Sacred vs. Secular Mindfulness Meditation: The Influence of Presentation Priming on Therapeutic Effectiveness

Presenting mindfulness meditation as a 'scientifically proven tool' rather than a 'sacred Buddhist practice' can enhance its therapeutic benefits. College students who received a secular-primed mindfulness intervention reported greater increases in happiness compared to those who received a sacred-primed version, though both mindfulness conditions reduced depression, anxiety, stress, and negative affect while boosting positive affect and optimism relative to a control group. The findings suggest that how mindfulness is framed influences its effectiveness for specific outcomes.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Mindfulness is a traditional, sacred Buddhist practice that has entered the mainstream of applied psychology and become secularized. This study examined the differential influence of the presentation priming of mindfulness meditation—as either a “sacred Buddhist practice” (sacred condition) or a “scientifically proven tool” (secular condition)—on its therapeutic effectiveness in a general sample of college students. We hypothesized that participants in both mindfulness conditions would demonstrate better therapeutic outcomes (i.e., decreased psychological distress and increased subjective wellbeing) compared to those in a passive control condition. We also hypothesized that participants in the secular-primed mindfulness condition would demonstrate superior therapeutic outcomes compared to those in the sacred-primed mindfulness condition. ANCOVA were run using outcome pretest scores as the covariates and outcome posttest scores as the dependent variables. Results indicated a main effect of condition on depression, anxiety, stress, negative affect, positive affect, happiness, and optimism—suggesting that both mindfulness conditions were therapeutically effective compared to the control condition. Follow-up pairwise comparisons showed that the secular-primed intervention was significantly more effective than the sacred-primed intervention for increasing happiness—suggesting differential therapeutic effectiveness as a function of priming. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.