Confounding the Divine and the Spiritual: Challenges to a Psychology of Spirituality

Abstract

The pervasive inclusion of God or "God-substitutes" (the "sacred," the "supernatural," the "ultimate") in the psychology of spirituality prevents the development of a truly psychological understanding. Misidentification of the spiritual with the divine projects the determinants of spirituality into a non-human, vaguely defined, ultimately intractable, and non-falsifiable realm. Two other difficulties follow: confusion about the essential nature of spirituality and indeterminacy regarding criteria to adjudicate true and false spiritualities. These three intertwined issues represent unavoidable challenges for the social sciences in general and psychology in particular. Building on the work of Bernard Lonergan, invoking the thought of Viktor Frankl, and citing long-standing Western theological and philosophical principles, this article elucidates these challenges and intimates a response, an explanatory and normative non-theological psychology of spirituality, which is open to theological elaboration.

Psychosis or Spiritual Emergency: The Potential of Developmental Psychopathology for Differential Diagnosis

“…Similarly, de Jager Meezenbroek and colleagues (2012) defined spirituality as "one's striving for an experience of connection with oneself, connectedness with others and nature, and connectedness with the transcendent" (p. 338). However, Helminiak (2008) argued that the term transcendence is often associated with religious systems that are concerned with metaphysical or supernatural postulations. Thus, it is important to note that spirituality and religion are not synonymous (Sinclair, Pereira, & Raffin, 2006).…”

‘That is Why I Gave In to Age My Competitive Ability, but Not My Soul!’ A Spiritual Journey in Endurance Running

“…As a theological concept, spirituality is understood as a relation to the transcendent. From psychological and humanistic perspectives, spirituality is usually defined as a broader concept, where spirituality includes both religious and humanistic worldviews (Zinnbauer et al 1997, Webster 2004, Helminiak 2008. According to Helminiak (2008), spirituality is the possibility to reflect on the significance of one's life through matters transcending the here and now.…”

“…From psychological and humanistic perspectives, spirituality is usually defined as a broader concept, where spirituality includes both religious and humanistic worldviews (Zinnbauer et al 1997, Webster 2004, Helminiak 2008. According to Helminiak (2008), spirituality is the possibility to reflect on the significance of one's life through matters transcending the here and now. The spirit refers to the meaning and values by which a person lives, and the deliberate concern and engagement with these is spirituality (Helminiak 2008).…”

“…According to Helminiak (2008), spirituality is the possibility to reflect on the significance of one's life through matters transcending the here and now. The spirit refers to the meaning and values by which a person lives, and the deliberate concern and engagement with these is spirituality (Helminiak 2008). Similarly, Webster (2004) emphasized that, while the meaning-making process is central to all human activities, spirituality is the deliberate concern, reflection and search for the meaning of one's being and the fundamental purpose of one's life.…”

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“…In particular, there appears to be much confusion and disagreement regarding how to best define and measure spirituality (e.g., Helminiak, 2008;Hill et al, 2000;Hill & Pargament, 2003;Koenig, 2008;MacDonald, 2000a;de Jager Meezenbroek et al, 2012) and a general lack of clarity concerning what the empirical findings actually indicate regarding the relation and relevance of spirituality to health and well-being. For instance, while a preponderance of published studies suggest that spirituality has a positive association to health and a negative association to psychopathology (e.g., Koenig, 2012;Moreira-Almeida, Neto, & Koenig, 2006;Mueller, Plevak, & Rummans, 2001), there are compelling arguments and empirical findings indicating that the relation may actually be more complex and multidirectional in nature, depending on how spirituality is operationalized and assessed (e.g., MacDonald & Friedman, 2002;Thoresen & Harris, 2002).…”