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THE MEANINGS OF FAITH AND SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

Zvi Bellin, Ph.D. Assistant Professor – Holistic Counseling John F. Kennedy University San Jose, CA

© 2014 Zvi Bellin, Please cite when using this material.

OUR LEARNING JOURNEY

Ò Ground Rules – Sharing Ò Landscape and Definitions Ò Theory Ò Experiential Ò Discussion

NARRATIVE OF SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION

Ò What is the story of your own spiritual and/or religious path? É How do you define yourself spiritually and/or

religiously? Ò How does your spiritual and religious identity

impact your approach to counseling and your way of being with clients?


PEW FORUM'S U.S. RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE SURVEY (2008)

Ò  Christian – 78.4% É  51.3% Protestant, 23.9%

Catholic Ò  Jewish – 1.7% Ò  Buddhist – 0.7% Ò  Muslim – 0.6% Ò  Hindu – 0.4% Ò  Unaffiliated – 16% (70%

express some belief in God), In 2012, 19.6% (Lipka, 2013).

Ò  **Increased diversity in all categories

Ò  28% of Americans have changed religious affiliation

Ò  Catholics have greatest net decrease, though immigrant population most greatly impact Catholic growth

Ò  For 18-29yo, 1-in-4 say they are not currently affiliated with any particular religion


DEFINITIONS OF SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION Ò  Richards and Bergin (1997), We view religious as a subset of the spiritual. Religious has to do

with theistic beliefs, practices, and feelings that are often, but not always, expressed institutionally and denominationally as well as personally … Spiritual experiences tend to be universal, ecumenical, internal, affective, spontaneous, and private. (p.13)


DEFINITIONS OF SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION

Ò  Zinnbauer and Pargament (2005): “Spirituality is defined as a personal or group search for the

sacred. Religiousness is defined as a personal or group search for the sacred that unfolds within a traditional sacred context” (p. 35).

[Quoted by A&L, p. 9] Aten and Leach (2009) seek to maintain positive connotations

of both spirituality and religion, while acknowledging that there can be and are psychological risks associated with either spirituality or religion.


SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION


POST CONVENTIONAL FAITH

Photo credit: http://www.moillusions.com

James Fowler – Faith Development

& Ken Wilber –

Integral Theory

Shift from a socially prescribed faith framework to a

complex resolution of a conflict between an

individual’s experience of the world and the previously accepted

faith.


KOHENET: HEBREW PRIESTESS INSTITUTE

“This movement includes shamans, kabbalists, wilderness Jews, environmentalist Jews, priestesses of Shekhinah, Jewitches, practitioners of Israeli nature spirituality, and many others. This earth-honoring Jewish movement is one element of a larger circle of earth-based practitioners in many lands and cultures … Kohenet women are a vibrant and diverse group of women committed to deepening their connection to the divine feminine through an earth-honoring Jewish path and to embodying this work in their leadership and service work … Some of us observe Judaism in traditional ways while exploring and experiencing our connection to the feminine Divine. Some of us practice or have practiced shamanic, magical, or pagan spirituality, and are now exploring spiritual life in a Jewish context. Some of us focus on deity, while others give primacy to nature, or to community. Some of us pray to Goddess, others to both male and female faces of deity. Some of us do not pray at all, preferring meditation and reflection as our spirit-path.”

From http://www.kohenet.org/about/

PARK & FOLKMAN (1997) AND PARGAMENT (2007) MAKING MEANING / SEARCH FOR SACRED

Discover

Conserve

Threatened, AKA Life

Spiritual Coping

Transform

Begin with

Global Meaning

Challenge by Situational Meaning

Search for Meaning

Assimilate, Accommodate, (or Ruminate)


GOD


SACRED


ALLAH HU AKHBAR


BLOOD AND BODY OF CHRIST

2014 © Zvi Bellin, Please cite when using this material.

DIVINE MOTHER


PAGAN


ROBERTS (2009) “ON THE LINE: VOICES AND VIEWS”

“Everyone should be able to find their unique

blend of religion – the more choices the better.”



“Everyone is spiritual, even if they identify as agnostic or atheist – even if they choose not to

express their spirituality.”



“I believe that there is a force of goodness in the

world and that everything happens for a reason.”


DISCUSSION

REFERENCES Aten, J.D., & Leach, M.M. (2008). Spirituality and the therapeutic process:

A comprehensive resource from intake to termination. Washington, D.C.: American Psychology Association.

Aten, J.D., & Leach, M.M. (2008). A primer on spirituality and mental health. In J.D. Aten & M.M. Leach (Eds.), Spirituality and the Therapeutic Process (9 – 24). Washington, D.C.: American Psychology Association.

Lipka, M. (2013, October 23). Five facts about atheists. Pew Research Center: Fact Tank News in theNumbers. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/10/23/5-facts-about-atheists/

Kohenet: The Hebrew Priestess Institute. Who we are. Retrieved from http://www.kohenet.org/about/

Pargament, K.I., & Krumrei, E.J. (2009). Clinical assessment of clients’ spirituality. In J.D. Aten & M.M. Leach (Eds.), Spirituality and the Therapeutic Process (93 – 119). Washington, D.C.: American Psychology Association.

© Zvi Bellin, Please cite when using this material.

REFERENCES

Park, C. (2013). The meaning making model: A framework for understanding meaning, spirituality, and stress-related growth in health psychology. The European Health Psychologist, 15 (2), 40 – 42.

Park, C. & Folkman, S. (1997). Meaning in the context of stress and coping. Review of General Psychology, 1, 115 – 144.

Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. (2008). U.S. religion landscape survey. Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center.

Richards, P., & Bergin, A.E. (1997). A spiritual strategy for counseling and psychotherapy. Washington, D.C.: American Psychology Association.

Roberts, J. (2009). Heart and soul: Experiential exercises for therapists and clients. In F. Walsh (Ed.) Spiritual resources in family therapy (359 – 378). New York: Guilford Press.

Walsh, F. (2009). Spiritual Resources in Family Therapy: 2nd edition. NY: Guildford Press.

© Zvi Bellin, Please cite when using this material.

STAY CONNECTED

Ò Zvi Bellin, Ph.D., LPCC Ò [email protected] Ò www.meaningthroughbeing.com


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