The terror management function of Orthodox Jewish religiosity: a religious culture approach

Terror management theory proposes that humans, able to envision their inevitable death, develop worldviews opposing this debilitating fear. One TMT implication of considerable interest is its connection with the formation of religious belief. Taking a religious culture approach, this study measured the effect of death reminders on self-reported religiosity among 131 Orthodox Jews, and examined if Baal Teshuva—“returnees” differed from individuals born into Orthodox Judaism. Results showed that death reminders had a varied effect—both Baal Teshuva and those with intra-Orthodox religious change reported higher levels of intrinsic religiosity, while those without change reported lower. Explanations for these intra-faith differences relate to attachment theory and possible “Compensation” among those with religious change.     

The validation of a religiosity measure for individuals with schizophrenia

Measures of religiosity validated for psychotic patients do not exist. This study sought to examine the psychometric properties of a modified version of the Religious Life Inventory (RLI) in this population. It was anticipated that religiosity would be affected by psychotic symptoms. The religiosity of patients with schizophrenia was assessed while symptoms were more evident and again after treatment, to evaluate changes in religiosity. Four factors were found which characterized the religiosity of people with schizophrenia. These factors were found to have good construct validity. Patient's responses indicated a reduced need for religion when re-assessed once symptom scores were reduced.     

Who is David and who is Goliath? The Eddie Long scandal and the black mega-church

The recent scandal involving Bishop Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church has led millions of individuals to evaluate the guilt or innocence of Bishop Long as well the significance of the black mega-church. This study examined the possible effects of a well-publicised scandal involving a black mega-church pastor on the mental health of African Americans within and outside of the church. To address this paucity in the research, over 3000 comments made by anonymous contributors on CNN's public website were analysed using a grounded theory methodology. The following five themes were identified: (1) Keep an Open Mind: “Most People Thrive on Negativity;” (2) Hypocrisy as Part of Religion: “They aren’t real Christians;” (3) Greed as Part of Religion: “Just in it for the money;” (4) Religion and/or Christianity as Problematic: “Christians scare the Jesus out of me;” and (5) Religious Leaders Actions are separate from Individuals’ Personal Faith and Their Relationship with God: “You don’t put your faith in a man.” Narratives will be offered to support and illustrate each of these themes, and the implications for the mental health of African Americans will be discussed.     

Relationship between church attendance and mental health among Mormons and non-Mormons in Utah

A prevention model was applied to assess the protective effect of religion and church attendance against mental illness among respondents to the 1996 Utah Health Status Survey. Compared to Mormons that attend church weekly (active), less active Mormons, less active non-Mormons, and those with no religious preference, because of emotional problems, are at increased risk of accomplishing less than desired (model 1); having trouble doing work or other activities as carefully as desired (model 2); and seeking professional help (model 3). After adjusting for alcohol and tobacco use, education, income, physical activity, general health status, employment, body mass index, gender and age, only less active Mormons and those with no religious preference remained at significantly increased risk in model 3. Self-reported health status was the strongest predictor of mental health in each model. Active Mormons reported having the best health status and, consequently, the lowest levels of mental illness.     

Transcendence techniques and psychobiological mechanisms underlying religious experience

In this paper the author explores the process by which the combined influence of specific cultural factors and individual transcendence techniques activates psychobiological mechanisms that, in turn, trigger the appearance of special states of consciousness, namely religious trance. Most of these religious and spiritual experiences rationalize a threat common to all cultures, namely the risk of losing one's Ego.

The activation of individual transcendence techniques paraphrases denial defence mechanisms insofar as it involves avoidance of the external reality to preserve homeostasis. The mentioning in psychoanalytic terms of a ‘death instinct’ (i.e. a drive opposite to the attachment/life instinct) as a possible source of detachment/transcendence phenomena is still worth considering.

The Freudian example of ‘the cotton-reel mother’, whom the child could make disappear and then reappear again, is a powerful one of the phenomenon of detachment dynamics.

Cross-cultural research on the varieties of trance shows that Altered States of Consciousness can be induced by both collective and personal rituals that allow the subject to reach the altered states of consciousness by making the whole world appear or disappear in fantasy. While some of the highest forms of supernatural experience, such as ecstasy, mysticism and the communion with the Absolute, engender enough social approval to allow to believe that such experiences mitigate or prevent mental disorders, when the supernatural experiences occur in bizarre features they are indicators of a clear psychopathology.

The perspective of transcultural psychiatry offers the best method of outlining the great ethnographic variety of these experiences and, subsequently, making a comparative analysis of the links that exists among culture, psychopathology and the supernatural in a given situation.

From a clinical point of view, it becomes increasingly clear that psychiatrists need expertise to draw clinical inferences based on the specific patient's culture and his psychopathological presentation, especially when the patient's life history is characterized by the multi-faceted activity of transcendence techniques.     

Studying the specificity of spirituality: lessons from the psychology of religion

Psychological research on spirituality need not start from scratch: the psychology of religion provides substantial knowledge and experience that can be drawn on when psychologists want to do research on spirituality. Spirituality, while certainly not identical with religion or religiosity, is a human phenomenon to which many methodological insights from the study of religion may be applied, although it is also a domain where many mistakes from the history of the psychology of religion are likely to be repeated. After presenting some thoughts on the conceptualization of spirituality, and reflecting on the type of psychology required to do research on spirituality, the paper points out some hidden agenda's in the psychologies of religion and spirituality. Focusing on and keeping in mind the specificity of spiritual conduct, the paper discusses a number of practical aspects of empirical research on spirituality.     

Psychological types of male and female Bible College students in England

A sample of 278 male and 213 female Bible College students in England completed Form G (Anglicized) of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The data demonstrated clear preferences for introversion over extraversion, for sensing over intuition, and for judging over perceiving among both male and female Bible College students. Among females there was also a clear preference for feeling over thinking. The two predominant types among female Bible College students emerged as ISFJ (23%) and ESFJ (17%). The two predominant types among male Bible college students emerged as ISTJ (15%) and ISFJ (13%).     

Breaking the will: relations between mental mortification in monastic life and the psychological abuse of children in Catholic institutions

This article will go into relations between mental mortification and the timely topic of abuse of children in Catholic institutions. Explorations are based upon qualitative research carried out at the University of Groningen. As unexpected as it may seem, in Dutch monastic life mortification was (still) being practiced during the 1950s and 1960s. Besides physical mortification that was primarily aimed at disciplining the body, members of religious communities also performed mental mortification to discipline their will. In this article the psychological context of mental mortification will be described in order to shed light on the topic of psychological abuse in particular. In the concluding section attention will be paid to parallels between mental mortification practices and experiences brought forward in testimonies of victims. In addition, the ways in which mental mortification may have caused abusive behaviour will be discussed.     

Religion,resources, and work-family balance

It is increasingly recognised that work and family roles are interconnected. This is one reason why researchers and practitioners are working to understand and facilitate balance between work and nonwork roles. Most existing literature defines inter-role balance by emphasising work and family roles alone; unfortunately, this narrow focus prevents us from recognising individuals’ engagements in many other roles that may also influence one's balance. The present study expands our thinking about work-family balance by presenting and testing a model that incorporates involvement in a third role, organised religion. Specifically, we examine religious involvement, among Hindus living in the United States (N?=?105), as a predictor of resource gain and loss, and its effect on perceptions of work-family balance. Working within a Conversation of Resources framework, it was then expected that this resource gain/loss would influence coping strategies and perceptions of bi-directional work-family conflict and facilitation (indicators of work-family balance).     

Parental object representations,attachment to God,and recovery among individuals with psychosis

This study explored the relationships between object representations of mother and father and recovery among outpatients with psychotic disorders, and examined the role of attachment to God in moderating those relationships. A total of 46 outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder participated. Benevolent representations of mother and father were associated with recovery whereas punitive representations were negatively associated with recovery. Secure attachment to God amplified the association between benevolent representations of father and recovery. Secure attachment to God was found to buffer the relationship between mild-to-moderate punitive parental representations and recovery; however, this relationship was not evident for those with the most punitive parental representations. Directions for future research and clinical implications are discussed.