Although people are indeed likely to look to their religion in stressful times, it is not true that everyone does. Some people have little in the way of religious feeling before a crisis, and they remain unbowed throughout their most painful ordeals. As one concentration camp survivor said, "I never believed in God. Not before the Holocaust, not during my stay in the camps and not afterward. I didn't need the Holocaust as proof of God's non-existence. I was never in doubt that He didn't exist."

Is Religion a Form of Denial?

Freud set the tone for much of modern psychological thinking when he branded religion as "psychical infantilism," But recent studies show that Freud was mistaken. Religious people are no more likely than others to deny the reality of loss and pain; they are, however, more likely to redefine the reality of loss in a more positive, spiritual light. For example, religious people are more apt to view tragedy as an opportunity for growth.

The scientific literature shows that religion and spirituality are more often linked to active than to passive forms of coping. For example, one study of abused women found that the more religious women were more likely to take active steps to solve the problems in their marriage. They were not "barefoot and pregnant," weak and unable to change. Instead, "they showed a very different character and a positive approach to coping with violence in their lives and for their families."

See all Self Tests