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Searching For The Divine: An Autoethnographic Account Of Religious/Spiritual And Academic Influences On The Journey To Professor, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

This autoethnographic account chronicles my academic and religious/spiritual path to becoming a professor of Communication. Spiritual influences and significant life events related to prayer, education, teaching, and research serve as sign posts marking the way. The journey begins with a child scientist experimenting with life—and an adolescent discovering the joy of reading through an illness. The journey continues with a crisis in undergraduate years followed by indoctrination stories of graduate school. Securing and retaining an academic position in Communication reveals the complexities of negotiating research and teaching in higher education. After tenure and promotion, a concurrent spiritual awakening begins a …

An Introduction To Prayer Research In Communication: Functions, Contexts, And Possibilities, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploring Prayer Contexts And Health Outcomes: From The Chair To The Pew, E. James Baesler, Kevin Ladd

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Prayer in personal, interpersonal, small, and large group contexts is described in relationship to physical, psychological, and spiritual health. A sample of college and middle-aged adults (N = 189) completed cross-sectional surveys. Quantitative analyses revealed that prayer in all contexts predicted higher levels of spiritual health, and that the strongest prayer predictors of health were: large group prayer for mental health, and private and large group prayer for spiritual health. Qualitative results revealed that prayers for physical health in close personal relationships, and table blessing prayers among family members, were two of the most common types of prayer. Suggestions for …

Exploring Interdisciplinary Prayer Research In A Health Context, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Communication, Psychology, and Sociology are three leading academic disciplines engaged in the social scientific study of prayer, the spiritual communication between a believer(s) and God, but rarely do these disciplines collaborate in interdisciplinary prayer scholarship. Possibilities for interdisciplinary prayer research in a health context are explored through a review of the literature and academic interviews. Interdisciplinary linkages in the prayer-health context are organized in an integral "all-quadrant" theoretical model, and an assessment of the viability of interdisciplinary prayer-health research is considered.

The Role Of Prayer In The Process Of Providing Spiritual Direction, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Prayer As Interpersonal Coping In The Lives Of Mothers With Hiv, E. James Baesler, Valerian J. Derlega, Barbara A. Winstead, Anita Barbee

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

The spirituality of 22 mothers diagnosed with HIV was explored through face-to-face interviews and revealed that 95% of the mothers pray. Active prayers (e.g., talking to God by adoring, thanking, confessing, and supplicating) were more frequently reported than receptive prayers (e.g., quietly listening to God, being open, surrendering). Supplicatory or petitionary prayers for help and health were the most frequent type of prayer, and adoration was the least frequent. The majority of mothers in the sample perceived prayer as a positive coping mechanism associated with outcomes such as: support, positive attitude/affect, and peace. Overall, results supported expanding the boundary conditions …

Stirring The Soul: The Influence Of Prayer On Mind And Body, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

From the Introduction:

Individuals within and outside of the field of communication sometimes ask me what I do for a living. When I respond, “I do prayer research,” nearly everyone looks rather puzzled. After I explain that prayer is a type of spiritual communication, then most individuals immediately see the connection between communication and prayer. However, many communication scholars are not convinced that prayer is a communication-related phenomenon amenable to social scientific inquiry. Yet I believe that prayer is indeed worthy of further investigation.

The Prayer Of The Holy Name In Eastern And Western Spiritual Traditions: A Theoretical, Cross-Cultural, And Intercultural Prayer Dialogue, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Investigates the Holy Name prayer from the perspectives of eastern Hindu and both eastern and western Christian spiritual traditions. Interpersonal prayer as spiritual communication; Historical and theoretical dialogue; Comparison of the method and function of Eastern and Western Holy Name prayer traditions.

A Model Of Interpersonal Christian Prayer, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

A model of interpersonal Christian prayer (ICP) was created based on a review and synthesis of traditional and social scientific prayer literatures. The ICP model accounts for global theoretical constructs such as active and receptive types of prayer and includes a subcategory of receptive prayer called radically Divine communication. The ICP model describes prayer progressions, specifically the developmental and cyclical nature of prayer. A list of 12 research questions based on the ICP model are provided. Two specific suggestions for future research dealing with the relational quality of prayer and intercultural receptive types of prayer are outlined.

Interpersonal Christian Prayer And Communication, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Nationwide statistical polling during the past 40 years have indicated that prayer is a frequent and important activity for a majority of Americans. Yet communication scholars have yet to theoretically consider the relationship between prayer and communication. This investigation compared and contrasted a particular type of prayer, Interpersonal Christ¦·n Prayer (ICP), with a particular type of communication context, Interpersonal Communication (IC). Results suggested that ICP and IC share common ground in their dyadic nature, intentionality, and in specific communication processes, and that they differ in the nature of the relational being one is communicating with, the locus of initial intent …