Theological Beliefs About Suffering and Interactions With the Divine (original) (raw)

This study situated theologically based beliefs about suffering as " mid-level " variables within a multilevel framework of ways in which people relate to the Divine. We examined whether beliefs about suffering associated with global ways of relating to the Divine (e.g., religiousness, general views of God) and context-specific ways of relating to the Divine (e.g., perceptions, feelings, and behaviors related to God in the context of a specific religious/spiritual struggle). In a large sample of undergraduates (N 2,920), across the global and context-specific levels, beliefs that suffering is part of God's benevolent plan were related to more favorable perceived interactions with God, whereas beliefs ascribing a nonbenevolent role to God were related to less favorable interactions with God. Longitudinal analyses revealed that beliefs about suffering predicted changes in global variables over 1 year. We discuss how our proposed multilevel framework helps to integrate findings concerning perceived interaction with the Divine. The enormity of suffering that prevails in the world represents a challenge to the idea that there is a greater purpose behind human existence (Berger, 1967). One potentially powerful way to meet this challenge is through religion/spirituality (r/s). Indeed, amid the sobering reality that tragedy is commonplace, r/s traditions provide coherent frameworks for understanding the nature of suffering (see Park, 2013 for a recent review). Furthermore, people hold very different theologically-based beliefs about the nature of suffering. Some believe that suffering is meaningless and random, while others tend to see suffering not only as meaningful but as ordained by a benevolent God (Hale-Smith, Park, & Edmondson, 2012). Beliefs about why suffering occurs have received relatively little empirical attention, but recent research suggests that these beliefs are important components of one's r/s worldview (Hale-Smith et al., 2012; Jarrett, 2014; Wilt, Exline, Grubbs, Park, & Pargament, 2014). The current project takes a more in-depth look at how beliefs about suffering relate to aspects of r/s life, focusing particularly on one's perceived relationship with God. We examine how beliefs about suffering are related to r/s beliefs and practices, as well as to cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects of one's relationship with God, both in general and in the context of a specific r/s struggle. We also explore how beliefs about suffering relate to changes in one's r/s involvement, attitudes toward God, and views of God over time.