Religious Coping Strategies

Religious coping strategies are effective in Spiritual growth that results in positive or negative situations. It is the perception of an individual’s relationship with God that brings meaning, purpose and emotional comfort when dealing with circumstances. Prayer, meditation, worship are all examples of religious coping strategies. Positive coping strategies associate with better mental health and negative coping strategies relate to poorer mental and physical health. According to Greenway (2007), People who question things tend to move from an egocentric perspective to embrace problematic, spiritual experiences, face existential questions without reducing their complexity, and see both self-criticism and religious doubt as positive experiences. A negative religious coping strategy is when a person has the lack of spiritual union with everything outside oneself and a sense of universality. These individuals deal with anger, doubt, and confusion that build an insecure attachment with God. The Religious coping strategies are built through the individual’s attachment styles or relationship to God in their daily life.  

To the world at large and in relevance to the general public, religious coping strategies becomes the driving force for many individuals to carry on with life. The internal battles people face is the search for something that can satisfy the desires within. In need of that search, people end up in various different walks of life. It may foster spiritual change or lead to destruction. Likewise, the coping strategies such as being self aware, wise, self-conscious and self-reliant yet dependent on God can attribute to the various positive changes that can help an individual to function and maintain a balanced equilibrium in a given environment. The world is full of chaos and people need the purpose driven life to complete their race and religion coping strategies are a huge part of that.

Religious Coping strategies can be negative or positive. It is in the perception and mind of an individual that leads to a certain lifestyle. People can use prayer, the word of God, to constantly keep growing and learning in their faith and walk with God. However, there is a difference in just saying it or simply doing it and not living it. Religious coping strategies are tools used to enhance the individual’s way of life that plays a role in determining the course of life accordingly. On the other hand, one’s conscious, motives, or intention play a huge factor in religious coping strategies as it affects the entire system of mind, body and soul.

 Reference: 

Greenway, A., Phelan, M., Turnbull, S., & Milne, L. C. (2007). Religious coping strategies and spiritual transcendence. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 10(4), 325-333. doi:10.1080/13694670600719839

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