Social Indicators Research<\/em> 111\/1 (2013).<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\nAlthough prior studies have documented a positive association between religiosity and sense of meaning in life, the role of specific religious beliefs is currently unclear. Past research on images of God suggests that loving images of God will positively correlate with a sense of meaning and purpose. Mechanisms for this hypothesized relationship are drawn from prior work on attachment theory, religious coping, and symbolic interaction. We suggest that these mechanisms are complementary and that secure attachment styles, reliable coping strategies, and positive self-images work in tandem to facilitate a sense of meaning and purpose. Using a random, national sample from the second wave of the Baylor Religion Survey, we perform multivariate regression analysis that controls for key religious and demographic effects. In our full model, results indicate that the dependent variable is positively associated with student status, religious non-affiliation, congregational friendship networks, and frequency of prayer. Most important from the perspective of the present study, the connection between loving images of God and a sense of meaning and purpose is consistent and robust<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Joshua A. Wilt, Julie J. Exline, Joshua B. Grubbs, Crystal L. Park , and Kenneth I. Pargament.\u00a0 \u201cGod\u2019s Role in Suffering: Theodicies, Divine Struggle, and Mental Health.\u201d\u00a0 Psychology of Religion and Spirituality <\/span><\/em>8\/4 (2016), 352\u2013362.<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The present research tested a mediation model specifying that<\/span>\u00a0divine struggle<\/span> (e.g., anger at God, feeling\u00a0<\/span>punished or abandoned by God) mediates the associations of beliefs about suffering with psychological <\/span>distress and mental health. We tested this model using structural equation modeling in 2 large samples, <\/span>an undergraduate sample (<\/span>N =<\/span>\u00a03,083) and a web-based sample of U.S. adults (<\/span>N =\u00a0<\/span> 1,047). In both\u00a0<\/span>samples, beliefs that suffering is part of God\u2019s benevolent plan, as well as beliefs that a nonbenevolent <\/span>God causes suffering, were associated with more divine struggle and in turn with lower levels of\u00a0<\/span><\/span>well-being and higher distress. Beliefs attributing a benevolent role to God in suffering were directly <\/span>linked to higher well-being, along with beliefs about God\u2019s limited knowledge of the future and ability <\/span>to prevent suffering. These results attest to the nuanced nature of the associations between religious belief\u00a0<\/span>systems, adversity, and life outcomes.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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