Sources of weakened spiritual faith among Norwegian adults

IF 0.7 0 RELIGION

Journal for the Study of Spirituality Pub Date : 2020-07-02 DOI:10.1080/20440243.2020.1812887

M. Kalfoss, Marianne Rodriguez Nygaard, Tormod Kleiven, M. Nilsen

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引用次数: 2

Abstract

ABSTRACT Burgeoning research has documented important positive associations between religiousness/spirituality and physical and mental health. However, spiritual and religious beliefs can also be a locus of doubt and weakened faith in the form of spiritual struggles. Spiritual struggles are described as involving signs of spiritual disorientation, which involve conflict or distress grounded in religious or spiritual issues. The specific aim of this article is to describe sources of weakened faith in community residing adults who responded to a Norwegian population survey which also contained open–ended questions regarding experiences of weakened faith. Sixty participants described such sources in their own words. Our findings confirm that factors precipitating feelings of weakened faith are multifaceted and cover a wide array of sources. They are related to negative interactions concerning church life and church practice and specific relational conflicts with others. They also involve processes of doubt which contribute to changes in understanding and are grounded in observing injustice in the world, and include major life events including death and illness. Many of the struggles seem to involve an unsettling state of disillusionment and broken trust that arises from experiencing a gap between one’s assumptions and what occurred in reality.

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挪威成年人精神信仰弱化的根源

新兴的研究已经证明了宗教信仰/灵性与身心健康之间的重要正相关关系。然而，精神和宗教信仰也可能成为怀疑的中心，以精神斗争的形式削弱信仰。精神斗争被描述为涉及精神迷失的迹象，涉及基于宗教或精神问题的冲突或痛苦。本文的具体目的是描述对挪威人口调查作出回应的社区居住成年人信仰减弱的来源，该调查还包含关于信仰减弱经历的开放式问题。60名与会者用自己的话描述了这些来源。我们的研究结果证实，导致信心减弱的因素是多方面的，而且来源广泛。它们与教会生活和教会实践的负面互动以及与他人的特定关系冲突有关。它们还涉及怀疑的过程，这些过程有助于改变理解，并以观察世界上的不公正为基础，并包括包括死亡和疾病在内的重大生活事件。许多挣扎似乎涉及一种令人不安的幻灭和信任破裂的状态，这种状态源于经历一个人的假设与现实之间的差距。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal for the Study of Spirituality RELIGION-

CiteScore

2.50

自引率

7.10%

发文量

期刊介绍： Journal for the Study of Spirituality is a peer-reviewed journal which creates a unique interdisciplinary, inter-professional and cross-cultural forum where researchers, scholars and others engaged in the study and practices of spirituality can share and debate the research, knowledge, wisdom and insight associated with spirituality and contemporary spirituality studies. The British Association for the Study of Spirituality (BASS) organises a biennial international conference and welcomes enquiries about membership from those interested in the study of spirituality in the UK and worldwide. The journal is concerned with what spirituality means, and how it is expressed, in individuals’ lives and communities and in professional practice settings; and with the impact and implications of spirituality in, and on, social policy, organizational practices and personal and professional development. The journal recognises that spirituality and spiritual values can be expressed and studied in secular contexts, including in scientific and professional practice settings, as well as within faith and wisdom traditions. Thus, Journal for the Study of Spirituality particularly welcomes contributions that: identify new agendas for research into spirituality within and across subject disciplines and professions; explore different epistemological and methodological approaches to the study of spirituality; introduce comparative perspectives and insights drawn from different cultures and/or professional practice settings; aim to apply and develop sustained reflection, investigation and critique in relation to spirituality and spiritual practices; critically examine the values and presuppositions underpinning different forms of spirituality and spiritual practices; incorporate different forms of writing and expressions of spirituality.