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Studies on the Psychology of Religion: Christian Spirituality and Personal/Social...
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Studies on the Psychology of Religion: Christian Spirituality and Personal/Social Well-Being

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2024) | Viewed by 8527

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Mario Aletti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, Psychology of Religion Research Unit, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, 20123 Milano, Italy
Interests: psychoanalysis; psychology of religion; psychotherapy; social psychology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The psychology of religion does not study ‘religion in general’ but the way people relate to given culturally contextualized religious tokens (Vergote 1993).

This Special Issue focuses on the relations of Christian spirituality with both individual and social well-being, bearing in mind the multi-component nature of human well-being of which religious spirituality is only a part. The issue is expected to refer to Western society, which is largely steeped in Christian spiritual culture, but it may also deal with what happens when Christian spirituality encounters other non-Western cultures and—religious or non-religious—contexts. In many empirical studies, religious commitment was positively related to personal well-being. According to some, it promotes not only mental well-being, meaning in life and the afterlife, positive emotion, a sense of coherence and coping with situations of stress, anxiety or depression (Pargament 1997), but also physical health, e.g., minor morbidity and mortality, greater longevity, and less drug, tobacco and alcohol abuse (VanderWeele 2021). On the other hand, some report negative effects on the psyche such as dogmatism, superstition, obsession, guilt, delusion, etc.

Some questions on the results and methodology may naturally arise. What does ‘Christian spirituality’ for religious versus non-religious people mean? Are there any specific ways or conditions for positive vs. negative influences on well-being? Are there significant variations between different Christian confessions (Catholicism, Protestantism and Orthodoxy)? Could an individual religious orientation—intrinsic versus extrinsic—affect Christian spirituality? To what extent the correlation studies are reliable in this field? Is Christian coping different from non-religious personal coping?

According to some, religious spirituality influences pro-sociality and acts as a brake on prejudice and fundamentalism. Others highlight the danger of religious extremism and all its negative consequences. This contrast leads to the formulation of several questions: what constitutes ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ religion and spirituality? Specifically, how does Christian spirituality influence social and political democracy? And how does religion contribute to or counteract prejudice and discrimination? How effective is religion in social change? What is its contribution to education, healthcare, the workplace, etc?

Concerning methodological issues, besides the most widely used correlational research, different and diverse psycho-logical theories, perspectives and models are welcome, for example, those derived from clinical psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, psychoanalysis, attachment theory, etc.

References

Pargament, K. I. 1997. The psychology of religion and coping. New York: Guilford.

VanderWeele, T. J. 2021. Effects of religious service attendance and religious importance on depression: examining the meta-analytic evidence. The Inter-national Journal for the Psychology of Religion 31: 21–26.

Vergote, A. 1993. What the psychology of religion is and what it is not. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion 3: 73–86

We are pleased to invite you to submit original research articles and reviews alike. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following topics:

  • Christian spirituality and mental well-being;
  • Christian spirituality and physical well-being;
  • Christian spirituality in a changing society;
  • Christian spirituality in non-Western society

Interested authors, before submitting a full manuscript, are requested to send a proposed title and an abstract of 200-300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editor, Prof. Dr. Mario Aletti (mario.aletti@gmail.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors to ensure proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo a double-blind peer review.

Tentative completion schedule:

Deadline for abstract submission: 15 April 2024

Deadline for full manuscript submission: 15 December 2024

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Mario Aletti
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Christian spirituality
  • subjective well-being
  • positive emotions
  • health-promoting
  • pro-sociality

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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22 pages, 3985 KiB  
Article
The Religiosity of Adolescents and Young Adults in Malta: Tracing Trajectories
by Paul Galea and Carl-Mario Sultana
Religions 2025, 16(4), 426; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16040426 - 27 Mar 2025
Viewed by 1333
Abstract
In a country where almost the totality of the native population is baptized and raised in the Catholic Church, recent surveys have shown several inconsistencies, especially among the young who claim that they do not believe. This study is a follow-up of another [...] Read more.
In a country where almost the totality of the native population is baptized and raised in the Catholic Church, recent surveys have shown several inconsistencies, especially among the young who claim that they do not believe. This study is a follow-up of another one that showed marked differences between the younger generation and older ones regarding the importance of religion in their life. Other surveys gave a similar picture. This study seeks to acquire a deeper understanding of the religiosity of these adolescents and young adults, this time with the use of two validated instruments. The first, the Meaning and Purpose Scales (MAPS), was meant to capture the essence of religion as a meaning-making mode. For the second, since the majority of the participants came from an organized religion, it was worth investigating the reasons why these adolescents were abandoning their religion and where they were going. This was attempted through the administration of the Adolescent Deconversion Scale (ADS). In addition, to detect deconversion-related changes, the participants were asked to undertake the Retrospective Analysis of Religiosity, a graphical method representing their religious development over the years by the plotting of a “religiosity line”. Following a number of contrasts between the test variables and others from the demographic information, a more defined and detailed picture of the religiosity of this segment of the population emerged. The absolute majority of the participants continue to profess their religion, and faith continues to be a major source of meaning in their life. In addition, there is a strong correlation between their personal sense of security and religion and the family, particularly for two-parent families. This study exposed a particular critical point in their religious journey, marking the beginning of a decline in their religion. This also coincides with the major developmental changes that take place during puberty. For the rest, perseverance in the faith journey was very strongly related to having participated for a number of years in a faith group. The family of origin and, later, belonging to a faith group seem to be decisive factors in the transmission and preservation of religiosity. As for those who left religion, the main reasons differed, including existential quests, peer influence, or simply indifference. Most, however, do not seem to have migrated to another religion or sect, and there are signs that many of them might have retained their own personal spirituality privately. Finally, it could be argued that, for some, their religious journey might not be over yet. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Studies on the Psychology of Religion: Christian Spirituality and Personal/Social Well-Being)
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14 pages, 244 KiB  
Article
Autism Spectrum Disorders, Anxiety, and Religion: The Role of Personality Traits
by Joke van Nieuw Amerongen-Meeuse, Hanneke Schaap-Jonker, Marleen Bout and Bram Sizoo
Religions 2025, 16(3), 371; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16030371 - 14 Mar 2025
Viewed by 612
Abstract
In mental health care, religion and spirituality can both support and hinder the therapeutic process. This is related to the way people see God or the divine, known as ‘God representations’. Previous research suggests that God representations of persons with autism spectrum disorders [...] Read more.
In mental health care, religion and spirituality can both support and hinder the therapeutic process. This is related to the way people see God or the divine, known as ‘God representations’. Previous research suggests that God representations of persons with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) tend to be more negative compared with others. The current study, conducted among 103 participants, shows that after adjusting for religious saliency, having an ASD diagnosis had no independent power to predict God representations. However, certain personality traits, being associated with ASD, did. Specifically, low self-directedness and low reward dependence were associated with more negative God representations. ASD usually is a diagnosis for life, and personality traits do not easily change. Scientific and clinical implications are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Studies on the Psychology of Religion: Christian Spirituality and Personal/Social Well-Being)
22 pages, 6924 KiB  
Article
Religiosity of Evangelical Patients in the Perception of Clinical and Hospital Psychologists in Brazil
by Evelyn Ruas and Marta Helena de Freitas
Religions 2025, 16(3), 288; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16030288 - 25 Feb 2025
Viewed by 374
Abstract
The research reported in this paper aimed to investigate how Brazilian psychologists describe their experiences and dealings with the evangelical religiosity (ER) of patients/users in clinical settings. The descriptive empirical–phenomenological method proposed by Amedeo Giorgi was used to analyse the recorded and transcribed [...] Read more.
The research reported in this paper aimed to investigate how Brazilian psychologists describe their experiences and dealings with the evangelical religiosity (ER) of patients/users in clinical settings. The descriptive empirical–phenomenological method proposed by Amedeo Giorgi was used to analyse the recorded and transcribed interviews with fifteen Brazilian psychologists, seven of them working in a Psychosocial Attention Centrepsychosocial attention centre (CAPS) and eight working in a hospital setting. According to both groups of participants, ER is always present in both clinical contexts, manifested by users of CAPS and hospital inpatient services, as well as by their families and the health professionals themselves. The psychologists shared the implications of ER, whether dynamic or damaging, for patients’ mental health and for their treatment. Even with the predominant sense that it gives meaning to peoples’ lives and re-adnsignifies their suffering, ER is also seen as an obstacle to the promotion of health when it is characterized by strict and oppressive doctrines and dogmas. Clinical psychologists were unanimous in affirming their tendency to respect and accept such religious manifestations, but they also shared their difficulties in dealing with them, mainly due to their failure to approach the topic during their professional training. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Studies on the Psychology of Religion: Christian Spirituality and Personal/Social Well-Being)
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22 pages, 594 KiB  
Article
Religiously Grounded Character and Its Association with Subjective Well-Being in Emerging Adults: A Latent Profile Analysis
by Daniela Villani, Sara Eissa, Michela Zambelli and Anna Flavia Di Natale
Religions 2025, 16(2), 106; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16020106 - 21 Jan 2025
Viewed by 949
Abstract
Subjective Well-Being (SWB) is a central indicator of mental health and overall quality of life in emerging adulthood; religiosity can contribute to this outcome. Emerging research suggests that religious identity and virtues not only can contribute independently to SWB but may work together [...] Read more.
Subjective Well-Being (SWB) is a central indicator of mental health and overall quality of life in emerging adulthood; religiosity can contribute to this outcome. Emerging research suggests that religious identity and virtues not only can contribute independently to SWB but may work together in shaping it. Given this interplay, the present study adopts a person-centered approach, using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), to investigate profiles of emerging adults showing a similar configuration of religious identity and virtues and to examine their contribution to SWB. Two-hundred and ninety-one emerging adults living in Italy aged 18 to 30 completed an online survey asking for various demographic variables, religious status, religious affiliation, religious practices, religious identity (U-MICS Religious domain), character strengths and virtues (VIA- IS), and subjective well-being (SWLS and SPANE). A best-fitting model consisting of three distinct, non-overlapping profiles, each demonstrating a unique configuration of religious identity dimensions (commitment, in-depth exploration, reconsideration) and virtues (Transcendence, Humanity, Temperance), emerged. These profiles were differently associated with SWB. Specifically, individuals in the Engaged with High Religious Virtues profile displayed high levels of religious commitment and exploration, paired with high levels of religious virtues, particularly Transcendence, and exhibited the highest levels of SWB. These findings suggest that religious identity and virtues are strictly intertwined and that higher levels of this conjoint integration correspond to greater SWB. Future interventions aimed at fostering religious self-exploration and cultivating religiously grounded virtues can be particularly effective at this stage of the life cycle. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Studies on the Psychology of Religion: Christian Spirituality and Personal/Social Well-Being)
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13 pages, 960 KiB  
Article
Agnostics’ Well-Being Compared to Believers and Atheists: A Study in Europe’s Religious–Cultural Zones of Christian Heritage
by Moise Karim and Vassilis Saroglou
Religions 2024, 15(12), 1502; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15121502 - 9 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2076
Abstract
Past research suggests three distinct major trends regarding the links of religion with well-being. First, religious faith contributes to well-being, with believers showing higher well-being than nonbelievers. Alternatively, it is certainty about one’s own worldviews, be they religious or irreligious, that predicts well-being. [...] Read more.
Past research suggests three distinct major trends regarding the links of religion with well-being. First, religious faith contributes to well-being, with believers showing higher well-being than nonbelievers. Alternatively, it is certainty about one’s own worldviews, be they religious or irreligious, that predicts well-being. Finally, secularization moderates the above, making nonbelief normative. We investigated these trends by focusing on agnostics, who, compared to believers and atheists, combine a lack of faith and uncertainty about worldviews and should, thus, be the lowest in well-being. By analyzing European Values Study 2017 data from 29 countries and controlling for personal variables, we found that in countries of Western Christian heritage, be they religious or secularized, agnostics were the least happy compared to believers and atheists. Religionists, compared to atheists, were happier (countries of Protestant heritage) or equally happy (countries of Catholic heritage). In countries of Eastern Orthodox tradition, believers were happier than nonbelievers, agnostics, and atheists alike—but again, agnostics were the lowest in the less religious countries. In sum, uncertainty makes agnostics, consistently across religious cultures, to be the lowest in well-being, whereas the effect of religious faith on well-being varies across cultures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Studies on the Psychology of Religion: Christian Spirituality and Personal/Social Well-Being)
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18 pages, 1488 KiB  
Perspective
Finding the Creative Synergy between Spiritual Care and the Schwartz Rounds
by Kate L. Bradford, Kiran Lele and Kelvin C. Y. Leung
Religions 2024, 15(8), 967; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15080967 - 9 Aug 2024
Viewed by 2238
Abstract
The practice of spiritual care in health has included the goal of addressing the spiritual needs of healthcare staff. Spiritual-care practitioners have had some difficulty in fulfilling this goal, which has created the need for innovative approaches. Two approaches designed to address the [...] Read more.
The practice of spiritual care in health has included the goal of addressing the spiritual needs of healthcare staff. Spiritual-care practitioners have had some difficulty in fulfilling this goal, which has created the need for innovative approaches. Two approaches designed to address the spiritual and existential needs of staff are Value-Based Reflective Practice (VBRP) and Schwartz Rounds. Schwartz Rounds are a regular whole-hospital meeting where staff are invited to share and discuss the social and emotional aspects of their work. They are an evidence-based intervention to reduce psychological distress and improve staff wellbeing. This paper seeks to explore the role of spiritual care practitioners in addressing the spiritual and existential needs of staff. It then explores the synergy of these roles with the theory and practice of the above approaches, with a particular emphasis on Schwartz Rounds. The paper is grounded in the experience of the authors collaborating to establish Schwartz Rounds in a large and culturally diverse hospital while also playing a leadership role in the establishment and sustainability of Schwartz programmes in other settings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Studies on the Psychology of Religion: Christian Spirituality and Personal/Social Well-Being)
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