Coping with an Evil World: Contextualizing the Stress‐Buffering Role of Scripture Reading.
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| Title: | Coping with an Evil World: Contextualizing the Stress‐Buffering Role of Scripture Reading. |
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| Authors: | DeAngelis, Reed T., Acevedo, Gabriel A., Vaidyanathan, Brandon, Ellison, Christopher G. |
| Source: | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). Sep2021, Vol. 60 Issue 3, p645-652. 8p. 2 Charts, 1 Graph. |
| Subjects: | Religious literature, Mental health, Psychological stress, Psychological adaptation |
| Geographic Terms: | South Texas |
| Abstract: | This research note advances the religious coping literature by testing whether belief in an evil world conditions the stress‐moderating role of scripture reading. Hypotheses are tested with original data from a survey of black, Hispanic, and white American churchgoers from South Texas (2017–2018; n = 1,115). Our findings show that reading scripture for insights into the future attenuates the positive association between major life events and psychological distress, but only for congregants who do not believe the world is fundamentally evil and sinful. For congregants who believe the world is evil, scripture reading amplifies the association between life events and distress. Whether scriptural coping is beneficial for mental health could be contingent on a believer's broader assumptions about the nature of the world we live in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | This research note advances the religious coping literature by testing whether belief in an evil world conditions the stress‐moderating role of scripture reading. Hypotheses are tested with original data from a survey of black, Hispanic, and white American churchgoers from South Texas (2017–2018; n = 1,115). Our findings show that reading scripture for insights into the future attenuates the positive association between major life events and psychological distress, but only for congregants who do not believe the world is fundamentally evil and sinful. For congregants who believe the world is evil, scripture reading amplifies the association between life events and distress. Whether scriptural coping is beneficial for mental health could be contingent on a believer's broader assumptions about the nature of the world we live in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00218294 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/jssr.12728 |
