Clinging to the Hands of a Distant God

Attachment to God in Protestant American Theology

Dados Bibliográficos

ID20332001
AutoresAlicia McLean (0000-0003-1144-3547, University of Central Oklahoma, autor correspondente), Andrew J Marra (0009-0005-9684-8982, Southern Nazarene University), Paul C Jones (0000-0002-7754-6189), Ronald W Wright (0000-0002-8026-318X, Southern Nazarene University), Rachel Limke (University of Central Oklahoma)
Ano2026
Volume54
Fascículo1
Páginas22-39
Data de publicação2026-03-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Psychology and Theology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0091-6471 • E-ISSN: 2328-1162
EditoraSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00916471251378186
OpenAlexW4414846477
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas50

This study introduces a newly developed scale assessing Protestant theological beliefs on a Theological Openness/Biblical Literalism dimension (Study 1) and examines its relationship with attachment to God (Study 2). To establish validity, we conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the Protestant Theology Scale (PTS) and assessed its convergent and discriminant validity against established religious measures. We hypothesized that anxiety about abandonment by God would predict Biblical Literalism theological beliefs, but avoidance of intimacy with God would predict Theological Openness theological beliefs. Results supported these hypotheses, with avoidance toward God predicting Theological Openness beliefs, but anxiety about abandonment by God predicted Biblical Literalism theological beliefs. The study highlights the importance of theological constructs in attachment research and emphasizes the need for further scale validation

Abandonment (legal) · Fundamentalism · Openness to experience · Protestantism · Psychology of religion · Scale (ratio) · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology