Definition
Religious coping is religiously framed cognitive, emotional, or behavioral responses to stress, encompassing multiple methods and purposes as well as positive and negative dimensions.
Description
Religion and spirituality translate into coping responses to stress insofar as they serve as available and compelling orienting systems and especially when stressors test “the limits of personal powers” (Pargament 1997, p. 310). Religion can provide a framework for understanding emotional and physical suffering and can facilitate perseverance or acceptance in the face of stressors. Religious coping encompasses religiously framed cognitive, emotional, or behavioral responses to stress. It may serve many purposes, including achieving meaning in life, closeness to God, hope, peace, connection to others, self-development, and personal restraint (Pargament 1997). Who uses religious coping...
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References and Further Readings
Abu-Raiya, H., & Pargament, K. I. (2015). Religious coping among diverse religions: Commonalities and divergences. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 7, 24–33. doi:10.1037/a0037652.
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Pargament, K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, practice. New York: Guilford Press.
Pargament, K. I. (2007). Spiritually integrated psychotherapy: Understanding and addressing the sacred. New York: Guilford Press.
Pargament, K. I., Koenig, H. G., & Perez, L. M. (2000). The many methods of religious coping: Development and initial validation of the RCOPE. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56, 519–543.
Pargament, K. I., Ano, G. G., & Wachholtz, A. B. (2005). The religious dimension of coping: Advances in theory, research, and practice. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (pp. 479–495). New York: Guilford Press.
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Wortmann, J. (2016). Religious Coping. In: Gellman, M., Turner, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_665-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_665-2
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