Suffering for others as religious meaning-making: varieties,prerequisites, and functions in the coping process of a sample of practising Christians living with cancer

The coping method suffering for others as religious meaning-making (SORM) is analysed regarding its varieties, prerequisites, and functions in a group (n?=?10) of practising Christians living with cancer. In-depth interviews are featured in this qualitative, longitudinal study of the interdependence of religiosity and coping. A common feature of the analysed narratives is the idea that the informant's suffering would have – or at least had the potential to have – a positive effect on other individuals. This idea is identified as the “coping tool” of the coping method. Three different variants of SORM are identified, with a variety of prerequisites. The function in all cases is to conserve the significant object sense of meaning and, in some cases: survival. A case study is presented that shows how the coping method can be maintained over time by changing the coping tools of the method when they lose their efficacy in the coping process.