Religiosity as a source of comfort and struggle in members of religious movements: a comparative analysis of the Neocatechumenal Way and the Catholic Charismatic Renewal
Keywords:
religious movement, emotions toward God, religious comfort and strain, religious attributions
Abstract
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/pepsi-2015-0004
This study aims to examine various aspects of religiosity in members of the Neocatechumenal Way and the Catholic Charismatic Renewal. First, we assigned intergroup differences in Emotions toward God, Religious Comfort and Strain and Religious Attributions. Next, we estimated the net effects of Emotions toward God, Religious Comfort and Strain and Religious Attributions on religiosity. One hundred fifty–five people participated in the research, 81 members of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and 74 members of the Neocatechumenal Way. We applied the Religious Comfort and Strain Scale by Yali, Exline, Wood, and Worthington, the Emotions toward God Scale by Huber and the Religious Attributions Scale by Exline, Park, Smyth and Carey. The results suggest that members of the Neocatechumenal Way do not differ from the Catholic Charismatic Renewal`s members in Religious Comfort and Positive Emotions toward God. However, the members of the Neocatechumenal Way scored higher in Religious Strain. A moderating effect of the religious movement on the relation between Fear of God and religiosity was observed.
References
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Taylor, S. E., Lichtman, R. R., Wood, J. V. (1984). Attributions, beliefs about control, and adjustment to breast cancer. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(3), 489–502.
Vanier, J. (2007). Community and Growth. London: Darton Longman & Todd Ltd.
Virkler, H. A. (1999). Allaying fears about the unpardonable sin. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 18, 254–269.
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Weiner, B. (1993). On sin versus sickness: A theory of perceived responsibility and social motivation. American Psychologist, 48(9), 957–965.
Wong, P. T., Weiner, B. (1981). When people ask “why” questions, and the heuristics of attributional search. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40(4), 650–663.
Zarzycka, B., Bartczuk, R. (2011). Polska adaptacja Skali Emocji do Boga S. Hubera [Polish adaptation of Huber`s Emotion toward God Scale]. In M. Jarosz (Ed.), Psychologiczny pomiar religijności [The psychological measurement of religiosity] (pp. 263–291). Lublin: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL.
Zarzycka, B. (2014). The Internal Structure of the Polish Adaptation of the Religious Comfort and Strain Scale. Annals of Psychology, 17(4), 695–708.
Benson, P., Spilka, B. (1973). God image as a function of self–esteem and locus of control. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 12, 297–310.
Bourque, L. B., Back, K. W. (1971). Language, Society and Subjective Experience. Sociometry, 34(1), 1–21.
Bulman, J. R., Wortman C. B. (1977). Attribution of blame and coping in the “real word”: Severe accident victims react to their lot. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 351–363.
Coe, J. H. (2000). Musings on the dark night of the soul: Insights from St. John of the Cross on a developmental spirituality. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 28, 293–307.
Elliott, M., Hayward, R. D. (2007). Religion and the search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53, 80–93.
Emmons, R. A. (2003). Emotion and Religion. In R. F. Paloutzian, C. L. Park (Ed.), Handbook of the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality (pp. 235–252). New York: The Guilford Press.
Exline, J. J. (2002). Stumbling blocks on the religious road: Fractured relationships, nagging vices, and the inner struggle to believe. Psychological Inquiry, 13(3), 182–189.
Exline, J. J., Rose, E. (2005). Religious and spiritual struggles. In R. F. Paloutzian, C. L. Park (Ed.), Handbook of the Psychology of Religion (pp. 315–330). New York: Guilford.
Exline, J. J., Park, C. L., Smyth, J. M., Carey, M. P. (2011). Anger toward God: Social–cognitive predictors, prevalence, and links with adjustment to bereavement and cancer. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(1), 129–148.
Exline, J. J., Yali, A. M., Sanderson (2000). Guilt, Discord, and Alienation: The Role of Religious Strain in Depression and Suicidality. Journal Clinical Psychology, 56(12), 1481–1496.
Falvo, S. (1999). Przebudzenie charyzmatów [Awakening of charismas]. Łódź: Wydawnictwo Ośrodek Odnowy w Duchu Świętym.
Fincham, F. D., Bradbury, T. N. (1992). Assessing attributions in marriage: The relationship attribution measure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 62(3), 457–468.
Fincham, F. D., Paleari, G., Regalia, C. (2002). Forgiveness in marriage: The role of relationship quality, attributions, and empathy. Personal Relationships, 9(1), 27–37.
Gorsuch, R. L., Smith, C. S. (1983). Attributions of Responsibility to God: An Interaction of Religious Beliefs and Outcomes. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 22(4), 340–352.
Heider, F. (1958). The psychology of interpersonal relations. New York, NY: Wiley.
Hood, R. W., Keller, B., Csöff, R. M., Silver, C. F. (2009). Deconversion: Qualitative and Quantitative Results from Cross–cultural Research in Germany and the United States of America. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Huber, S., Richard, M. (2010). The Inventory of Emotions towards God (EtG ): Psychological valences and theological issues. Review of religious research, 52(1), 21–40.
Jonas, E., Fischer, P. (2006). Terror management and religion: Evidence that intrinsic religiousness mitigates worldview defense following mortality salience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 553–567. doi:10.1037/0022–3514.91.3.553
Kelley, H. H. (1967). Attribution theory in social psychology. In D. Levine (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Kirkpatrick, L. A. (2004). Attachment, evolution, and the psychology of religion. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Kopplin, D. (1976, August). Religious orientations of college students and related personality c haracteristics. Paper presented at the convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
Kusz, E. (2007). Wspólnota religijna – pomiędzy dojrzałością społeczną a de–indywidualizacją [The religious community – between social maturity and de–individualization]. In R. Jaworski, (Ed.), W poszukiwaniu skutecznej pomocy [Searching for effective assistance] (pp. 126–158). Płock: Płocki Instytut Wydawniczy.
McIntosh, D., Spilka, B. (1990). Religion and physical health: The role of personal faith and control beliefs. In M. L. Lynn, D. O. Moberg (Ed.), Research in the social scientific study of religion (Vol. 2, pp. 167–194). Greenwich, Ct: JAI Press.
Novotni, M., Petersen, R. (2001). Angry with God. Colorado Springs, CO: Piñon.
Otto, R. (1970). The Idea of the Holy. New York: Oxford University Press [originally published 1917].
Pargament, K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping. New York: Guilford.
Pargament, K. I., Koenig, H. G., Perez, L. M. (2000). The many methods of religious coping: Development and initial validation of the RCOPE. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56(4), 519–543.
Pargament, K. I., Murray–Swank, N., Magyar, G. M., Ano, G. G. (2004). Spiritual struggle: A phenomenon of interest to psychology and religion. In W. R. Miller, H. Delaney (Ed.), Judeo–Christian perspectives in psychology: Human nature, motivation, and change (pp. 245–268). Washington, DC: APA Books.
Proudfoot, W., Shaver, P. R. (1975). Attribution theory and the psychology of religion. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 14, 317–330. Reprinted in B. Spilka, D. N. McIntosh (Ed.). (1997). The psychology of religion: Theoretical approaches. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Shaver, K. G. (1975). An introduction to attribution processes. Oxford, England: Winthrop.
Shaver, P. R., Buhrmester, D. (1983). Loneliness, sex–role orientation, and group life: A social needs perspective. In P. B. Paulus (Ed.), Basic group processes (pp. 259–288). New York: Springer–Verlag.
Spilka, B., Brown, G. A., Cassidy, S. E. (1993). The structure of mystical experience in relation to pre– and post–experience lifestyle correlates. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 2, 241–157.
Spilka, B., Shaver, P. R., Kirkpatrick, L., A. (1997). A general attribution theory for the psychology of religion. In B. Spilka, D. McIntosh (Ed.), The Psychology of Religion. Theoretical Approaches (pp. 153–170). Boulder, CO: Westview/Harper.
Spilka, B., Spangler, J. D., Nelson, C. B. (1983). Spiritual support in life–threatening illness. Journal of Religion and Health, 22(2), 98–104.
Streib, H., Hood, R. W., Keller, B., Csoff, R.–M., Silver, C. F. (2009). Deconversion: Qualitative and quantitative results from cross–cultural research in Germany and the United States of America. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Suenensa, L. (2006). Dokument z Malines. Odnowa Charyzmatyczna [The document from Malines. Charismatic Renewal]. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Serafin.
Taylor, S. E., Lichtman, R. R., Wood, J. V. (1984). Attributions, beliefs about control, and adjustment to breast cancer. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(3), 489–502.
Vanier, J. (2007). Community and Growth. London: Darton Longman & Todd Ltd.
Virkler, H. A. (1999). Allaying fears about the unpardonable sin. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 18, 254–269.
Walesa, C. (2005). Rozwój religijności człowieka [The development of human religiosity]. Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL.
Weiner, B. (1993). On sin versus sickness: A theory of perceived responsibility and social motivation. American Psychologist, 48(9), 957–965.
Wong, P. T., Weiner, B. (1981). When people ask “why” questions, and the heuristics of attributional search. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 40(4), 650–663.
Zarzycka, B., Bartczuk, R. (2011). Polska adaptacja Skali Emocji do Boga S. Hubera [Polish adaptation of Huber`s Emotion toward God Scale]. In M. Jarosz (Ed.), Psychologiczny pomiar religijności [The psychological measurement of religiosity] (pp. 263–291). Lublin: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL.
Zarzycka, B. (2014). The Internal Structure of the Polish Adaptation of the Religious Comfort and Strain Scale. Annals of Psychology, 17(4), 695–708.
