Ken Pargament

Dr. Pargament’s nationally and internationally known research addresses religion, spirituality and their implications for health, well-being, and psychotherapy. He is perhaps best known for his theory and research on religious coping with trauma. His recent program of research has focused on spiritual struggles -- tensions, strains, and conflicts about sacred matters -- and how they impact health. This work is summarized in his recent book with Julie Exline, “Working with Spiritual Struggles in Psychotherapy: From Research to Practice.” He also
studies the process by which people create perceptions about the sanctity of aspects of their life activities and the beneficial effects of “sanctification” for individual and interpersonal well-being. A strong emphasis on this work is how individuals and couples “sanctify” their marriage and how that sanctification is a strong predictor of marital quality and stability. Dr. Pargament won the 2000 Virginia Staudt Sexton Mentoring Award from the American Psychological Association for his generous work in encouraging both faculty, undergraduate, and
graduate research in the psychology of religion.

Kenneth Pargament is a professor emeritus of psychology at Bowling Green State University. He has authored The Psychology of Religion and Coping and Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy. Dr. Pargament is Editor-in-Chief of the two-volume APA Handbook of Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality. With Julie Exline, he has authored the recently released Working with Spiritual Struggles in Psychotherapy: From Research to Practice. He was Distinguished Scholar at the Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center. His awards include the Oskar Pfister Award from the American Psychiatric Association in 2009, the first Outstanding Contribution to the Applied Psychology of Religion and Spirituality Award from APA in 2017, and an honorary doctor-of-letters from Pepperdine University in 2013. He was recently named One of the 50 Most Influential Living Psychologists.