c c c In Simonic’s and Klobucar’s (2017) article entitled “Experiencing Positive
Religious Coping in the Process of Divorce: A Qualitative Study,” the researchers
found positive spiritual or religious coping to be highly adaptive and even
transformative for those having undergone the major stressor of divorce. The
researchers utilized Colaizzi’s (1978) “method of phenomenological inquiry” (as
cited in Simonic & Klobucar, 2017, p. 1649). This methodology resides in the camp
of structuralism as it seeks to identify current feelings, phenomena, thoughts, and
sensations that exist presently in the mind. After Simonic and Klobucar analyzed
the input received through phenomenological methodology, they came to the
following summation regarding three themes of lived experience for the divorced
participants: “experiencing the burden of divorce, which related to experiencing the
relationship with God and the ways of spiritual coping with divorce, and
experiencing the effects of religious coping with divorce” (p. 1649).
c c c c c c c For this study, Simonic and Klobucar interviewed eleven participants that
had undergone divorce in the last five years. Margulis (2007) claimed, “Divorce
takes place on different levels and covers different areas: emotional divorce, legal
divorce, economical divorce, parental divorce, mental divorce, as well as divorce
from a community (social network of friends, neighbors, school, etc.)” (as cited in
Simonic & Klobucar, 2017, p. 1647). The reality is divorce impacts every domain of
human functioning, including relationships with self, others, and God.
c c c c c c c In this particular study surrounding divorce, all participants utilized positive
spiritual or religious coping. Pargament (2002) defined positive religious coping as
the following:
[It] includes forms stemming from a secure relationship with God, the feeling of
connection with him as well as with the members of a religious community, a
positive belief that it is possible to find meaning in life, and the feeling that we
can learn from hard experiences. (as cited in Simonic & Klobucar, 2017, p. 1646)
Sometimes a concept becomes clearer when the opposite is defined. Thus,
Pargament (2002) clarified positive spiritual coping by explaining negative spiritual
or religious coping:
Negative religious coping, on the other hand, is marked by a frightened attitude to
God, related to an anxious view of the world and complicated searching of the
meaning of life, frequent inner spiritual tension and internal battles with oneself,
with others and with God or a transcendent being. (as cited in Simonic & Klobucar,
2017, p. 1646)
All parties involved in this study did not report engaging in negative religious
coping.
c c c c c c c The results revealed that positive spiritual coping helped individuals
manage the various impact levels of divorce. Primarily, the relationship with God
helped participants “experience security and support” (Simonic & Klobucar, 2017,
p. 1651). Furthermore, their spirituality or relationship with God helped individuals
to develop a personal resilience and confidence to persevere through hardship.
Simonic and Klobucar explained, “[Participants] experienced deeper inner
transformation, since in the experience of the relationship with God, they received
genuine affirmation, acceptance, and dignity” (p. 1651). Thus, these individuals
were able to receive unconditional love from God, which aided in redeeming their
view and thoughts about themselves that were fragmented or weakened through
the divorce. This study as well as other research illustrated that positive spiritual
coping through divorce provides “lower levels of depression and anxiety” (Webb,
2010, as cited in Simonic & Klobucar, 2017, p. 1651).
c c c c c c c I am not surprised by the findings of this research as it seems very logical
and straightforward. However, I was slightly befuddled by the lack of human
support mentioned in the application of positive spiritual coping. Certainly, the
support of others was mentioned in the definition of positive spiritual coping;
however, the results and conclusion section spoke very minimally, if at all, about
the value of walking with other believers through divorce, especially the
encouragement provided through divorce support groups. On the other hand, I
valued the researchers’ understanding regarding the breadth and depth of
divorce’s devastation to every domain of an individual’s life: psychologically,
spiritually, mentally, emotionally, financially and relationally. Throughout the article,
the Allies model of Entwistle (2015) was demonstrated as the worldview was
inexplicably Christian, but the principles for providing both an understanding of
humans and help to humans were both psychological and theological in nature.
There were no issues in this article between the two camps of psychology or
theology, as these camps “have a common Author, and describe a single reality”
(Entwistle, 2015, p. 250). c
c c c c c c c Their methodological research for this study was based upon structuralism,
but their findings were both functional and relational. Functionally, the mind and
the body influence one another and cannot be separated. For example, those
walking through divorce typically have symptoms of depression, which impact the
mind and the body, as well as relational domains. Relationally, positive spiritual
coping places a primacy on an individual’s relationship with God. This relationship
is paramount to coming through a major stressor like divorce with both resilience
and self-acceptance. Divorce can fragment one’s self-concept. If an individual will
utilize positive spiritual coping, which is seeing God and one’s self rightly (as
deeply loved and accepted instead of unloved from divorce), then relational
transformation of the self can occur. The researchers evaluated in depth one’s
relationship with self and with God in this study. In both relationships, positive
spiritual coping provided adaptive habits of depending upon God for one’s needs,
which can support the individual through, not only the major stressor of divorce,
but also other hardships in the future.
References
Entwistle, D. N. (2015). Integrative approaches to psychology and Christianity: An
introduction to worldview issues, philosophical foundations, and models of
integration (3rd ed.). Wipf & Stock Publishers.
Simonic, B., & Klobucar, N. R. (2017). Experiencing positive religious coping in the
process of divorce: A qualitative study. Journal of Religion and Health, 56(5), 1644-
1654. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1007/s10943-016-0230-y
