Abstract: This study explores how the phenomenological experience of reading catalyzes spiritual formation. We invited a multiethnic group of five readers from different countries to read Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment . Thematic analysis of reader interviews suggested three themes common to the phenomenological experience of reading: First, readers drew on lived experience and pre-existing beliefs to experience the text. Second, reading deepened or transformed some of the readers’ beliefs and intentions for action. Third, readers interpreted the novel via other books or stories that were part of their culture. Our findings clarify dynamics by which reading literature (or Scripture) shapes readers’ character.
Lawrence et al. (2025) studied this question.