Coded themes from the original VCE analysis were initially reviewed for relevance to narratives about religion and science. From the initial analysis of phenomenology or, in other words, the various types of meditation-related challenges documented in the study, the “change in worldview” thematic category was particularly informative for the present analyses. Additionally, from the analysis of influencing factors—that is, the factors that were identified as either risks or remedies (or both) for the onset and trajectory of meditation-related challenges—data from the “worldviews and explanatory frameworks” and “intentions, motivations, and goals” thematic categories were also informative. (For further information on the original categories and analyses readers are referred to the original publication of those findings[47]). Because “worldviews and explanatory frameworks” was one of the largest influencing factor categories in the entire study, comprising more than 800 discrete references across all participants, we began by “coding-on” this category for further subthemes. This allowed us to identify the range of types of worldviews and relationships with worldviews in their role as influencing factors.

However, because discourses of science and religion often emerged in segments of the interview that were not directly related to the prior research questions (e.g., determining phenomenology, influencing factors, and criteria for differential diagnosis), a second review of all interviews was conducted to extract material pertaining to science and religion that was not originally included in any prior thematic analyses. This document was reviewed by three of the coauthors (RP, DC, JL), and new themes relevant to religion and science were identified through a combination of theory-driven and data-driven approaches through which thematic categories were allowed to emerge inductively. The extracted data document was then read and coded as appropriate with one or more themes by the same three coauthors. For the purpose of generating the present manuscript and a manuscript on the impact of worldviews on the trajectory of meditation-related challenges[48], additional subthemes that reflected patterns in the description of science and belief were compiled based on these analyses. Discrepancies in the application of themes and subthemes were discussed until consensus was reached.

Thematic categories were applied to sections of interview texts, rather than to entire interviews. This enabled a richer, more nuanced analysis wherein multiple themes were often observed within any given narrative, showcasing how individuals entertain and navigate a range of explanatory frameworks when considering their meditation-related challenges. In the service of providing a more descriptive and useful account of relationships between religion and science, these themes were not developed to be mutually exclusive and are in many cases conceptually overlapping with one another.