Understanding Awe and Wonder

The experience of awe and wonder has been described in literature and scripture, depicted in art, and attested to in the experiences of countless individuals. It is the characteristic human response to any number of larger realities, from the beauty and violence of the natural world, to tremendous feats of body and mind, to our understanding of perceived encounters with the divine. Awe and wonder express our longing and our uncertainty, our fascination and our terror. They point to the transcendent and to the limits of being human.

With the growth in scholarly and popular discussions about spirituality and its relationship to religion, the Foundation believes that now is a prime moment for the rigorous exploration of these understudied dimensions of human experience. We hope to better define awe and wonder; to explore their contribution to the development of spiritual awareness, wisdom, and inspiration; and to examine their relationship to curiosity, intellectual advancement, and spiritual progress.

The Foundation’s 2010 Funding Priority on “Understanding Awe and Wonder” aims to support innovative research projects, with a strong preference for collaborations between researchers in the social sciences and the humanities. In their Online Funding Inquiries, applicants should provide working definitions for awe and wonder and describe how these definitions will be operationalized in the proposed research. They also should respond directly to one or more of the following Big Questions:

1. 1How does awe relate to wonder and to curiosity about the unknown?
2. 2What is the relationship between humility and the sense or experience of awe and wonder?
3. 3What role do awe and wonder play in the intellectual and spiritual development of children?

Budget range and term for individual projects: From $50,000 to $400,000 and for up to two years.