A Qualitative Case Study of Catholic Patients’ Responses to Pain, Suffering, and Redemption: Application and Evaluation of the Rational Choice Approach to Religion

Abstract

ABSTRACT Many studies on religious coping have explored the relationship between religious resources and health outcomes, particularly the mitigation or management of pain and suffering. However, Catholics hold certain positive beliefs about suffering that are largely incompatible with attitudes prevailing today. The doctrine of redemptive suffering holds that human suffering, when accepted and offered to God through prayer, can lead to redemption in the supernatural realm. This article draws on qualitative research involving 27 Catholic patients and examines their responses to pain and suffering with reference to the concept of otherworldly rewards proposed by the rational choice theory (RCT) of religion. We focus on Catholic patients’ modes of thinking. The primary findings are as follows: First, when Catholic patients use religious resources to reduce pain and suffering, most of them demonstrate what RCT calls calculative reasoning. Second, regarding the belief in redemptive suffering, many Catholic patients do not take supernatural meanings seriously; in particular, they are not quite able to accept that “God’s care and plan” can include serious illnesses. Those who finally accept the doctrine initially exhibit calculative reasoning and then gradually transform their negative thinking about suffering through the exercise of virtue. We conclude that otherworldly rewards and religious virtue both play roles in Catholics’ responses to suffering, with the latter being particularly significant as it complements RCT in the study of religious action at the micro-individual level.