Attachment to God is an application of
attachment
theory to understand the relationship between people and God. As in
attachment theory, the two dimensions of anxiety vs. peace or calm and
avoidance vs. closeness can be measured separately, although the two dimensions
are positively correlated.
Lee A. Kirkpatrick (2012) of the College of William and Mary
along with his colleagues (e.g., Kirkpatrick & Shaver, 1990) is usually
credited with an early application of attachment theory (e.g., Ainsworth, 1969;
Bowlby, 1969) to believer-God relationships. Attachment to God may be limited to
religions like Christianity, which explicitly use the language of family
relationships such as God-father and offer parent-like descriptions of God as
caring and loving.
Attachment to God has been measured in different ways. It is
possible to use two items measuring the relationship to God as anxious or
avoidant. However, the
Attachment to God Inventory (AGI) developed by Richard
Beck and Angie McDonald has been widely used with some success.
Related Posts
Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1969). Object relations, dependency,
and attachment: A theoretical review of the infant-mother relationship. Child
Development, 40, 969–1025.
Beck, R., & McDonald, A.
(2004). Attachment to God: The attachment to God inventory, tests of working
model correspondence, and an exploration of faith group differences. Journal
of Psychology and Theology, 32, 92–103.
Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment
and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Hall, T. W., Fujikawa, A., Halcrow,
S. R., Hill, P.C., & Delaney, H. (2009). Attachment to God and implicit
spirituality: Clarifying correspondence and compensation models. Journal
of Psychology and Theology, 37, 227–242.
Kirkpatrick, L. A. (2012).
Attachment theory and the evolutionary psychology of religion. International
Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 22(3), 231-241.
doi:10.1080/10508619.2012.679556
Kirkpatrick, L. A., & Shaver,
P.R. (1990). Attachment theory and religion: Childhood attachments, religious
beliefs, and conversion. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 29,
315–334.
Sutton, G. W. & Mittelstadt,
M. W. (2012). Loving God and loving others: Learning about love from
psychological science and Pentecostal perspectives. Journal of
Christianity and Psychology, 31, 157-166.
Sutton, G. W., McLeland, K. C.,
Weaks, K. Cogswell, P. E., & Miphouvieng, R. N. (2007). Does gender matter?
An exploration of gender, spirituality, forgiveness and restoration following
pastor transgressions.
Pastoral Psychology.
55, 645-663. doi 10.1007/
s11089-007-0072-3 Online Link
http://www.springerlink.com/content/
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Academia
link Research
Gate Link
Tjeltveit,
A. C. (2006a). Psychology returns to love…of God and neighbor-as-self:
Introduction to the special issue. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 34,
3–7.
Tjeltveit, A. C. (2006b).
Psychology’s love-hate relationship with love: Critiques, affirmations, and
Christian responses. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 34,
8–22.
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