understand and describe these experiences, as well as the ways in
which the experiences helped facilitate narration of the respondent’s life-storyline and
decision-making processes. Resulting theoretical hypothesis are also discussed. |
