Spiritual Struggles Psychology of Religion

Spiritual struggles are typically experiences of conflicts of religious or spiritual beliefs, practices, or experiences that cause or extend distress. The distress may be experienced as an emotion such as sadness, anger, or anxiety. In addition, people who struggle may wrestle with conflicting thoughts.

Spiritual struggles can be interpersonal and intrapersonal. Interpersonal spiritual struggles may be between the individual and God such as anger with God for “not showing up as expected” or acting in a way that seemed unloving. Spiritual struggles may also be between the person and others such as a young college woman experiencing conflicts with parents over religious values or conflicts within congregations.

Intrapersonal struggles may be experienced as a failure to live up to spiritual standards of right living or difficulty in forgiving oneself for moral failure. Struggles may also be experienced as a battle with supernatural evil.

Spiritual struggles may be different from other psychological difficulties because of the experience of the supernatural as well as the importance of religion and spirituality to the identity of many people.

Spiritual struggles can be assessed through interviews and survey items.

Some research suggests younger persons and women are more susceptible to struggles than are others.

Spiritual struggles can affect mood and behavior with symptoms of depression and anxiety evident. Religious scholar Marcus Borg referred to anxiety, fear, guilt, and anguish as the told of his spiritual struggle as an adolescent Christian.

The effects of a struggle may be closely linked to the struggle itself or the effects may worsen an existing health or mental health condition. Spiritual struggles have been linked to worsening a variety of general health conditions such as cardiovascular problems and cancer.

Few studies have looked at the possibility of personal growth following a spiritual struggle. This is an area in need of research. An example might be a more mature outlook or sense of peace and wellbeing once the struggle has been resolved.

When spiritual struggles result from a person's behavior that violates their spiritual/moral standards, self-forgiveness may be helpful in repairing the distress and "healing the soul."

I am drawing on a summary by Julie Exline (2013) for this post. Please see her chapter (below) or other works to learn more about spiritual struggles and the names of prominent scientists who study this field.

You can find a variety of scales and survey items related to spirituality at my Assessment and Statistics Blog. Some of the measures are free to use or may be free with permission of the author.  https://statistics.suttong.com/

Some spiritual survey scales and items are included in the book CreatingSurveys  

available on AMAZON worldwide

How to measure Spiritual Struggles and Coping

Religious and Spiritual Struggles  Scale

Brief RCOPE Scale (religious coping)

Related posts

  Conversion / Deconversion in Psychology of Religion

  Demonology, Deliverance, and the Psychology of Religion

  Religious Spiritual Coping - Positive and Negative

Cite this post 

Sutton, G. W. (2020, January 8). Spiritual struggles. Psychology concepts and theories. https://suttonpsychology.blogspot.com/2020/01/spiritual-struggles.html

Reference

Exline, J. J. (2013). Religious and spiritual struggles. In J. J. Exline (Ed.), APA handbook of psychology, religion, and spirituality (Vol 1): Context, theory, and research. (pp. 459–475). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14045-025

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Psychology of Shame

Shame is a pervasive self-evaluative emotional state. People display shame in a slumped body posture with their heads down, avoiding eye-contact. They may express the wish to die or disappear.

Psychologists contrast shame with guilt. In contrast to the shamed self, guilt usually refers to a negative evaluation of a behavioral act. If people agree that they are guilty then, they may apologize for a specific act. In some cases, the person receives forgiveness. 

Shame involves an intense sense of self-awareness in a cultural setting of honor. An example of shame is often seen in victims of rape. Rape is an act that violates the self in an intensely intimate way. The rape-shame experience can be particularly intense in cultures where young women are expected to be virgins until they marry. In cultures of honor, shame regarding sex outside of marriage can extend to the family.

Parents can feel shame as a worsened degree of embarrassment when their children behave contrary to the rules of a culture. Likewise, children may feel shame when their parents behave in publicly unacceptable ways. 

People experience shame when they believe they are in violation of a highly valued cultural expectation. Some cultures place a high value on attractive clothes and bodies. Some cultures place a high value on certain behaviors, activities, or pursuits that are honored as ideals for men or women. For example, military service and participation in sports are highly valued in many cultures. 

Intense emotions can accompany shame including anxiety, depression, and anger. People who struggle with shame and related concerns may need psychotherapy or medical interventions to restore their ability to function adequately. Referrals can usually be obtained from physicians, clergy, and other healthcare providers.

Learn more about shame in the works of psychologist June  Price Tangney (see references).

Cite this article

Sutton, G. W. (2019, January 18). Psychology of shame. Psychology Concepts and Theories. Retrieved from https://suttonpsychology.blogspot.com/2019/01/psychology-of-shame.html

  

References to research on shame

Tangney, J.P. (2011) An interview related to a book about shame.

Tangney, J. P. (1990). Assessing individual differences in proneness to shame and guilt: Development of the Self-Conscious Affect and Attribution Inventory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 102-111.

Tangney, J. P., Miller, R. S., Flicker, L., & Barlow, D. H. (1996). Are shame, guilt, and embarrassment distinct emotions? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 1256-1269.

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

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Dr. Sutton’s posts are for educational purposes only. See a licensed mental health provider for diagnoses, treatment, and consultation.