There is an increasing interest in the scientific study of the association between spirituality and recovery from addiction. While most of these studies have provided evidence for a possible relationship, others have explored the underlying mechanisms and meditators in the relationship. However, generally, many studies and reviews have not approached the issue within a specific theoretical framework of mainstream psychology. In an attempt to fill this gap, the review being reported here undertook a Qualitative Systematic Literature Review (QSLR) of addiction-spirituality literature. QSLR is an orderly manner of searching for academic literature, selecting relevant literature following a set of inclusion/exclusion criteria, qualitatively analysing the selected literature, and reporting the findings in such a way as to generate a set of hypotheses. QSLR focusses on literary data, rather than on numerical data as the tradition Systematic Literature Review and Meta-analysis do. Working […]
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Influence of the Family on How Youth Relate to God: A Systematic Review of Psychology Literature
Literature on the psychological correlates of individual’s god-image is abundant. They range from Freud’s conceptual claim that the image of God was an inherited parental image of the murdered primeval father, which can be activated by the individual’s experience of their father, to more contemporary examination of God-image drawn from the relationship between a child and the care-giver. Underpinning these claims is the undeniable role of the family in the formation of God-image and the way individuals relate to God. The present chapter reports the outcome of a Systematic Literature Review (SLR), which searched and selected 31 empirical reports from Academic Search Premier – a database of journal articles. Using a process of Qualitative Thematic Analysis, six themes were identified within the selected literature. On the basis […]
Contemplative Practice Among Young Adults in Nairobi
ABSTRACT
The scientific study of the role of religion and spirituality among adolescents and young adults is on the increase. Some of these studies have focussed on the association between religiousness and pro-social values and behaviour among youth. Other studies have examined the effect of mindfulness on emotional regulation and preventing risky behaviour. Such studies, however, have been wanting in the East African context. The aim of this paper is to report the themes emerging from interviews conducted among a sample of young adults who were part of a larger study examining the effect of meditation on wellbeing. This qualitative study focussed on two research questions: (a) what are the experiences of young people practicing Jesus Prayer technique of Christian contemplative practice? (b) What is the impact of the practice on their outlook of life and behaviour?
Twenty-five participants were recruited […]
Towards Religious-Spirituality: A Multidimensional Matrix of Religion and Spirituality
Selvam, S.G. (2013). Towards religious spirituality: A multidimensional matrix of religion and spirituality. Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 12(36), 129-152.
Abstract
In the contemporary study of religion there seems to be an exaggeration of the distinction between religion and spirituality, not only to the point of separation, but worse still, in terms of a superiority-inferiority hierarchy that gives rise to a value judgement between spirituality and religion. Could this be a sign of the persisting Western hegemony in the study of religion? This article suggests that the consideration of religion and spirituality as disparate entities may be necessary in some societies but not sufficient for a global perspective. Could there be an integrative model that would lend itself for an inclusive exchange in the study of religion […]
The unnamed companion on the road: spiritual accompaniment in the context of youth ministry
Selvam, S.G. (2013), The unnamed companion on the road: Spiritual accompaniment in the context of youth ministry. The Journal of Youth Ministry, 11(4), 41-55.
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