Five Invaluable Lessons I Learned From Kenneth I. Pargament

In this article, I refer to five invaluable lessons I learned from my mentor, colleague, and friend, Kenneth I. Pargament. These lessons relate to the importance of: (a) establishing a solid foundation for research and developing appropriate instrumentation relevant to the studied populations, (b) differentiating between reductionistic and nonreductionistic explanations of the religion–health connection, (c) realizing that religion is a doubleedge sword phenomenon, (d) studying the psychological consequences of religion in a context, and (e) translating empirical findings into practical applications. I conclude by pointing to how the application of these lessons could further advance the field of the psychology of religion in general, and the psychology of Islam in particular.