A systematic review of religion/spirituality and sport: A psychological perspective

ObjectiveThe study aimed to review the existing literature on religion/spirituality (R/S) in sport from the psychological perspective.DesignA systematic review using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was employed.MethodThe literature search was completed in December 2018 using five different databases and Google Scholar. The titles and abstracts of the articles were reviewed for the selection process. The selected articles were classified into nine categories: the role of religion/spirituality, consultants, confidence, religious/spiritual faith, flow or being in the zone, identity, anxiety and depression, coping with adversity, and well-being and healing.ResultsA total of 56 studies met the criteria. The selected articles comprised various types of study design that were quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, as well as conceptual, review, theoretical, commentary, and perspective articles. The findings show that R/S can play a significant role among athletes in several ways (e.g., coping with uncertainties, building team cohesion, and alleviating anxiety). This study has also uncovered a few issues that should be emphasized for future research such as developing quantitative tools for R/S and sport-performance measurement and designing a religious/spiritual coping strategy that can be used among athletes from various cultures/religions.ConclusionAlthough R/S is often overlooked in sport psychology, the existing literature shows that it can have positive effects on mental health and contribute to achieving better sporting performance.     

Psychotherapists and the mystical process

Spirituality is an often overlooked element in the therapeutic experience. The purpose of this paper is to document a well-recognized definition and framework for the mystical process. The author suggests some similarities between the mystical and psychotherapeutic processes. He asserts that psychotherapists who can recognize elements of the mystical process among their clients can serve as spiritual guides in psychotherapy.     

Assessing clinically significant religious impairment in clients: Applications from measures in the psychology of religion and spirituality

This article reviews measures in the psychological study of religion and spirituality (RS) in terms of Hathaway's (1999) conceptualization of clinically significant religious impairment (CSRI). It is maintained that RS can be regarded as an endogenous variable impaired by psychopathology. Specific RS measures are discussed in terms of how they may be used to assess RS impairment in clients in terms of performing RS activities, achieving RS goals, and experiencing desired RS states.     

Making sense of the study of spirituality: late modernity on trial

ABSTRACT

In this article I offer a meta-theoretical mapping of spirituality studies and its many controversies. I begin by distinguishing between two projects that together constitute the field: the study for and the study of spirituality. I argue a good deal of the confusion surrounding ‘spirituality’ is the result of scholars failing to make this distinction. Next, I outline the few areas of agreement within the study of spirituality in order to illuminate what I consider the issue that defines the field: the merits and shortcomings of late modernity. By late modernity I mean the current era, whose origins can be traced roughly to the 1960s. I then offer a meta-theoretical analysis of the social-cum-political theoretical frameworks commonly used to study spirituality, delineating them according to their assessments of the contemporary epoch. I contend this is a useful and much-needed means of dispelling some of the fuzziness that characterizes the field.     

Every Child Still Matters: interdisciplinary approaches to the spirituality of the child

Abstract

Ten years ago, I was a researcher with the Evaluation of Children’s Trusts which examined a key aspect of U.K. government policy, Every Child Matters. Every Child Matters was partly a response to Lord Laming’s 2003 report into the murder of 8-year old Victoria Climbié, which concluded that children’s services needed to be better integrated to avoid such tragedies in the future. Children’s Trusts were regional hubs, set-up across England to facilitate integrated professional practice; but Every Child Matters was bigger than this because it set out a policy vision for rethinking the child as a whole person. At the time, I was struck by the absence of any reference to spirituality in this new holistic view of the child, and this led me to write an article which was published in 2006 entitled, ‘Every Child Matters and children’s spiritual rights: does the new holistic approach to children’s care address children’s spiritual well-being?’.

This article was originally a keynote talk at the 2016 International Conference on Children’s Spirituality with the theme Spirituality and the whole child: interdisciplinary approaches, and this provided the opportunity both to see where we are now with integrated working for children and young people more generally, and to focus our attention on interdisciplinary approaches to children’s spirituality and the whole child in particular. The article begins by summarising some of the current thinking spirituality, the whole child and interdisciplinary working. The article then goes on to consider a long-standing concern of mine, and one which was highlighted in my 2006 article, which is what we intend to mean – collectively, as academics and professional practitioners concerned with children’s (and adults’) spirituality – when we use the term ‘spirituality’ in the professional context. In my view, it is time to stop stating that spirituality is hard to define, and come to an agreement about what we mean when we use it. Interdisciplinary approaches to children’s (and adults’) spirituality, and holistic approaches to the child (and adult), will not be successful unless there is a clear, shared agreement about what we mean, and the article ends with suggestions for ways forward.     

Finding connections between spirituality and play for early childhood education

ABSTRACT

In an attempt to provide holistic education and care, expand the view of young children’s development to include the spiritual, and make connections with the found benefits of play for all areas of development, this article looks at 33 surveyed U.S. early childhood educators’ perceptions on nurturing spirituality through open-ended and free play. Data collected from the open-ended questions of an online survey were analyzed looking at 22 mentions of play as a mean to support spirituality. Findings show that 45.5% of surveyed teachers mentioned play as a way intentionally used in the classroom to nurture children’s spirituality. It is posed that developmentally appropriate approaches to early childhood education would be enhanced by including spirituality in their understanding of the child, as well as intentionally nurturing spirituality in educational settings, by providing free, child-centered, child-directed play and opportunities for children to experience spiritual moments, defined as feeling wonder, awe, joy, and inner-peace.     

Sanctification of work: assessing the role of spirituality in employment attitudes

Recent research has sought to develop measures that empirically substantiate spirituality as a unique construct independent of established personality constructs. One such measure is Sanctification, a psychological process through which people perceive aspects of life to possess spiritual character and significance. This study empirically examines the relationship between Sanctification of Work and work-related outcomes in a national sample (N?=?827) of individuals employed in religiously affiliated institutions. The results indicated that the Sanctification of Work was a significant predictor of Job Satisfaction, Turnover Intention, and Organisational Commitment after controlling for Personality, Spirituality, Religiosity, Psychological Safety, and Demographic variables.     

A qualitative study of the interdisciplinary approaches to adolescent spirituality in Australian government schools

Abstract

The growing body of evidence in education reveals that ‘spirituality’ as an aspect of learning is largely overlooked in government schools in Australia and consequently, there is a paucity of research investigating whether young people consider spirituality to be an important and worthwhile component of their educational experience. This paper will report on some findings of a PhD study which investigates the spiritual lived experiences of secondary school students. As an interdisciplinary approach to spirituality for adolescents, this paper represents the different ways spirituality is understood across the disciplines and whether young people view themselves to be ‘spiritual’. In sharing some of the student narratives, this paper will explore what spirituality means in the context of young peoples’ everyday lives. It will also address how schools can play a central role in students’ quest for a sense of meaning; and the important role of teachers in this process will also be explored.     

Reclaiming and reconnecting to our spirituality in the academy

In this paper, the author, a doctoral student, examines his past to understand why spirituality is important in his present life and why it is important to integrate spirituality within the academy for young adults. In this personal narrative, the author discusses how spirituality becomes important for him from his childhood, as he grows up in Kuwait and Bangladesh and is subjected to numerous forms of psychological violence from his family, his school and larger society. The author then examines how his spirituality is negated as he immigrates to Canada and joins the Canadian academy as a young adult student. Finally, the author discusses why it is important to incorporate spirituality within the academy for young adults.     

Adolescents,well-being and spirituality: insights from a spiritual program

This paper is a study of adolescents, well-being and spirituality. I have looked at the All Round Training in Excellence (ART-Excel) program for adolescents developed by an international spiritual organisation called the Art of Living Foundation (AOL Foundation). Adolescents participants (n = 396) of this program from four cities – Vancouver, London, Johannesburg and Mumbai – comprised of the sample. An equal number comprised of the control group. The findings suggest that spirituality is generally perceived as having positive mental health and well-being influences for program participants. Logistic regression analyses showed that girls, Hindus (homeland and Diaspora), adolescents in higher monthly expenses brackets, with a better health status, that is no self-declared ailments saw a higher efficacy to the ART-Excel program. The program was in general seen to contribute to well-being, social participation, sense of social duty, relationships, future vision and educational attainment. It is important to recognise the role of spirituality in early adolescents’ psychological well-being and include discussion of such coping mechanisms in working with this population. Moving this further it is also important for helping professionals to be cognisant of the possible presence and importance of spiritual beliefs in the lives of troubled adolescents such as runaway and homeless youth.     

Gender,mysticism, and enthusiasm in the British post-Reformation

Abstract

The seventeenth century is seen as a watershed in the history of Western Christian mysticism, marking its development as a distinct ‘science’, and the separation of spheres distancing academic theology from spirituality, a divorce which clearly has gendered dimensions. This article explores that shift in the British context. First, it considers the resurgence of mystical currents in the turbulent crisis of authority in the middle decades of the seventeenth century. The conclusion is that gender played a central role in the Anglican-rationalist reaction against ‘enthusiasm’, and the pathologizing of mystical divinity as a form of melancholy. Second, there is discussion of the doctrine of revelation expounded by two female mystics (the Benedictine nun, Gertrude More, and the Franco-Flemish spiritualist, Antoinette Bourignon) and their supporters.     

Book reviews

This paper reports findings from a study of the psychometric properties of a newly developed measure, the Spiritual Issues in Supervision Scale (SISS). The instrument was originally conceived in response to the growing need within the helping professions to understand the role of spirituality within clinical practice and supervision. While evidence supporting the internal consistency of the measure was obtained through a preliminary study, the present investigation provides a more detailed examination of the measure. Results reflect that the instrument in addition to being reliable, measures four dimensions of supervision that related to spirituality. Based on the findings of this study, conclusions are provided pertaining to the potential utility of the instrument.     

Developing spirituality – an equal right of every child?

ABSTRACT

Children’s spiritual development is influenced by those with whom they interact and by the world around them. An important context for young children is the kindergarten, which has a high level of responsibility for their (spiritual) education. At kindergarten children encounter people with different religious and spiritual attitudes, which may be fundamental to the development of their own spirituality. Research results regarding how two kindergartens in Austria deal with this diversity and how children address it are summarized. One result of this qualitative ethnographic research project is that, depending on their religion, children have different opportunities to develop their spiritual communication and spirituality based on religious traditions and rituals. Developing kindergartens in line with the metaphor of safe spaces where diversity is recognized and discussed can contribute to the creation of equal opportunities for children’s spiritual development.     

A critique from within: some important research issues that psychologists of religion and spirituality should further work on

ABSTRACT

Operating from a perspective of an empirical psychologist of religion and spirituality, in this paper, I point to some areas of improvement in our field. Specifically, I (1) briefly target the lack of consensus in defining religion and spirituality; (2) point to the need for answering the crucial question: How unique is religion? (3) tackle the Western/Christian bias of the field; and (4) address three fundamental methodological issues (generalisability, self-report, and cross-sectional design) and their implications for research.     

Taking spiritual experiences seriously in the religious education classroom: a transrational approach

ABSTRACT

Spiritual experiences are common across religious and non-religious faiths, but schoolchildren are often afraid to share these because they fear ridicule from peers who are convinced religion is irrational. The need to speak about spirituality in religious education is increasingly recognised. Signposts suggests that intercultural understanding implies recognising religious students’ perception of reality and helping others understand it. Religious education in Norway now includes exploration of existential questions as a core element, and in England, making sense of religious, spiritual and mystical experiences has been suggested as a big idea. In this paper, we discuss how the dualistic paradigm of modern science makes it difficult to take spirituality seriously as lived experience and empirical phenomenon. Instead we suggest a transrational approach to explore our multidimensional reality in an intercultural dialogue where insiders and outsiders learn from each other. We also explore examples of transrational research on spiritual phenomena.     

The Imagination of Images and Images of Imagination: How the Imagination Relates to Aging,Health, and Spirituality

ABSTRACT

Psychological literature suggests that religion and spirituality increase in late adulthood. Yet, operational definitions of spirituality and religiosity remain widely debated and inadequate for the concepts they are designed to measure. The empirical studies of religion and spirituality as one ages are of poor design and often measure only limited aspects of religion or spirituality. Few empirical studies exist which have been conceived to only study religiosity and spirituality in late adulthood. The purpose of this study was to determine the defining aspects of religiosity and spirituality using the Allport, Ross Intrinsic, Extrinsic Religiosity Scale, Ellison's Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and Neugarten's Life Satisfaction Instrument. Using a principal component factor analysis, the study examined the factor structure using an older adult sample of 320 individuals 65 years of age and older. Having a purpose in life combines with intrinsic religious questions for the first factor. Life satisfaction questions group together on two factors and extrinsic religiosity is clearly one factor. The scales used hold together well when combined. A new, shortened scale to measure aspects of religiosity and spirituality is proposed.     

Some reflections on spirituality,religion and mental health

For both religion and psychiatry context is becoming more important. Object relations theory, and especially the concept of a transitional object, may be a means of linking religious thinking and psychoanalysis together. The distinction between religion and spirituality is important, though not absolute. Two factors emerge from this engagement: 1) critical questioning at the boundary of each discipline; and 2) both spirituality and mental health are related to life in a specific society. The link between religion and irrational behaviour is important, religion being a primary means of acknowledging the irrational facets of everyday life. But delusion must not be confused with illusion: between these two imagination, art and religion flourish. Each of these is dangerous, since they connect the ‘normal’ with the ‘riskily marginal’. In a multicultural society behaviour which may be acceptable in one context may in another be regarded as a sign of illness. This is particularly true of religious behaviour. Three key issues are examined: 1) the social function of spirituality and religion; 2) the idea of personal wholeness; and 3) the link between external and internal validation of the individual's spirituality. The boundary between psychotic and religious behaviour is a difficult one to discern. Yet neither medical nor spiritual explanations alone seem sufficient. There is a complementary mapping of the complications of human experience.     

The study of the Persian mystical fable’s capacity to be rewritten as spiritual literature for children in the light of the theory of relational consciousness

ABSTRACT

‘Relational consciousness’ introduces four kinds of relationships as characteristics of children’s spirituality: relation with self, others, environment and the higher being or God. These four relationships have also been noted in Persian mystical fables. The aim of the present study is to review some of these fables so as to assess their capacity for being rewritten as spiritual literature for children in the light of this theory. We contend that fables which pay more attention to the relationship with self and God, have less capacity because of their abstract concepts. Fables concerning the relationship with the environment and others are more suitable for being rewritten for the child reader, as they are more objective and perceptible. Many fables of this kind have the potential to guide the reader from the relationship with the environment and others to the relationship with self and God. The study also shows that Persian mystical fables could be used as a rich source for nourishing the child’s spirituality according to the theory of relational consciousness.     

Empirical investigation of a postmodern model of spirituality within the population of Republic of Ireland

Spirituality is a phenomenon which continues to attract much interest in the Western culture. Throughout the years, it has changed in form and developed in understanding. It has become unprecedentedly broad and embraced by many people, even those who do not consider themselves to be religious. Indeed, spirituality is a subject of debate within academic and non-academic circles regarding its shape, place, function, and definition. This debate and the academic investigation reveals that as a field of study it is undergoing intense and vigorous development. However, there are a number of conceptual deficiencies which need attention, namely; identity and method. The aim of this study is to develop the concept of spirituality according to the current European population. The study applies Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and finds current spirituality functioning as a three-dimensional model composed of transcendence, immanence, and purpose. This concept is predicted by 13 independent variables. The findings conclude that current spirituality is a person’s individual existential dimension, being subject to change through the influence of various psychological, religious and social factors. The findings of the research describe its practical implication within formational social fields such as education, counselling, and psychotherapy.     

The role of spirituality in building up the resilience of migrant children in Central America: bridging the gap between needs and responses*

Abstract

Academic research across different disciplines has evidenced that spirituality contributes significantly to the building up of resilience. Little research, however, exists on the relationship between spirituality and resilience among displaced children. Enquiring into this particular area is urgent not only because of the increasing numbers of displaced children in the world today but also because of the insufficiency of current responses, which fail to address children’s deep questions about life, themselves, the world and God. This paper argues that spirituality has the potential to answer these deep existential needs, and, by doing so, can constitute a key resilience factor for migrant children. Furthermore, it argues for the value of using interdisciplinary approaches to explore these issues. Through a qualitative investigation involving adult professionals working with migrant children and adult faith leaders and/or experts in spirituality, this paper provides new insights into how to understand the relationship between spirituality and resilience among displaced populations, and how to nurture migrant children’s spirituality in multi-faith and non-faith settings.