Contemplative Practices Across Religious Traditions: Shared Pathways to Spiritual and Psychological Wellness

Abstract

This interdisciplinary literature review examines shared contemplative practices across the world’s major religious traditions and their potential contributions to spiritual and psychological wellness. Drawing on comparative religious scholarship and psychological research, it explores common practices—including meditation, contemplative prayer, sacred repetition, breath awareness, reflection, and compassion—and their relationships to emotional regulation, stress reduction, self-awareness, meaning-making, and human development. The review emphasizes both the psychological similarities and theological distinctions among traditions, offering implications for interfaith spiritual care, nonclinical spiritual counseling, and future interdisciplinary research.