Kept in His Care: The Role of Perceived Divine Control in Positive Reappraisal Coping
Journal Title: Religions - Year 2017, Vol 8, Issue 8
Abstract
A formidable body of literature suggests that numerous dimensions of religious involvement can facilitate productive coping. One common assumption in this field is that religious worldviews provide overarching frameworks of meaning by which to positively reinterpret stressors. The current study explicitly tests this assumption by examining whether perceived divine control—i.e., the notion that God controls the course and direction of one’s life—buffers the adverse effects of recent traumatic life events on one’s capacity for positive reappraisal coping. We analyze cross-sectional survey data from Vanderbilt University’s Nashville Stress and Health Study (2011–2014), a probability sample of non-Hispanic black and white adults aged 22 to 69 living in Davidson County, Tennessee (n = 1252). Findings from multivariate regression models confirm: (1) there was an inverse association between past-year traumatic life events and positive reappraisals; but (2) perceived divine control significantly attenuated this inverse association. Substantively, our findings suggest that people who believe God controls their life outcomes are better suited for positively reinterpreting traumatic experiences. Implications, limitations, and avenues for future research are discussed.
Authors and Affiliations
Reed T. DeAngelis and Christopher G. Ellison
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP25728
- DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8080133
- Views 331
- Downloads 9
Augustine and Autobiography: Confessions as a Roadmap for Self-Reflection
In this article, I explore a pedagogical strategy for teaching Augustine’s Confessions to undergraduate students, which involves a final essay assignment. In the assignment, students compose their own “confessions” at...
Kun . d. alin¯ı Rising and Liberation in the Yogavasis ¯ .t.ha: The Story of Cud ¯ . al ¯ a and ¯ Sikhidhvaja
Various Saiva Tantric elements have been identified in the ´ Yogavasi ¯ s.t .ha, but little has been written about the role of kun . d. alin¯ı rising in relation to this text’s notion of living liberation (j¯ıvanmukt...
Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche: Dzogchen and Tibetan Tradition. From Shang Shung to the West
In July 2011 the International Dzogchen Community celebrated its 30th Anniversary. In 1981, near Arcidosso in Tuscany (Italy), Master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche founded the first community or Gar of the Internation...
The Liturgy of Life: Alexander Schmemann
The émigré Russian priest and theologian Alexander Schmemann (1921–1983) spent most of his career as a faculty member and dean of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary in Crestwood, New York, not far from New York City. For...
The Implicit as a Resource for Engaging Normativity in Religious Studies
This piece recommends the implicit as a resource for examining normativity within the study of religion. Attention to the implicit serves at least two purposes toward this end. First, it gives the scholar of religion a...