The experience of, and beliefs about, divine grace in mainline protestant Christianity: A consensual qualitative approach.

This article focuses on a qualitative study exploring how Mainline Protestant Christians in the Southwestern United States experience and understand divine grace. Through interviews with 28 adults affiliated with denominations such as the United Methodist Church, Episcopal Church, and Presbyterian Church—USA, the study found that participants commonly associate saving grace with relational virtues like forgiveness and love, often viewing it as a gift from God that impacts both present life and the afterlife. Participants reported challenges in accepting grace, including feelings of unworthiness and intellectual struggles, while also describing grace as fostering peace, growth, and prosocial behavior. The study highlights variability in beliefs about how grace applies to non-Christians and suggests that divine grace may be broadly understood as God's benevolent actions promoting connection with the divine, rather than solely as acceptance or forgiveness. Limitations include the sample's demographic homogeneity and geographic concentration, and the authors call for further research on divine grace across diverse religious traditions and cultural contexts.