Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

Religiosity and mistreatment among Christian and Muslim Arab Americans.
Both Christian and Muslim Arab Americans experience mistreatment because of their ethnicity. In the present study, we explored how religion and religiosity are related to the experiences of mistreatment, positing that more religious Arab Americans would have more “visible” cues signifying their Arab ethnicity and that these cues would be related to more frequent mistreatment. Christian and Muslim Arab Americans (N = 321) were recruited online through Amazon Mechanical Turk to complete the measures of religiosity, visible signs of ethnicity (appearance, Arabic names), and experiences of mistreatment related to their ethnicity in the prior year. Participants also described these experiences of mistreatment. Religiosity was positively related to visibility among both Christians and Muslims, and the relation was stronger among Muslims who also reported having more traditionally Arabic names. Christians and Muslims did not differ in their reports of frequency of ethnicity-related mistreatment. Religiosity was positively related to the frequency of mistreatment, and this relation was mediated by greater visibility. Participants described experiencing various types of mistreatment related to their ethnicity, including being feeling stared at and more blatant discrimination such as name-calling and other verbal aggression. Descriptions of mistreatment eloquently illustrated the intertwining of religion and visibility cues in shaping their experiences as Arab Americans. Taken together, results highlight the types of mistreatment experienced by Christian and Muslim Arab Americans and how both religiosity and religion are related to discrimination. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
To hell with the devil:Lingering negative religious beliefs among religious dones.
Recent research on religious deidentification reveals that features of religion persist after deidentification—a phenomenon known as religious residue. However, heretofore, little work has examined the lingering effects of some of the more negative features of religion that those leaving religion may quickly be motivated to discard. We conducted a preregistered study (N = 925) to examine the lingering cognitive patterns of religion among currently religious, formerly religious (i.e., religious dones), and never religious individuals, including negative religious beliefs, superstitious thinking, pattern detection, and religiously taboo behavior. We found evidence for religious residue among negative religious beliefs, wherein religious dones maintained lingering beliefs in negative aspects of religion, such as hell and the devil, relative to never religious individuals, and these beliefs were associated with illusory pattern detection, superstitious beliefs, and greater likelihood to engage in religiously taboo behavior. Religious dones were likely to maintain some vestiges of negative religious belief, such as in hell and the devil, even among those who no longer believe in God. We discuss the implications of persistent negative religious beliefs among religious dones. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
The experiences of faith and church community among Christian adults with mental illness: A qualitative metasynthesis.
Mental illness within Christian communities may be subject to stigmatization, with some attributing it to demonic possession, lack of faith, personal sin, or other negative spiritual influences. Contrasting research, however, suggests a potentially supportive role, in that Christian faith and community may aid recovery from mental illness and/or act as a buffer against onset or relapse. The aim of this qualitative review was to systematically collate and characterize published qualitative evidence that explores the experiences of adult Christians with mental illness in relation to their faith and community. An electronic search of 15 databases was conducted, alongside the manual review of notable journals in the area and expert consultation. Twenty-two studies were included from 12,607 reviewed articles. A thematic synthesis identified four higher level themes: positive experiences of Christian communities (subthemes: congregational support; faith leaders and pastoral care), positive coping through Christian meaning systems (subthemes: religious meaning-making; positive coping through relationship with God), negative experiences of Christian communities (subthemes: imposed spiritualization of mental illness; stigma, exclusion, and marginalization), difficulties navigating faith amid suffering (subthemes: dissonance: mental illness and faith; negative affect). This qualitative systematic review provides support to the vital importance of Christian faith and community for Christians who experience mental illness. It categorizes the idiographic and often diverse ways in which Christians living with mental illness may experience their faith and church community and explores how Christian religious systems and communities may function to support or hinder experiences of mental illness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Religion and well-being: What is the magnitude and the practical significance of the relationship?
The idea that religion is important for people’s well-being is widespread in social sciences. Current empirical evidence supporting this idea is largely based on research focusing on statistical significance. In this study, the strengths of associations between religious indicators and subjective and psychological well-being were investigated. In the first study, data from the European Value Study and the World Value Survey involving 645.249 participants and 115 countries were used. In the second study, data were taken from three longitudinal investigations: the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe, and the Midlife in the United States. Multilevel analyses revealed that the explained variance of the effects of religious predictors at Level 1 and Level 2 on subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction and happiness) was very small or negligible (Study 1). The effect size estimates of the prospective associations between religious predictors and later psychological and subjective well-being were very small or negligible (Study 2). Taken together, the results of the current investigation suggest that the direct effect of religion on well-being does not seem to have practical relevance. Although religion plays an essential role in the lives of many individuals, the results of the present study call into question the practical significance and utility of using religion per se for the prediction of well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
The role of holistic religiosity on mental health and mental illness: A global study of Muslims.
The majority of research on religion and mental health has been conducted on Western Christians. Religion and mental health are often measured in different ways across studies, making it difficult to understand the complex role of faith on mental health outcomes. Using a global Muslim sample, this study investigates the association between a holistic measure of religiosity and various measures of mental health and mental illness. Multiple regression was used to analyze the demographic (e.g., age, gender, marital status, education) and psychospiritual correlates (holistic religiosity, religious doubts, and uncertainty intolerance) of five mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, purpose in life, life satisfaction, and subjective well-being. A large sample of English-speaking Muslims globally was attained. We found that holistic religiosity was a significant predictor of all mental health outcomes (N = 3,551). Uncertainty intolerance was the strongest predictor of psychological distress (i.e., anxiety and depression), whereas religiosity was the strongest predictor of thriving outcomes (i.e., life satisfaction, well-being, and purpose in life). Religious doubt was also a significant predictor of multiple mental health outcomes. Religiosity is a multifaceted construct that includes various beliefs and behaviors. Mental health is also an ambiguous term that may refer to both aspects of thriving and illness. The proper conceptualization and measurement of religiosity and mental health are essential to understanding the complex relationship between religion and mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Religiosity, spirituality, and mental health in eight countries.
Meta-analyses suggest that religiosity has a positive relationship with mental health. However, methodological concerns limit findings. The purpose of the study was to analyze linear and curvilinear relationships among religiosity, spirituality, and mental health using open science practices and a multinational sample. Relationships among self-reported religiosity, spirituality, depression, anxiety, stress, and life satisfaction were assessed using mixed-effect linear regressions from a publicly available multinational data set of participants (N = 1,754; eight countries: Brazil, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Russia, India, Turkey, and the United States). Within a multinational sample, religiosity was associated with depression (β = −0.09, p <.001, 95% CI [−0.15, 0.04]) and life satisfaction (β = 0.22, p <.001, 95% CI [.17, .27]), but not anxiety or stress. Religiosity was quadratically associated with anxiety (β = −0.07, p = .03, 95% CI [−0.13, −0.01]) and stress (β = −0.06, p = .05, 95% CI [−.012, .00]), but not depression or life satisfaction. Spirituality was associated with depression (β = −0.08, p <.001, 95% CI [−.13, .03]) and life satisfaction (β = 0.14, p <.001, 95% CI [.09, .19]), but not anxiety or stress. Spirituality had no quadratic associations. Findings suggest accounting for methodological limitations and acknowledging the importance and murkiness regarding relationships among religiosity, spirituality, and mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Perceptions of psychedelic use by adults in the United States: Perceived psychospiritual benefits and risks, including spiritual struggles.
What spiritual and psychological risks and benefits do people associate with psychedelics? We aimed to address these questions in a multimethod study. As part of a larger project, we did an internet survey of U.S. adults (N = 788; 41% reported prior psychedelic use) with both preregistered hypotheses and exploratory analyses, using Likert and open-ended items. Participants saw psychedelics carrying more psychological and practical risks (e.g., bad “trips,” accidents, impaired judgment, legal problems) than psychospiritual benefits, which were endorsed more than spiritual struggles or risks. Highly endorsed psychospiritual benefits included awe, a deep sense of connection, and increased belief in a nonmaterial world. Other benefits included a greater sense of life meaning, profound spiritual experiences, new insights about ultimate reality, and deepened religious or spiritual beliefs. Participants rated interpersonal, moral, and doubt struggles higher than ultimate-meaning struggles, which were endorsed more than divine or demonic struggles. Perceived spiritual risks related positively to religiousness, Christian identification, religious community disapproval of psychedelics, and seeing the potential for demonic messages. Perceived benefits related positively to identifying as spiritual but not religious, past psychedelic use (especially positive or spiritual experiences), supernatural beliefs and experiences, religious community approval of psychedelics, and seeing psychedelics as doorways to positive spiritual messages. Qualitative analyses identified additional perceived risks (e.g., violence, death, reality confusion; financial and social problems; self-harm) and benefits (e.g., physiological and relational benefits; entertainment). These findings suggest that U.S. adults associate psychedelic use with a wide array of potential risks and benefits, including spiritual ones. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)

Psychology of Religion and Spirituality - Vol 16, Iss 4