Sanctification Measures
Also known as: Sanctification Scale, Sanctification of Life Measure, Manifestation of God Scale, Sacred Qualities Scale
Sanctification measures, developed by Annette Mahoney and Kenneth Pargament, quantify the degree to which a person perceives a specific aspect of life — a marriage, the body, parenting, work, personal goals — as sacred. The framework defines sanctification as the process by which an object of life takes on spiritual character and significance, and it is measured along two routes: theistic sanctification, the perception that the object is a manifestation of God, and non-theistic sanctification, the perception that it possesses sacred qualities such as being blessed, holy, or transcendent even without explicit reference to God. Because almost any domain can be sanctified, the measures are target-specific, and across studies higher sanctification predicts greater investment in, and benefit from, the sanctified object.
Key highlights
- Measures the perceived sacredness of a specific life domain, a construct other religiosity measures do not isolate.
- Dual theistic and non-theistic routes capture both God-centered and broadly spiritual framings of the sacred.
- Target-specific design adapts to many domains — marriage, body, parenting, work, strivings, environment.
- Sanctification reliably predicts investment in, protection of, and benefit from the sanctified object.
Intuition
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How it works
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When to use it
Use sanctification measures when you want to know how sacred a person considers a particular aspect of their life and to relate that perception to how they treat and benefit from it. They fit studies of marriage and family, health and the body, parenting, work, the environment, and personal goals, in both theistic and broadly spiritual samples, since the dual theistic and non-theistic routes accommodate different framings of the sacred. They are less suited when no concrete target domain can be specified, when only general religiousness is of interest rather than the sacredness of a specific object, or in contexts where the language of 'sacred,' 'blessed,' and 'holy' would not translate without adaptation.
Strengths & limitations
- Measures the perceived sacredness of a specific life domain, a construct other religiosity measures do not isolate.
- Dual theistic and non-theistic routes capture both God-centered and broadly spiritual framings of the sacred.
- Target-specific design adapts to many domains — marriage, body, parenting, work, strivings, environment.
- Sanctification reliably predicts investment in, protection of, and benefit from the sanctified object.
- Each application is tied to a specific target, so a sanctification measure is not a general religiosity index.
- Non-theistic sacred-quality items can be ambiguous and may overlap with general meaning or importance.
- Self-reported sacredness of valued domains is vulnerable to social-desirability and idealization bias.
- The construct's vocabulary of sacredness reflects particular cultural and religious framings that may need adaptation.
Common pitfalls
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Applications
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Frequently asked
What does sanctification mean in this measurement framework?
Sanctification is the process by which a person perceives an aspect of their life as having spiritual character and significance — as sacred. It is not about whether the object is religious by nature but about whether the individual experiences it as holy, blessed, or imbued with the divine. Almost any domain can be sanctified, from a marriage to one's body to a personal goal, which is why the measures are always anchored to a specific target.
What is the difference between theistic and non-theistic sanctification?
Theistic sanctification is the perception that the target is a manifestation of God — that God is present in or works through it. Non-theistic sanctification is the perception that the target possesses sacred qualities such as being blessed, holy, miraculous, or transcendent, without necessarily invoking God. Measuring both lets the framework capture sacredness for explicitly God-centered believers and for people who experience the sacred in more diffuse, spiritual terms.
Why does sanctifying something change how people treat it?
When people perceive an aspect of life as sacred, they tend to invest more in it, protect it more vigorously, experience more distress when it is threatened or violated, and draw more strength and meaning from it. Mahoney and Pargament's research shows, for example, that couples who sanctify their marriage are more committed and satisfied. The measures exist to test this link: perceiving something as sacred is associated with greater investment in and benefit from it across many life domains.
Sources
- 1.Mahoney, A., Pargament, K. I., Cole, B., Jewell, T., Magyar, G. M., Tarakeshwar, N., Murray-Swank, N., & Phillips, R. (2005). A higher purpose: The sanctification of strivings in a community sample. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 15(3), 239-262.
- 2.Pargament, K. I., & Mahoney, A. (2005). Sacred matters: Sanctification as a vital topic for the psychology of religion. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 15(3), 179-198.
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Cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 23). Sanctification Measures. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/religious-studies/sanctification-measure