Spiritual Crisis Research Articles

Coping and Religiosity of Polish Breast Cancer Patients

Religiosity can support a patient in coping with a stressful situation such as breast cancer. In this study, the authors aimed to explain the relationships between the religiosity of the respondents and the religious crises they experienced and coping strategies, as well as between coping strategies and the disease duration. The research method used is the method of diagnostic survey, and the tools: a questionnaire of our own, making it possible to determine sociodemographic variables and standardized scales: the Inventory for Measuring Coping with Stress—Mini-COPE (the brief COPE), the Polish Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS) and the Religious Crisis Scale by W. Prężyna (RCS). With approval from the Bioethics Committee at the Medical University of Lublin (KE-0254/133/2015), 69 female subjects with breast cancer were studied. The results showed statistically significant positive correlations between the centrality of religiosity and selected components of religiosity and action-oriented coping strategies. RCS scores correlate negatively with more adaptive coping strategies and positively with ineffective ones. Additionally, patients suffering from breast cancer for more than five years, are statistically significantly different from those with shorter disease duration only in their scores for the CRS “public practice” subscale. Mature religiosity promotes the adoption of constructive coping strategies, while religious crisis hinders the process of coping with stressful situations. It appears necessary to integrate spiritual care into the treatment process of cancer patients.

Divine Struggles Among Those Doing God’s Work: A Longitudinal Assessment Predicting Depression and Burnout and the Role of Social Support in United Methodist Clergy

Abstract In this study, we examine the role of spiritual struggles among clergy, in the form of “divine struggle” or feelings of alienation from God and their associations with well-being (depressive symptoms and burnout) among clergy. Drawing from a life-stress perspective, we also test whether received and anticipated congregational support moderates these associations. Using two waves of data (2016–2019) of the Clergy Panel Health Survey of United Methodist clergy in North Carolina (n = 1,261), results suggest that it was clergy who increased in divine struggles over time who had the highest depressive symptom and burnout scores. However, clergy who received significant emotional support from members of their congregation were protected from elevated depressive symptoms and greater burnout. Anticipated congregational support only buffered the relationship between increasing divine struggles and one component of burnout (positive achievement). We offer some broader implications for supporting clergy well-being in the face of divine struggles.

Textual Value of an Ethiopic Woman Hagiography: Gädlä St. Fəqərtä Krəstos

The hagiography of St. FƏqƏrtä KrƏstos is a 17th c. manuscript and as a local Saint hagiography, it was written in the Ethiopian manuscript tradition by an Ethiopian scribe. The hagiography of saints in Ethiopia is a main literary genre that has invaluable evidences about the saints’ period in a unique form. It provides information about the major events that had taken place relating to the life, works, miracles and the various spiritual struggles of men and women saints. In addition to that it also describes about the bishops, the political situation, the Kings, the name of several places of that time,. . . and the events relating to the life of the saint. Therefore, hagiographies are important genre for the contemporary religious life and in general for the history of the country. It is rich in vital information used as a source material to social, historical, cultural, political, geographical, architectural, archeological, theological, linguistic, philological, and different fields of studies. The hagiography of St. FƏqƏrtä KƏrstos provides information for different study and as a hagiography of a local woman saint; it is a pivotal text for gender study. It shows how women were strong spirit in monastic life and struggling in defending their faith and country. This article is a part of the PhD dissertation work of the main author of this article at Addis Ababa University on a prominent Ethiopian woman saint with the title of “Gädlä St. FƏqƏrtä KrƏstos: Critical Edition with Annotated Translation.”

The upsurge of religious intolerance in Southwestern Nigeria: Whither Yoruba cultural values?

ABSTRACT Concerning religion, the Yoruba people of the south-western part of Nigeria are often touted as a very tolerant group of people, given the peaceful nature of the cohabitation of multiple religions within their families and communities. However, in recent years, there has been a trend of sporadic conflicts between adherents of Indigenous, Islam, and Christian religions such that it is indicative of a threat to the system which has sustained the harmonious co-existence of the different faiths in Yorubaland. Thus, drawing on primary and secondary sources, this paper argues that the trend of religious intolerance in Yorubaland is an indication of an impending religious crisis and advocates that the Yoruba cultural values which sustained the multiplicity of religious systems in Yorubaland in the time past needs to be revitalized to prevent the outbreak of a major religious crisis.

A mixed-methods study of communing with and complaining to the divine: Imagined conversations with god among undergraduates reporting religious and spiritual struggles.

A mixed-methods study of communing with and complaining to the divine: Imagined conversations with god among undergraduates reporting religious and spiritual struggles.

Examining Ibn Sīnā’s and Suhrawardī’s Notion of the Soul

The intricate nature of contemporary human life has placed individuals in a paradoxical position, simultaneously serving as active agents shaping societal development and passive recipients of the outcomes of this evolution. The predominant emphasis on material and intellectual pursuits has, in some instances, resulted in the neglect of the soul as a bridge to the transcendent realm, often associated with the divine. Consequently, many modern individuals find themselves disconnected from their own existence and spiritual well-being. This research aims to address the real-world challenges faced by contemporary individuals by exploring the philosophical concepts of Ibn Sīnā and Suhrawadī, which hold significant relevance to the conditions of modern society. This study, utilizing a qualitative approach and a comparative synthesis analysis model, unveils a convergence in the conceptualization of the soul between Ibn Sīnā and Suhrawardī, particularly in their efforts to curb the influence of the animalistic soul (an-nafs al-hayāwanīyah). While their methodologies differ, reflecting their respective Aristotelian and illuminationist traditions, their shared objective remains unwavering. Ibn Sīnā emphasizes the rational soul (an-nafs al-naṭiqah) through acquired reason (al-'aql al-mustafad), striving to attain divine knowledge, a goal also pursued, albeit via a different path, by Suhrawardī through ascetic practices. The pursuit of maximal rationality and the adoption of ascetic practices offer modern individuals a potent means to combat the soul-crushing emptiness often associated with spiritual and existential crises. These complementary mechanisms hold the promise of guiding contemporary individuals towards a state of self-actualization, where they are bathed in the illuminating radiance of divine knowledge and understanding.

Sophie, Greta, Cuiyuan, and Feminist Desire

Sophie, Greta, Cuiyuan, and Feminist Desire

Concepts of BLINDNESS, LOVE, VIRTUE in the Artistic World of A. Zhid (Based on the Material of A. Gide's Novels "The Narrow Gate" and "Pastoral Symphony"

The subject of the research is the novels of the French writer Andre Gide "The Narrow Gate" and "The Pastoral Symphony". The specificity of the expression of the author's thought in these stories through conceptual antinomies is noted, as a result of which the study of the concepts of BLINDNESS, LOVE, VIRTUE is actualized. The semantic content of the stated concepts is analyzed, which is carried out on the basis of their definitions in dictionaries and biblical texts. Their representatives are observed, creating a semantic field of the concepts of BLINDNESS, LOVE, VIRTUE, introduced by the author into the composition and plot of works and representing the author's interpretation. On the basis of the revealed meanings and antinomy of these basic concepts for every Christian, their function in the stories is revealed. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that the work of A. Zhid from the point of view of the use of concepts is insufficiently studied. The main conclusions of the study are the following. The concepts of BLINDNESS, LOVE, and VIRTUE have a traditional semantic fullness that has developed in centuries-old Christian discourse, but the writer demonstrates the displacement of their evangelical content due to the emergence of new interpretations associated with the spiritual crisis of society. With the help of the introduction of these antinomic concepts into the story, the writer organizes the artistic space of works: they determine the choice of confessional genre, saturation of stories with allusions, reminiscences and intertexts from biblical texts, the use of these concepts to organize the implicitness and explicitness of the narrative. Concepts perform the functions of characterization of heroes, epochs and expression of the author's position.

Polish Validation of a 14-Item Version of the Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale (RSS-14): Factorial Structure, Psychometric Properties, and Clinical Correlates

Religious and spiritual (R/S) struggles are defined as the occurrence of tension, conflict, or strain that focus on matters of ultimate significance perceived by people as sacred. The widespread prevalence of R/S struggles and the growing demand for research in this area created the need for a brief tool. Recently, the 14-item form of the Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale was developed and validated (Exline et al. in Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 2022a). Given the significance of the empirical research on R/S struggles, we implemented the project of structure verification, internal consistency confirmation, reliability, and nomological validation of the Polish variant of the RSS-14 through three separate studies. With respect to the internal structure of the RSS-14, the CFA from three studies confirmed the good fit of the six-factor model, very similar to the one obtained in the original version of the tool. Moreover, both the total score and the subscales had high reliability and acceptable stability over the three studies. With respect to the nomological analyses, R/S struggles were related negatively to life satisfaction, presence of meaning in life, self-esteem, social desirability, religious centrality, and positively with search for meaning, God’s disengagement, poorer health indicators, sleep problems, stress, and cognitive schemas (this category was the new element of our research). Polish 14-item version of the Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale seems a valuable tool to assess religious strains.

Stress Responses Among Individuals with Spiritual Struggles in Hungary: An Experimental Study.

Individuals with aReligious or Spiritual Problem (RSP), as defined in the DSM-5, experience distress associated with faith-related moral dilemmas, existential meaning, and transpersonal attitudes toward other people. It is unclear whether aRSP reflects a generally heightened stress reactivity or whether the stress response is confined to religious and spiritual contexts. To elucidate this issue, we measured behavioral and physiological responses during social-evaluative stress (public speaking-Trier Social Stress Test) and in religious/spiritual contexts (Bible reading and listening to sacred music) in 35 individuals with RSP and 35 matched participants. We found no stress reduction in the religious/spiritual context in RSP, as indicated by increased heart rate, saliva cortisol, and relatively higher left than right frontal activity. Religious stimuli evoked physiological stress responses in RSP. Contrary to the physiological parameters, participants with RSP reported less anxiety in the religious/spiritual context. Religious individuals with and without RSP showed similar stress responses during public speaking. Religious individuals without RSP displayed reduced stress responses in the religious/spiritual context. These results indicate that specific physiological distress in religious/spiritual contexts should be considered in the psychological care of RSP.

The Realistic Dilemma of Suburban Life: Upon John Cheever’s Work Bullet Park as an Example for American Middle-Class Families

Bullet Park is a novel written by American novelist John Cheever in the mid-late 20th century that echos the suburban life of American middle-class families after World War II. As a fictional suburban town, the distinctive existence of Bullet Park is like a utopia attempting to hinder the invasion of real society. The men and women in the town live a glamorous life whilst conceding numerous unknown secrets. Cheever constructs the story into three chapters through the strategy of fragmented writing: Nails, Hammer, and the intersection of Nails and Hammer. The novel fully embodies the hypocritical persona of American middle-class families in social communication, the long-standing disorder & dilemma within the families and the generalized spiritual crisis that exists among the stratum who are lingering in agony. The author combines the personal growth experience of Cheever amid some relevant stories occurs to the protagonists inside to analyze the perplexity and floundering of American middle-class society, families, and individuals during that sensitive period, i.e., the period of “Counter-culture Movement”.

The outbreak of new diseases in an era of religious and spiritual crisis:

The paper examines how the humanist physician and later professor of medicine at the great Universities of Italy, Girolamo Mercuriale of Forlì (1530-1606), addressed the issue of new diseases in medical as well as religious-social terms in his medical book De arte gymnastica (Venice, 1569), while he served as the personal physician of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (1520-1589). Mercuriale's medical gymnastics, as a medical method for the treatment of new diseases, stands out as paradigmatic, on the one hand, of the scientific-medical culture of mid-sixteenth century Rome and, on the other hand, the political-religious strategies of the Catholic Church regarding the control of body culture in the context of the Counter-Reformation.

A validation of the religious and spiritual struggles scale among young people living with HIV in Zimbabwe: Mokken scale analysis and exploratory factor analysis.

Religious/spiritual convictions and practices can influence health- and treatment-seeking behavior, but only few measures of religiousness or spirituality have been validated and used outside of the US. The Religious and Spiritual Struggles scale (RSS) measures internal and external conflict with religion and spirituality and has been validated mainly in different high-income contexts. The aim of this study was the validation of the RSS in the Zimbabwean context and among young people living with human immunodeficiency virus (YPLHIV) aged 14-24. Data collection with an Open Data Kit (ODK) questionnaire with 804 respondents took place in 2021. The validation was performed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), using statistical equation modeling (SEM), and Mokken scale analysis (MSA). After the low confirmability of the original scale sub-dimensions exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied. The EFA resulted in four new sub-domains that were different from the original six domains in the RSS but culturally more relevant. The new sub-domains are significantly related to health. The findings support the validity and relevance of the RSS and the new sub-domains in this context. As our study was limited to YPLHIV, further validation of the RSS among different population groups and contexts in the sub-Saharan region is encouraged.

Islamic Environmental Conservation

Addressing the issue of natural destruction from a religious perspective requires an additional dimension that focuses on solutions to the underlying causes of environmental degradation. Scholars contend that the degradation of nature stems from a spiritual crisis afflicting humanity. To address this challenge, this study employs a qualitative method with content analysis as its analytical tool to uncover a value system capable of revitalizing human spirituality within an ecocentric framework. The research reveals that eco-theology, eco-fiqh (fiqh al-bī’ah), and eco-sufism all share a common theme in exploring divine entities through the natural world. The equilibrium of nature emerges as the central element that enhances worship, servitude, and the embodiment of divine values, thereby enriching human spirituality. Consequently, the cultivation of human spirituality is achieved through the processes of utilization (al-intifā’), the abstraction of divine values (al-i'tibār), and conservation (al-iṣlāḥ). These three environmental ethics examine human behavior towards the universe and delve into the relationships among all living beings within this vast universe.

HISBAH: MODEL KONSELING ISLAM KLASIK DALAM IMPLEMENTASI DI SEKOLAH UNTUK MENGATASI KRISIS SPIRITUAL

This study aims to explore the implementation of the classical Islamic counseling model in education. The classical Islamic counseling model is also known as hisbah which was first implemented during the time of Khalifah Umar bin Khattab. Hisbah is seen as important and relevant to be applied in modern era school settings, especially for alleviating the spiritual crisis in adolescents as an implication of globalization. The research method uses descriptive qualitative methods and uses data collection techniques in the form of observation and in-depth interviews. The results of this study indicate that the implementation of hisbah in school settings has been carried out in the form of: 1) giving advice, 2) individual guidance, 3) individual counseling, and 4) mass counseling. The problem being addressed is the spiritual crisis caused by the various impacts of globalization today. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that hisbah has been implemented properly and is in accordance with current developments due to the various values, principles and aspects that underlie the process of integrated guidance and counseling services in schools to alleviate the spiritual crisis which is an achievement or target in counseling in schools.

«Lacrimosa» by Oleksandr Shchetynskyі: music written in wartime with the faith in triumph of Humanity and Light

Statement of the problem. Recent research and publications. The piece titled “Lacrimosa” for six instruments by Oleksandr Shchetynsky has been written in the beginning of full-scale war, when the Russian troops were dislocated near Kyiv, when the city was shelled every day. The relevancy of this topic of research is caused by a need for musicological comprehension of a musical piece, written in the times of war as a critical situation. Theoretical basis of the article is founded on the sources from the different spheres of humanitarian knowledge. The usage of the term “crisis” caused appeal to the works on psychology, philosophy and aesthetics (Bulakh, 2016; Stasevska, 2016; Frankle, 2020; Fromm, 2013) with the aim to accentuate personal, spiritual aspect of this phenomenon. The main theses of the article by Australian scholars (Meyrick & Barnett, 2020) are used to emphasise importance and necessity of creative activity as a mechanism allowing to preserve humanity in the conditions of a crisis. The work by А. Erll (2011) became a foundation of the idea about musical text being a reminiscence about traumatic past or present times. The research by P. Rud (2021 a, 2021 b) is an important addition to studying O. Shchetynsky’s work. Objectives and scientific novelty of the studу. The purpose of the article is to research Oleksandr Shchetynsky’s “Lacrimosa” for six instruments (2022) in the context of a spiritual crisis that took place in the beginning of full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine. Novelty of the study is caused by comprehension of a musical work in several dimensions: 1) as one that was written “here and now”, one being an objectification of artist’s reflection on the war; 2) one continuing the row of instrumental works on spiritual themes in the context of the composer’s creativity, his search in the spheres of sonority and organization of the sound in the time and space; 3) the one being the part of Ukrainian and European musical cultures of XXI century. Research results and conclusion. O. Shchetynsky’s “Lacrimosa” continues a row of spiritual works by the composer, being a text of memory, which bears the information about traumatic present codified in it. The concentration on today (“darkness”) is combined with a semantic vector directed to the future (“victory over it”) determines the specifics of the temporal organization of the work, where there is a movement towards a cathartic melody in the spirit of a Ukrainian folk song. Semantic multidimensionality of the prayer, that becomes a code programming the composition, defines the organization of sound space as well, which has lines and layers of different significance interacting with each other, as well as work with the sound and sound matter, that is essential for O. Shchetynsky’s compositional technique. Elegant construction of the composition is caused by well-thought organization of different attributes: pitches, motives, themes, rhythms, textures and timbres. Thus, the end result is an artistic unity, with the experience of creating and understanding it is a way to overcome destructive influence of critical situation, allowing to realize the idea of productive creative life, “spiritual energy of harmony”

Brief Reviews

Other| April 01 2023 Brief Reviews American Literary Realism (2023) 55 (3): 282. https://doi.org/10.5406/19405103.55.3.11 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Brief Reviews. American Literary Realism 1 April 2023; 55 (3): 282. doi: https://doi.org/10.5406/19405103.55.3.11 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveUniversity of Illinois PressAmerican Literary Realism Search Advanced Search Gary Scott Smith, Mark Twain: Preacher, Prophet, and Social Philosopher. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2021. 272 pp. Cloth, $40.00. Smith's biography is the latest volume in a long tradition in Twain scholarship that includes Louis J. Budd's Mark Twain: Social Philosopher (1964); The Bible According to Mark Twain, edited by Howard Baetzhold and Joseph McCullough (1996); Joe B. Fulton's The Reverend Mark Twain (2006); and Harold Bush's Mark Twain and the Spiritual Crisis of His Age (2007). As a result, it offers mostly warmed-over observations and few new insights. (GS)Alan Gribben, Mark Twain's Literary Resources: A Reconstruction of His Library and Reading, volume 2 (Montgomery: NewSouth Books, 2022). 1088 pp. Cloth, $45.00. The second volume of Gribben's monumental Mark Twain's Literary Resources is not exactly a sequel of his long-out-of-print Mark Twain's Library: A Reconstruction (1980) but a vastly expanded revision of it. No doubt... You do not currently have access to this content.

Religious doubt and depression in later life: gender differences in the buffering role of supportive pastoral relationships.

Research suggests that religious/spiritual (R/S) matters take on increasing importance in later life and tend to be favorably associated with mental health, but religious doubt or uncertainty can undermine this salubrious relationship. Few studies assess whether social relationships, and the support contained within them, can mitigate these negative mental health consequences. The current study focuses on an important yet understudied social relationship in the context of spiritual struggles in later life: informal support from a religious pastor. Members of the clergy occupy a highly prestigious position in the church and are often a trusted resource for older adults as they confront problems. We use two waves of longitudinal data of Christian older adults in the Religion, Health, and Aging Study (2001-2004) from the United States (N = 639) to test whether support from a pastor attenuates any detrimental mental health effects of carrying religious doubt in later life. Results from lagged dependent variable models suggest that increases in religious doubt are associated with increases in depression over time, and that greater pastoral support attenuates the relationship between increases in religious doubt and depression, but only for men. We highlight the need for future research to explore this important social relationship with religious clergy for older adults in confronting both spiritual and secular challenges and the importance of considering gender differences in the process. We also suggest several practical implications for religious clergy, family members, and older adults in dealing with or helping others confront spiritual struggles.

КОНЦЕПТ «СВОБОДА» В АВТОБИОГРАФИЧЕСКОМ ПОВЕСТВОВАНИИ М.А. ОСОРГИНА «ВРЕМЕНА»: К ПОСТАНОВКЕ ВОПРОСА

The article is devoted to the study of the content of the concept «freedom» in the artistic world of autobiographical prose of M.A. Osorgin, describing the specifics of its representation when creating the image of the world and the person in it; the study of the process of transforming individual experience and worldview, developed in the process of life, into the artistic reality of a literary work. The relevance of the work is determined by the fact that the search by fiction for ways out of the spiritual crisis of the early 21st century returns research thought to the experience of solving the problem offreedom in Russian philosophical and literary thought at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, as well as in the autobiographical prose of the first wave of emigration. The study is based on an integrated approach, including the use of cultural-historical, biographical, historicalliterary, descriptive-analytical methods. It was established that M.A. Osorgin not only uses the lexical meanings of the phenomenon «freedom», fixed in dictionaries, but also significantly expands them. Separate aspects of the content of the concept «freedom» are defined, studied and described, the specificity of its representation in the artistic world of the writer’s autobiographical prose is analyzed. It is shown that the study of the concept«freedom» and its representation in the text of the autobiographical book «The Times» actualizes the axiological aspect of the perception of a literary text. It has been proved that consideration of the issue of true and imaginary values provides an opportunity for a deeper understanding of the writer’s autobiographical prose.

ANALYZING NATURAL AND MIGRATION FACTORS: UNDERSTANDING THE STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS OF ALTAI REGION'S POPULATION

The demographic decline in Russia began after the collapse of the USSR and was exacerbated by a spiritual crisis. To address these problems, the Conception of the Demographic Policy was adopted for the period up to 2025. This study examines the main stages of the policy and assesses its results in the country as a whole and in the Altai region in particular. The study shows that the decline in population size in the region is primarily due to rural areas, with changes in gender proportions and an increase in the natural population loss coefficient, which is growing at a faster pace among the rural population. The study also assesses the impact of migration on demographic indicators and finds that financial factors are not the only reason for the current situation. To address these demographic challenges, concrete action must be taken at the municipal level, with socio-economic measures incorporated into the policy. Furthermore, it is important to educate the younger generation in patriarchal traditions to ensure long-term solutions.