RELIGION TRAUMA OR THERAPY ?
Prague, October 2012
Prof. Dr. Leif Gunnar Engedal
The poor…….
The old and sick….
The marginalized….
Terror …….
Oppression …..
A blue-eyed Norwegian….
Religion
• Our context: Western Christian Religion
• «Search for significance in ways related to the
Sacred»(Pargament)
• Search for deep existential meaning,
belonging and commitment in relation to God
as understood in Christian faith
Dimensions of religious commitment
• The integration of:
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Ideological dimension: religious belief
Ritualistic dimension:
religious practice
Experiential dimension: religious feeling
Intellectual dimension: religious knowledge
Consequential dimension: religious lifestyle
( Glock & Stark )
Religion - Trauma - Therapy
• Trauma:
• Religious communities, experiences and practices
that wound people’s lives and represent a threat
to the quality of personal and communal life
• Therapy:
• Religious communities, experiences and practices
that empower people to live a life according to
God’s will and thus contribute to healing and
health in the life of persons and communities
Religion and power
Prophetic criticism
Jesus and the religious elite
Prominent and powerful
Marginalized and powerless ?
Transition and change
• A secular Age - Ch. Taylor
• Secularization or «the return of religion»
• Religious transformations: from ‘religion’ to
‘spirituality’ ?
• Religion and the secular elites
Religion in contemporary Europe –
a possible portrait
• Believing without belonging
• Vicarious religion
• From obligation to consumption
• From external authority to subjective
authenticity
Possible positions
• S. Freud and the freudian legacy:
religion as neurotic defense againt trauma
• G.Allport and the humanistic legacy: religion
as «extrinsic» or «intrinsic» or «quest»
• Relevant positions today:
*Object-relations-theory ( A.M.Rizzuto et.al. )
*Religious coping theory ( K.Pargament et.al.)
*Attachment theory (L.A. Kirkpatric et.al. )
Dynamic inner images of God
• When «God» becomes a enemy of life :
• «Der Buch-halter Gott»
• «Der strafende Richter-Gott»
• «Der überfordernde Leistungs-Gott»
• «Der dämonische «Todes»-Gott
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K. Frielingsdorf
«Religion-as-trauma» vs.
«religion-as-therapy»
• Findings in relation to mental health :
• Religion have different impacts on health and
quality of life – due to different ‘types’ of
religion ( cf. Intrinsic/extrinsic/quest )
• «Intrinsic religiosity» and serious religious
commitment are positively associated with
indicators of psychological well-being – and
with less depression, suicidal thoughts, drug
abuse etc
«Religion-as-trauma» vs.
«religion-as-therapy
• Findings in relation to physical health:
• People who attend church frequently and
view religion as important are more likely to
have lower diastolic blood pressure
• Regular religious practice tends to be
associated with lower coronary heart disease
and lower mortality rated
• Religious belief tends to be associated with
more positive outlook in coping with disease
Religious coping
• Different people develop different «coping
styles»: «deferring» – «self-directed»»collaborative»
• When religious practice develop collaborative
coping styles, the ability to cope with crisis is
strenghened
• Collaborative religious coping and internalized
and integrated religious beliefs tends to have
positive effects on both mental and physical
health, eo ipso: quality of life
Summing up
• Comprehensive empirical research points in a
certain direction: «religion-as-therapy» is not a
pious illusion, but rather a well etablished
scientific finding
• In sum:
(a) a secure relationship to God;
(b)a firm belief in a greater meaning in life;
(c)an internalized set of ethical values;
(d)a sense of spiritual connectedness and social
fellowship with others have positive implications for personal and
communal well-being
Where do we go from here?
• The fundamental importance of the Core
Christian Practices
• Luther: Oratio – Meditatio – Tentatio
( H. Nouwen )
• A «sacred companion»: you never walk alone
• Homo Viator – to be on the move :
• (a)towards your innermost self
(b)towards your neighbour
(c ) towards God
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( H. Nouwen )
The way to follow