Religions (Nov 2021)
Character Strengths Beatitudes: A Secular Application of Ancient Wisdom to Appreciate Strengths for Spiritual Happiness and Spiritual Growth
Abstract
A beatitude is a blessing. It is a form of appreciation that can be directed toward others or oneself. Theologically speaking, some frame the original beatitudes from The Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew as pertaining to “spiritual happiness”, and recent scholars have offered a compelling argument that they are a call to flourishing. The focus here involves the creation and description of 24 blessings, or beatitudes, using the lens of one of the foundational and most researched areas in the sciences of flourishing, well-being, and positive psychology, which is the science of character strengths. Recent research has framed the 24 universal character strengths as spiritual strengths, hence particularly aligned for secular and nonsecular contexts of spiritual blessings. Each of the 24 character strengths was created into a blessing using the structure of the original beatitudes—with an opening description of the personal quality or attribute that is blessed and a follow-up outcome or core benefit that arises from the expression of that quality. In this way, these character strength beatitudes or character strength blessings offer an opportunity to appreciate the best positive qualities of others. These blessings are framed as primarily a mechanism of appreciating the character strengths of others, resting theoretically in both the grounding path and the sanctification path, the two types of integration of character strengths and spirituality that researchers have proposed. They are discussed, secondarily, as applied to the individual, for self-understanding, insight, and growth. These two purposes are relevant to the deepening of the spiritual journey, providing support as individuals pursue meaning in life and/or the sacred as they go deeper within themselves, up and beyond themselves, and sideways and interconnected to others. Practical applications, based in science, are discussed and point to avenues by which these character strengths beatitudes might both foster the appreciating of others’ strengths and support one’s own spiritual happiness, spiritual coping, and spiritual growth.
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