Religion and Mental Health

Research and Clinical Applications

Harold G. Koenig

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9780128112823
• eBook ISBN: 9780128112830
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: History & Theory in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Religion and Mental Health: Research and Clinical Applications summarizes research on how religion may help people better cope or exacerbate their stress, covering its relationship to depression, anxiety, suicide, substance abuse, well-being, happiness, life satisfaction, optimism, generosity, gratitude and meaning and purpose in life. The book looks across religions and specific faiths, as well as to spirituality for those who don't ascribe to a specific religion. It integrates research findings with best practices for treating mental health disorders for religious clients, also covering religious beliefs and practices as part of therapy to treat depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. - Summarizes research findings on the relationship of religion to mental health - Investigates religion's positive and negative influence on coping - Presents common findings across religions and specific faiths - Identifies how these findings inform clinical practice interventions - Describes how to use religious practices and beliefs as part of therapy

Chapter 1

Religion vs. Spirituality

Abstract

This book is specifically about religion and mental health. Although many applications to clinical practice will be addressed here, the primary research questions that will be asked throughout this text are the following: Do religious beliefs and practices affect mental health; what is the nature of that effect (positive or negative); what is the direction of the effect (in terms of causality); and how does this effect come about (etiology and mechanisms)? Yet there is another seemingly related term, spirituality, which has recently become the focus of many books in the mental health field. How do these two terms relate to each other? Are they the same or different concepts? There is a growing consensus that religion and spirituality are different. But are they?

Keywords

religion

spirituality

dimensions of religion

definitions of spirituality and religion

mental health

This book is specifically about religion and mental health. Although many applications to clinical practice will be addressed here, the primary research questions that will be asked throughout this text are the following: Do religious beliefs and practices affect mental health; what is the nature of that effect (positive or negative); what is the direction of the effect (in terms of causality); and how does this effect come about (etiology and mechanisms)? Yet there is another seemingly related term, spirituality, which has recently become the focus of many books in the mental health field. How do these two terms relate to each other? Are they the same or different concepts? There is a growing consensus that religion and spirituality are different (Zinnbauer et al., 1997; Hill et al., 2000; Worthington, Hook, Davis, & McDaniel, 2011; Oman, 2013; Pargament, Mahoney, Exline, Jones, & Shafranske, 2013; Klein, Hood, Silver, Keller, & Streib, 2016). But are they?

The first mention of the word spirit is in the book of Genesis 1:2 (“And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” [KJV]), and so is a distinctively religious term. The traditional use of the term spirituality (until the past 25 years or so), in fact, has been to describe the core of what it means to be religious (Sheldrake, 2010). In that traditional understanding, many persons might consider themselves religious, but only deeply religious persons could call themselves spiritual. Being spiritual meant that life was centered on and directed by one’s religious beliefs. Such persons were considered exemplars of their faith tradition. Spiritual was often used to describe the clergy or other devout religious leaders such as Jesus, Moses, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, the Prophet Mohammad, the Buddha, and other saints and prophets. There was no such thing as being spiritual, but not religious. This would have been a contradiction in terms.

That has all changed. Reflecting on this trend, Smith and Denton (2005) note that “The very idea and language of ‘spirituality,’ originally grounded in the self-disciplining faith practices of religious believers, including ascetics and monks, then becomes detached from its moorings in historical religious traditions and is redefined in terms of subjective self-fulfillment” (p. 175). The term spirituality among many mental health professionals and those in the social and behavioral sciences has become a popular one, a descriptor that now expands far beyond religion. One can be spiritual but not religious, or even completely secular and still consider oneself ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Religion vs. Spirituality
• Chapter 2: Measurement of Religiosity
• Chapter 3: Religion and Coping
• Chapter 4: Negative Emotions and Behaviors
• Chapter 5: Chronic Mental and Neurocognitive Disorders
• Chapter 6: Positive Emotions
• Chapter 7: Mechanisms
• Chapter 8: Religious Struggles and Doubt
• Chapter 9: Questions Answered, Questions That Remain
• Chapter 10: General Applications in Clinical Practice
• Chapter 11: Evidence-Based Religious Interventions
• Chapter 12: Identifying the Religious Psychotherapy Client
• Chapter 13: When Religion is the Problem
• Chapter 14: Conclusions and Recommendations
• Resources
• Index