Religious Doubts and the Problem with Religious Pressures for Christian Students
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22048312 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Andrea C Walker (0000-0002-8859-7272, Oral Roberts University, corresponding author), Andrew Lang (0000-0002-9922-1414, Oral Roberts University, corresponding author), Ricky Muñoz (0000-0002-7241-0696, University of Oklahoma, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Pages | 975 |
| Publication date | 2023-09-25 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Education Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2227-7102 • E-ISSN: 2227-7102 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/educsci13100975 |
| OpenAlex | W4387048679 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 35 |
Educational literature has underscored the importance of higher education attending to students’ religious development. For Christian students, environment plays a role. Recent Christian religious development literature focusing on environmental predictors of growth found that higher religious pressures, assumed to be a controller according to Self-Determination Theory, predicted religious growth for students. The current study examines this finding by considering the influence of religious pressures along with normative experiences of religious doubt on spiritual/religious development variables of relatedness and self-mastery. A web-based survey procured responses from a large sample of students from both Christian and public/secular institutions. Controlling for sex and institution, multiple linear regression modeling was used to develop a model hypothesizing that when religious doubts are high, greater pressure would result in lower levels of religious development. The model was supported for spiritual/religious self-mastery but not for relatedness. Students’ quotes were presented to illustrate the findings that emerged from the data analysis. Results clarify the deleterious role of religious pressures for Christians at certain developmental and situational milestones who are also simultaneously experiencing religious doubt and/or questioning their beliefs about God. Given past findings about the uncomfortable and unsatisfying, albeit necessary, role of engaging in some religious doubt and exploration, religious pressures can sabotage effective adaptation. The results underscore the importance of higher education administrators allowing space and support for religious questioning and doubt. Moreover, administrators in Christian universities should help facilitate the honest expression of their students’ doubts and questions and the minimization of environmental religious pressures
Christianity · Epistemology · Institution · Normative · Pedagogy · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Religious controversies · Religious education · Situational ethics · Social science · Sociology · Theism · Law · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Society, and Development · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Religious studies · Social Psychology
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A self-determination theory perspective on parenting.
Religious coping and psychological adjustment to stress
Self-determination theory
The Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale
Initial development and validation of the Basic Psychological Needs Questionnaire–Religiosity/Spirituality
Faith Development, Religious Styles and Biographical Narratives
Perceived Religious Pressures as an Antecedent to Self-Reported Religious/Spiritual Development and Well-Being for Christians
Proposed Levels of Christian Spiritual Maturity
Religious Doubt and Identity Formation
Patterns of Religious Coping among Bereaved College Students
When religion makes grief worse
The relationship of religious coping and spirituality to adjustment and psychological distress in urban early adolescents
Facilitating Internalization
Identity Status and Anxiety
Time of Change? The Spiritual Challenges of Bereavement and Loss
The Religious Schema Scale
Autonomous Versus Controlled Religiosity
A Congregation of One
Turning play into work
Development and validation of ego-identity status
Religious Coping Methods as Predictors of Psychological, Physical and Spiritual Outcomes among Medically Ill Elderly Patients
Patterns of Positive and Negative Religious Coping with Major Life Stressors
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |