When suffering contradicts belief: measuring theodical struggling

Abstract

Global meaning systems help people make sense of their experiences, but suffering can violate global meaning and create distress. One type of potential violation is conflict between one’s experience of suffering and one’s deeply-held beliefs about God as loving, powerful, and just. The problem of theodicy—why an all-powerful and all-loving God would allow suffering—has long been an important theological and philosophical concern, but little is known about how theodicy plays out psychologically for religious individuals facing serious life difficulties. To address this issue within a specific religious tradition, Christianity, we drew upon philosophy, Christian theology, and psychology to develop the construct of theodical struggling. Through theological and philosophical input, we generated a 28-item pool and conducted 10 cognitive interviews with a diverse sample of Christian adults. In three consecutive online studies of Christian adult samples, we reduced the scale to 11 items through PCA, found a strong one-factor solution using EFA, and found support for the one-factor solution along with preliminary reliability and validity. This newly-developed Theodical Struggling Scale represents an important advance in understanding individuals’ experiences of ruptures in their beliefs regarding God’s goodness and paves the way for future research on this topic. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-023-04642-w.

Championing “Exchange and Cooperation” Efforts in Frontier Science: Epilogue to the Special Issue

“…Although spirituality and religiosity are generally positive predictors of subjective well-being (Villani et al, 2019) and can play an important role in physical health (Koenig et al, 2012), it is also well-known that many people report various "religious/spiritual struggles." These are defined as tensions, strains, or conflicts relative to what people hold sacred (Exline, 2013;Lukoff et al, 1998;Pargament et al, 2005;Pargament & Exline, 2021;Park et al, 2023). However, there are ongoing questions about the nature or factor structure of such struggles.…”

Religious meaning-making among Muslim parents bereaved by homicide: Struggling to accept ‘God's will’ and yearning for ‘Qayama’ day

“…People for whom religion has played a central role in shaping their global beliefs are likely to rely on the religious system to appraise the meaning of the traumatic event [ 35 ]. Indeed, studies are continuously using Park's model as a relevant and viable framework for investigating how individuals and societies, including Muslim populations, cope with life's adversities [ 7 , 22 , 34 , [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] ]. For instance, in a study conducted among Muslim cancer patients, it was reported that meaning-making, as presented in Park's model, created a more positive outlook, by helping these cancer patients find new goals in life [ 7 ].…”