Religious perfectionism, spiritual struggles, and sense of community: Associations with depression among ultra-Orthodox Jews

Abstract

The relatively new concept of religious perfectionism is important for understanding individual differences in psychological well-being among religious people. However, it has not been examined within the ultra-Orthodox Jewish population. This cross-sectional study investigates the effects of the two facets of religious perfectionism—zealous religious dedication and religious self-criticism—along with religious and spiritual struggles and sense of community on depression, assessing the unique contribution of each factor among ultra-Orthodox Jews. Participants were 201 ultra-Orthodox Jews living in Israel, and the variables were assessed through self-report measures. The findings revealed that depression was negatively associated with zealous religious dedication and sense of community, while positively associated with religious self-criticism and religious and spiritual struggles. Additionally, religious self-criticism was linked to religious and spiritual struggles. In a multiple regression analysis, religious and spiritual struggles emerged as a strong predictor of depression, potentially overshadowing the contributions of other personal and social factors in understanding the mental well-being of ultra-Orthodox individuals. Further research is needed to explore how psycho-social-cultural factors interact to influence the mental well-being of this population.