Attachment and Imagination in Coptic Christians` Religious and Aesthetic Experiences

Abstract

Abstract Coptic Orthodox iconography is a living tradition from a community that is underrepresented in the psychology of religion. It offers a prism for empirical investigation of religious aesthetic experiences and psychosocial factors that colour this class of experiences. This article reports a mixed-methods study focusing on attachment and imagination in experiences with Coptic icons. We qualitatively explored the significance of iconography within the community, with expert interviews revealing a dual function of the icon in public and private prayer lives. Home interviews with a subsample of Copts presenting secure attachment tendencies (n = 15) explored personal relationships to icons. These revealed themes related to physical space, narrative identity, and communication to the Divine. A cross-sectional survey (N = 88) was treated with principal components analyses, a correlation matrix, and two-way ANOVA. Participants endorsing secure attachments tended towards more intensity and security in relation to their religion and icons. In contrast, insecurely attached participants had less knowledge of icons and presented with expressive imagination, or a sensitivity to metaphor and fantasy. Developed in consultation with religious community members, this study presents new insights on attachment, imagination, religiosity, and cultural belonging.