Bible Use and Human Flourishing Among Members of the U.S. Military Community

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Arguments for publishing the article submitted for review:

1. The choice of an original and under-researched problem.

2. The proposed research methodology.

3. The data obtained and the critical interpretation of that.

4. Usefulness of the research for psychology (human well-being vs. religiosity), for theology (pastoral care of soldiers, the Bible in pastoral care) and to some extent also for soldiers themselves and their families.

5. To identify new research opportunities.

Taking this into account, I request publication of the article.

Author Response

Comment 1: "1. The choice of an original and under-researched problem."

Response 1: We appreciate the reviewer agreeing with us that our research addressed "an original and under-researched problem."

Comment 2: "2. The proposed research methodology."

Response 2: We appreciate the reviewer's positive view on our research methodology.

Comment 3: "3. The data obtained and the critical interpretation of that."

Response 3: We are glad to see the reviewer recognizing not only the significance of the data we collected but also their "critical interpretation."

Comment 4: "Usefulness of the research for psychology (human well-being vs. religiosity), for theology (pastoral care of soldiers, the Bible in pastoral care) and to some extent also for soldiers themselves and their families."

Response 4: We appreciate the reviewer acknowledging our study's broad appeal to readers of diverse backgrounds, practitioners as well as academics, and our findings' usefulness for "soldiers themselves and their families."

Comment 5: "To identify new research opportunities."

Response 5: We are grateful that the reviewer saw how our study identified "new research opportunities."

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

My one concern about this research report is related to the "generaliz-ability" of the findings -- it is a case study, well designed and carried out. But it does focus on a small religious population. The conclusion flows from the research. But to find a high level of "human flourishing" as defined here in a population of religious people connecting to their shared scripture is close to a tautology. I respect that the researcher(s) had/have been ethical, scrupulous and rigorous. And I recommend that this work be published and shared. But a little more modesty in the concluding discussion of the limits of this study and the need for further research would make the piece stronger as a journal article.

Author Response

Comment 1: "My one concern about this research report is related to the "generaliz-ability" of the findings -- it is a case study, well designed and carried out. But it does focus on a small religious population. The conclusion flows from the research. But to find a high level of "human flourishing" as defined here in a population of religious people connecting to their shared scripture is close to a tautology. I respect that the researcher(s) had/have been ethical, scrupulous and rigorous. And I recommend that this work be published and shared. But a little more modesty in the concluding discussion of the limits of this study and the need for further research would make the piece stronger as a journal article."

Response 1: As suggested, we added a sentence where we emphasized the absolute significance of conducting further research on the subject based on a large, representative sample of Christians (see highlighted on p. 15). In another added sentence that immediately followed, we also called for research on use of various world religions' sacred texts and human flourishing.