Spiritual and Religious Coping in Later Life

Defining Religiousness and Spirituality

Religiousness involves adherence to a belief system associated with particular denominations or sects and associated rituals and practices (Miller & Thoresen, 2003; Pargament, 1997). Allport and Ross (1967) defined religious motivations as two orthogonal orientations. An extrinsic orientation is a means-end use of religion that is more concerned with instrumental and utilitarian values of religion, such as social standing in one's community. In contrast, an intrinsic orientations is using religious beliefs as a “master motive,” involving the internalization of a religious creed and the desire to have it manifested in one's life experience.

Defining spirituality has been challenging due to its multidimensional nature and ambiguous boundaries with religiousness (Miller & Thoresen, 2003). However, common definitions of spirituality include a sense of transcendence beyond one's immediate circumstances, purpose and meaning in life, reliance on inner resources, and a sense of within-person connectedness (Brennan, 2002; Miller & Thoresen, 2003; Pargament, 1997).

It is generally agreed that spirituality and religiousness are interrelated yet separate concepts (Miller & Thoresen, 2003; Pargament, 1997). However, there is a lack of consensus as to how these constructs are related as well as how they are best operationalized. For some, these two constructs are tightly intertwined. For example, Pargament (1997) states that spirituality represents the “search for the sacred” that nearly always occurs in the context of religiousness. For others, these two constructs are perceived as more orthogonal, which allows one to be religious without being spiritual or to be spiritual without being religious (Miller & Thoresen, 2003). What seems to distinguish spirituality from religiousness is that it is not necessarily defined with reference to a specific belief system (i.e., religion), although it may be expressed through such a system. Furthermore, expressions of spirituality are not necessarily tied to social institutions, such as religious congregations or denominations, but may exist entirely within the realm of the individual.

Theoretical Perspectives on Spiritual and Religious Coping

Two hypotheses describe how religiousness may benefit individuals (Ferraro & Koch, 1994). The social support hypothesis states that people with high levels of religious involvement with their associated religious communities have increased social contact and exchanges of assistance. The second hypothesis posits that religiousness leads to positive outcomes because of religious consolation. That is, religious belief systems foster cognitive and emotional perceptions that lessen the suffering and distress of stressful life experiences. Religious consolation would also explain the beneficial effects of heightened spirituality because of the belief system employed, whether or not such spirituality is expressed through organized religion.

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