THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO COPING WITH CRISIS ......Srdjan Sremac Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam UDK...

Religija i tolerancija, Vol. VI, Nº 10, Jul – Decembar, 2008.

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Srdjan Sremac

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam UDK 2-767:159.92

316.64:2]:159.964.21

Originalni naučni rad Primljen: 27. 09. 2008.

THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO COPING WITH CRISIS AND CONVERSION

ABSTRACT

In the last several decades, many theorists have contributed research to the issues of

coping with crisis and conversion, but have failed to find a common denominator for

the two. Both coping and conversion are independent concepts and should not be

confused. At the same time they are related phenomena. In this article, the author

primarily underscore that structurally both coping and conversion are process of

change, where a system of meaning is perceived as no longer the most adequate frame

of reference for the life of individual. The aim of this article is to evaluate theoretical

approaches to coping with crises and conversion and to emphasize necessity of

interdisciplinary approaches.

Key words: crisis, religious coping, conversion, religion.

Adversae res admonent religionem.

Titus Livius

In the last several decades, many theorists have contributed research to the issues of coping with crisis and conversion, but have failed to find a common denominator for the two. Both coping and conversion are independent concepts

and should not be confused. At the same time they are related phenomena. Structurally, both coping and conversion are processes of change, in which an

individual experiences a transformation in either a mental or a spiritual (or both) sphere through finding a way out of the crisis. Several publications concerning conversion explain the importance of crisis for conversional experience.61

Such

61 Paul Johnson, “Conversion”, in: Conversion, perspectives on personal and social transformation,

Walter E. Conn (ed), (New York: Alba House, 1978); Lewis R. Rambo, Understanding Religious

Conversion, (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1993), 44-55; Ruard Ganzevoort,

“Crisis Experience and the Development of Belief and Unbelief” in: Belief and unbelief.

Psychological perspectives, J. Corveleyn., D. Hutsebaut (eds), (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1994).

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an understanding of crisis and conversion views crisis experience as an

antecedent of conversion. Of course we do not suggest that every conversion per se brings people out of crisis. Even though the event of conversion can appear in

different forms and occurrences, the experience of conversion finds its highest point in a crisis that requires resolution. There is an immense feeling of conflict that characterizes such conversion because the person is desperately looking for

the meaning of life. If the person in such a situation turns to God, willing to give up everything for that relationship, although he/she is still pursued by feelings of

despair and hope, only then can the person experience radical change in the religious conversion. As Kenneth Pargament, one of the most influential theorists of religion and coping, notes: “people bring a reservoir of religious resources with

them when they face stressful times.”62 Thus, the purpose of this article is to clarify the meaning of crisis experience in the process of religious conversion, to

identify the relationship between religious coping and conversion, to explore how conversion is related to crises experiences, and to understand how conversion can help people to achieve positive well-being in the time of crisis. This will be

accomplished through careful consideration of both our own and others’ investigations and of theological and psychological literature. The questions to be

answered when faced with crises are: Does crisis cause religious conversion? Does religious behavior change when crisis has occurred? Is religion a help or a hindrance in times of crises? What are the factors involved that make crisis

experience change religious attitudes? And the final question therefore is: What is the nature of a crisis that stimulates conversion? These are the central questions in

this article.

The Concept of Crisis

People are often confronted by life experiences which result in a crisis.

These crises can have different sources, and they vary in duration, intensity, and scope. Many theorists define crises as “crucial time” and a turning point in the

person’s life. The term is often used for a person's internal reaction to external hazards. Hence, crises can be described as a turning point in life, where the individual faces a problem that he/she cannot solve by using the coping

mechanisms that have worked for him/her before.63 Crisis may occur when an individual is unable to deal effectively with

stressful changes in the environment. A stressful event alone does not constitute a crisis; rather, crisis is determined by the individual's view of the event and response to it. If the individual sees the event as significant and threatening, has

exhausted all his/her usual coping strategies without effect, and is unaware or

62 Kenneth I. Pargament, The Psychology of Religion and Coping: theory, research and practice

(New York: The Guilford Press, 1997), 5. 63 Dona C. Aguilera,. Janice M. Messick, Crises intervention, theory and methodology. (Saint

Louis: C.V. Mosby Company, 1974), 1.


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unable to pursue other alternatives, then the precipitating event may push the individual toward psychological disequilibrium, a state of crisis.64 Psychological disequilibrium may be characterized by feelings of anxiety, helplessness, fear,

inadequacy, confusion, agitation, and disorganization. At this point, the individual experiencing this disequilibrium may be most receptive to an other resource such

as religion, thus providing an opportunity for behavioral change and return to balance. Moreover, crises occur episodically during the normal life of an individual. Between one phase and the next are periods of dedifferentiated

behavior, transitional periods characterized by cognitive and affective upset. These periods have been called developmental crises.65 A situational crisis is a

reaction to the serious frustrations produced by specific external events, such as marriage disruption or business failure. Frustration is a condition of growth. The way a person handles and assimilates the elements of frustration is determinative

of his direction in life.66 The other type of crisis is accidental crisis; a form of crisis that is not part of every day life. Accidental crises are unplanned and

accidental resulting from traumatic events such as war, illness, an accident, sudden death, or a natural disaster.

There are some major characteristics of crisis experiences that include the

presence of both danger and opportunity. Caplan claims that: “Every crisis presents both an opportunity for psychological growth and the danger of

psychological deterioration.”67 Thus, crisis is a significant event in the life of an individual upon which his/her future life will depend on, a speeding up of the

individuals’ emotional and intellectual processes, as well as the potential for new insights. As a consequence, there is not only a solution of the problems but there is also a reorganization of personality around a new center and on a higher level.

At this point, Boisen believes that religious experience can be one form of crisis resolution that may be taken.68 But there is a necessity of choice by which,

according to Caplan crisis is defined as a choice point.69 Gillespie is of the opinion that conflicts “whether emotional or psychological in nature, actually may precipitate decision and even encourage them.”70 This is a very important

observation because in the converts’ process of crisis, active freedom of choice and self-conscious decision-making are noticeable and affect the change of

individual life.71 Rambo puts it in this way; “converts are active agents in their

64 Gerald Caplan, Principles of preventive psychiatry, (New York: Basic Books, 1964), 35. 65 Anton Boisen, Religion in Crisis and Custom (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1955), 42-43. 66 Ibid., 43-44. 67 Caplan, Principles of preventive psychiatry, 53. 68 Boisen, Religion in Crisis and Custom, 67-69. 69 Caplan, Principles of preventive psychiatry, 41. 70 Bailey V. Gillespie, The Dynamics of Religious Conversion (Birmingham: Religious Education

Press, 1991), 90. 71 John Lofland., Norman Skonovd, “Conversion Motifs,” Journal for the Scientific Study of

Religion, 1981, 20 (4), 373-385; John Lofland., Norman Skonovd, “Patterns of Conversion,” in

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conversion process.”72 Possibilities and choices are the hallmark of coping with

crises. Therefore, responses to crises are an active process involving choices in times of trouble.

Furthermore, research on coping and crises has found that painful aspects of life crisis cannot be denied. Individuals often emerge from a crisis with new coping skills, closer relationship with people and God, and a richer

appreciation of life. Crises also may lead a person to search cognitively for the positive aspects of a situation and to find some deeper meaning from it.73

Lazarus and Folkman have noted that “humans are meaning-oriented, meaning-building creatures who are evaluating everything that happens.”74 For many people searching for meaning helped them to understand the crisis and its

implications and to take control over the crises in their lives. Coping is an active searching for significance in times of crises.75 In my previous empirical research

I have found that many former drug addicts reported that their addictions brought a new attitude toward life and reordered goals and priorities.76 As Haan notes: “Stress benefits people, making them more tender, humble, and hardy”.77

To summarize, a crisis is a state of disorganization and disequilibrium for which a person does not have adequate coping skills. Ganzevoort puts it in this

way by defining crises “as a disturbance of meaning due to the appraisal of events as too demanding and resources as too limited and visible in symptoms of the disruption of psychological equilibrium.”78 According to Pargament, crises

“destabilize ‘tried and true’ methods for dealing with problems and call for new solutions. Painful as they may be, stressful periods represent a crossroads, a point

at which the individual may have to choose among paths that lead in very

Of Gods and Men: New Religious Movements in the West, ed. Eileen Barker (Macon: Mercer

University Press, 1983). 72 Lewis R. Rambo, Understanding Religious Conversion (New Haven: Yale University Press,

1993), 44. 73 Charles J. Holahan, Rudolph H. Moos, Jeanne A. Schaefer, “Coping, Stress Resistance, and Growth:

Conceptualizing Adaptive Functioning,” in Handbook of Coping: theory, research, application eds.

Moshe Zeidner., Norman S. Endler (New York: John Willey & Sons, INC, 1996), 32. 74 Richard Lazarus., Susan Folkman, Stress, appraisal and coping, (New York: Springer, 1984),

276-277. 75 Pargament, The Psychology of Religion and Coping, 90. 76 Srđan Sremac, Fenomenologija konverzije, (Novi Sad: CEIR, 2007). Gruner’s excellent research

evaluated Teen Challenge a rehabilitation faith-based program that designed to overcome feelings of

meaninglessness and alienation through commitment and devotion to God. He founded that more

success rates were reported by Teen Challenge than by other drug rehabilitation programs. There

were also significant changes in Crumbaugh’s Purpose-in-Life scores of residents over a 12-month

period. LeRoy Gruner, “Heroin, Hashish and Hallelujah: The Search for Meaning,” Review of

Religious Research 1984, 26: 176-186. 77 Norma, Haan, “The assessment of coping, defense, and stress,” in Handbook of stress: Theoretical

and clinical aspects eds. L. Goldberg., S. Breznitz (New York: Free Press, 1982), 225. (pp. 254-269). 78 Ruard, Ganzevoort, “Religious Coping Reconsidered Part One: An Integrated Approach,”

Journal of Psychology and theology 26 (3), 1998. 260.


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different directions.”79 If an individual turns in a religious direction, the outcome may be a conversion. Research has shown that times of crises are the most creative periods in the religious life of individuals.

The Concept of Coping

Multiple empirical studies have shown that significant changes in the life of an individual are connected with crisis experiences and efforts made by

the individuals to adjust to new circumstances. Crisis life events are one of the most common topics in the area of research of basic determinants of

psychological health, because of the observed connection with the way people function and adjust. American social psychologists Richard Lazarus, Susan Folkman and others made considerable contribution to the development of

models of crisis and coping in the late 1960s and 1970s.80 They developed a theory of crisis and stress which emphasized appraisal and coping.81 In their

theory coping refers to efforts to master conditions of harm, threat, or challenge when a routine or automatic response is not readily available.82 Lazarus and Folkman define coping as “constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts

to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person.”83

There are three key components in Lazarus and Folkman approach. First, the focus of coping is on problems, situations, or events of significance for the person, rather than events people respond to more automatically.

Second, coping involves both cognitive and behavioral effort where by individuals try to understand and deal with crisis events. And third, coping is

essentially concerned with the process of change and the process of interaction of individuals struggling to come to grips with specific life demands.84

The cognitive approach to coping is based on a mental process of how the individual appraises the situation. The level of appraisal determines the level

79 Pargament, The Psychology of Religion and Coping, 5. 80 Coping theories have their roots in ego psychology, life span development, experimental psychology,

and community psychology. These theories take issue with more passive and deterministic model of

personality. I prefer Lazarus and Folkman’s understanding of coping which present more active view of

people engaged in more dynamic interaction with their environment. Lazarus views coping as a

response to specific a stressful situations rather than as a stable feature of personality. 81 Lazarus., Folkman, Stress, appraisal and coping. 82 Harm is defined as “some damage to the person that has already been sustained,” threat as

“harms or losses that have not yet taken place but are anticipated,” and challenge as “the potential

for gain or growth”. Ibid., 32-33. 83 Ibid., 141. 84 Kenneth I. Pargament, “God help me: Toward a theoretical framework of coping for the

psychology of religion,” in Research in the social scientific study of religion, eds. Monty L. Lynn

and David O. Moberg (London: England: Jai Press INC, 1990), Vol. 2, 198.

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of stress and the unique coping strategies that the individual applies.85 There are

three types of appraisals, the primary, the secondary and re-appraisal. Primary appraisals deal with an evaluation of the situation itself and

are applicable when an individual concentrates on the magnitude of an event or situation possibly for harm. Thus, a primary appraisal is the interpretation of a situation as damaging, challenging, threatening, or conducive to positive well-

being. As Aldwin claims: “a person must be aware of a problem before he or she begins to cope with – however that awareness is defined, or comes about”.86

Thus, we can say that primary appraisals are evaluations of life events in terms of their implications for the individual’s well-being.

Secondary appraisals deal with an evaluation of the individual’s ability

and options to handle the situation. This appraisal of the variety of coping skills available to the individual occurs in relation to, not necessarily after, a primary

appraisal of a situation.87 Re-appraisal is, according to Lazarus and Folkman, the change in

interpretation as a result of a change in conditions. This appraisal is an outcome

of the coping process.88 In moving to the third element of the coping process, coping activities,

we shift from cognitive to an action focus. Depending on how the situation is appraised, the individual can handle it in a variety of ways. Lazarus and Folkman suggested a classification of coping which emphasizes two major categories:

problem-focused and emotion-focused modes. Problem-focused refers to any behavioral effort by the person to deal with harm, threat, or challenge by altering

his/her troubled relationship within the environment. This coping dimension involves strategies that attempt to reconceptualize or minimize the effects of

stressful situations. Emotion-focused coping refers to thoughts or actions intended to relieve the emotional impact of the crisis. The purpose of emotion-focused action is to soften or moderate distress, in short to seek comfort and make the

person feel better.89 This coping dimension includes strategies that involve self-preoccupation, fantasy, or other conscious activities that affect regulation.90 The

emotion-focused type of coping can be understood as a defense mechanism. The above classifications of coping processes are not exclusive of each other, but people can employ complex combinations of problem-focused and emotion-

85 Lazarus, Folkman, Stress, appraisal and coping, 141. 86 Carolyn M. Aldwin, Stress, Coping and Development: An integrative perspective (New York:

The Guilford Press, 1994), 42. 87 Lazarus, Folkman, 35. 88 Ibid., 38. 89 Alan Monat., Richard Lazarus, eds. Stress and coping: an anthology, (New York: Columbia

University Press, 1985), 5. 90 James D. A. Parker., Norman S. Endler, “Coping and Defense: A Historical Overview,” in

Handbook of Coping: theory, research, application eds. Moshe Zeidner, Norman S. Endler (New

York: John Willey & Sons, INC, 1996), 9.


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focused methods to cope with crisis. Hence, many theorists do not attempt to arrange coping efforts hierarchically. Although controlling the emotions might make efforts to solve a problem easy and likely show that solving a problem

satisfactorily is one of the best ways of managing emotions.91 Some coping researchers suggested that emotion-focused coping may be

more influenced by personality characteristics, while problem-focused coping may be more affected by the situation.92 Ganzervoort suggests that “coping should not be investigated in terms of the person or the situation alone, but in

terms of their interaction.”93 Thus, we can say that coping is an interaction between the person's

internal resources and external environmental demands. It is also defined as constantly changing cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific demands that are appraised as potentially taxing or exceeding a person's

resources. Coping includes attempts to reduce the perceived discrepancy between situational demands and personal resources. In order to admit

chronological separateness, Wilcox and Vernberg proposed terms event-appraisal and resource-appraisal.94 The appraisal of events and resources leads to the choice of those coping activities perceived as relevant and adequate. This

choice is referred to by Pargament as tertiary appraisal. The last dimension of the coping-process is the coping outcome which

is multidimensional. We can speak of situational outcomes – how the situation turned out; psychological outcomes - e.g. the individual’s self-esteem; social

outcomes - e.g. interpersonal, familial change; and physical outcomes, e.g. health status.95

Finally, it is important to note that in the process of coping a person can

be guided by a number of important psychological functions: Self-esteem, a sense of control in life, a sense of meaning in life, personal growth, a sense of

hope in life, feelings of intimacy and belonging with other people, a sense of personal identity and feelings of comfort in life.96

To summarize, coping is defined as the use of strategies for dealing

with actual crises and their attendant negative emotions.97 The coping process

91 Aldwin, Stress, Coping and Development: An integrative perspective, 105. 92 Ibid., 106. 93 Ruard, Ganzevoort, “Religious Coping Reconsidered, Part One: An Integrated Approach,”

Journal of Psychology and theology 26 (3), 1998. 263. 94 Wilcox, B.L.; Vernberg, E.M. “Conceptual and theoretical dilemmas facing social support

research,” in Social support; theory, research and applications, eds. I.G. Sarason and B.R.

Sarason, (Dodrecht. Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff), 3-20. 95 Pargament, “God help me: Toward a theoretical framework of coping for the psychology of

religion.”, 200. 96 Bernard, Spilka., P. Shaver., L. Kirkpatrick, “A General Attribution Theory for the Psychology

of Religion,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 1985, 24: 1-20. 97 Aldwin, Stress, Coping and Development: An integrative perspective, 107.

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involves every dimension of human functioning, which are cognitive, affective,

behavioral, and psychological. The social and cultural environments can influence both the appraisal of crisis and the use of coping strategies. Appraisals

affect coping activities. Coping activities can lead to re-appraisal of the situation. As Pargament notes: “Coping serves different purposes for different people dealing with different events in different contexts.”98

In concluding this section, I will formulate some questions that might be addressed. How can religion be helpful to people dealing with crisis in their life?

What purpose does religion serve in crisis events? In the next section our goal will be to show how religion plays a particularly valuable role as an available resource for coping when people are pushed to the limits of their resources.

Religious Coping

In the field of religious coping research, Kenneth Pargament’s book The

Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice is considered to

be an authoritative text for today. Pargament and his colleagues have developed several frameworks for understanding and measuring the many ways in which

individuals may incorporate religiousness into coping efforts. He suggests that a religious coping model might better explain the relationship between religiosity and psychological well-being. He argues that such a theoretical model addresses

the complex and continuous process by which religion connects with an individual’s life and allows them to deal with crisis in life.

Pargament clarifies that religion and coping can influence each other, but he does not give equal attention to both sides of this interaction. He explains

that both coping and religion deal with matters of great value and importance in life. According to Pargament, the coping process is oriented to stressful life experiences that may involve religious thoughts, practices, feelings, and objects

of significance, but not necessarily. Religion, on the other hand, is oriented to the sacred.99 He emphasizes that religion is not simply a way of coping. He

notes “not all coping is religious, and not all religion is coping; neither process completely subsumes the other.”100

Pargament suggests a more dynamic and more situational based view of

the religious dimension of coping. He defines religious coping as a “process that people engage in to attain significance in stressful circumstance.”101 In fact,

religion often comes to center stage in critical situations. As psychologist of

98 Pargament, “God help me: Toward a theoretical framework of coping for the psychology of

religion.” 200. 99 Pargament defines religion as: “a process, a search for significance in ways related to the

sacred.” Pargement, The Psychology of Religion and Coping, 32. 100 Ibid., 132. 101 Ibid., 90.


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religion Paul Johnson put it: “Crises often turn men to religion because they are dramatic exposures of urgent need.”102 Here it is important to highlight that people cope religiously because religion is available and obtainable to them.

Religion offers a more convincing route to significance than nonreligious alternatives.103 (For this reason, on this issue, it is important to remark that crisis

is seen as a period of religious significance.104) Elaborating on the Lazarus and Folkman model of coping as mentioned

earlier, Pargament notes that religion can be part of each of the central constructs

of coping. We can speak of crisis religious events, religious appraisal, religious coping activities, outcomes, motivations and religious purpose in coping. For

instance appraisals, both primary and secondary, can also be religious in nature. Religion offers a number of ways for understanding life events. Some people evaluate events such as: a reward from God; punishment from God; lessons from

teaching God, etc. Furthermore, religion may be a central part of an individual’s secondary appraisal - what can be done about the situation.

Second, religion can be a contributor to the coping process, shaping the character of life events, coping activities, and the outcome of events. Several studies have demonstrated the unique and important contributions of religious

commitment and spiritual support to the adjustment of people facing crisis.105 Third, religion can be a product of the coping process through

attributions to God. Positive outcome events are more likely to trigger attributions to God’s love. Negative outcomes events are more likely to be seen

as a result of God’s anger. De-conversion process can be understood as a negative outcome. Some people in the midst of crises turn to other resources or find that their faith is no longer for them, even if they were religious before.

Therefore, for some people religion is not an important part of life, and crisis does not change their attitude toward religion. For others, religion is a part of

their orienting system in times of crisis.106 Attention should also be placed on the styles of religious coping

identified as self-directing, deferring, and collaborative that have been proposed

and which vary in the level of activity or passivity attributed to the individual and to God in problem situations.107 The self-directing style describes a relationship

with God in which individuals are active and God is primarily passive. The

102 Paul, Johnson, Psychology of Religion (New York: Abingdon Press, 1959), 82. 103 Pargament, The Psychology of Religion and Coping, 162. 104 Sidney H. Croog., Sol Levine, “Religious identity and response to serious illness,” Social

Science and Medicine 6, 1972, 17-32. 105 Park, C.L., L.H. Cohen., L. Herb, “Intrinsic religiousness and religious coping as life stress

moderators for Catholics versus Protestants,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1990,

59 (3): 90-104., LeRoy Gruner, “Heroin, Hashish and Hallelujah: The Search for Meaning,”

Review of Religious Research 1984, 26: 176-186. 106 Pargament, The Psychology of Religion and Coping, 134. 107 Ibid., 180.

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deferring approach in which individuals take a passive role in coping efforts, as

they believe God to be fully responsible for coping. The collaborative coping style describes a mutually active partnership in which both the individual and

God have active roles in resolving problem. Pargament’s review concluded that the collaborative approach to religious coping is typically helpful, whereas the self-directing and deferring approaches have less positive results.

It should be noted that whether religion becomes a part of the coping process depends on a complex of personal, contextual, and situational factors.

Spilka and his colleagues suggest three kinds of variable which determine whether an individual uses religious or nonreligious attributions.108 The variables suggested are the nature of the person, the nature of the situation and

the nature of the context. At the personal level, religion should be a more integral part of coping

for those who are more religiously committed and involved. More extrinsically-oriented people may “use their religion” in a more limited range of life situations than those who are less extrinsically-oriented.109 According to Pargament’s

evaluation of different studies, religious coping is more common among blacks, the socially disadvantaged, the elderly, women, and those who are more

troubled.110 At the situational level, religious coping is more common in situations

that are more threatening and harmful than in other situations. Pargament

suggests that religion will be particularly involved in coping in situations of incomprehensible origin where direct action to solve the problem is impossible.111

Finally, at the contextual level religious coping is better understood within certain congregations, cultures, and traditions and among those more

involved in their religious context. McGuire, a sociologist of religion, emphasizes how the community affects the experience and plausibility of religion. She notes that “religion represents an important tie between the individual and the larger

social group, both as a basis of association and as an expression of shared meanings.”112 Here it is important to highlight the influence of context on

conversion. The fact is that the conversion experience does not occur in a vacuum. Thus, strong social influences on person must be taken into account. Context shapes the nature, structure, and the process of conversion. Gillespe puts

it in this way saying that “conversion…occur within culture and take the shape of cultural norms and forms, so the person and his experience are formed by this

108 Bernard, Spilka., P. Shaver., L. Kirkpatrick, “A General Attribution Theory for the Psychology

of Religion,” in Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 1985, 24: 1-20. 109 Pargament, “God help me: Toward a theoretical framework of coping for the psychology of

religion.” 200. 110 Pargament, The Psychology of Religion and Coping, 143, 411-422. 111 Pargament, “God help me: Toward a theoretical framework of coping for the psychology of

religion.” 201. 112 Meredith. B, McGuire, Religion: the social context, (Belmont CA: Wadsworth, 1992), 27.


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social, cultural context.”113 Thus, both conversion and the coping process never take place outside of a cultural context.

Some have criticized Pargament’s approach. The first problem has been

his emphasis on the quantitative approach. He occasionally uses qualitative research methods, but disqualifies their scientific value, calling them “anecdotal”

and “self-report.”114 Doing research on religious studies requires us to pay more attention to qualitative methods in order to critically testi religious experiences. It is for this reason that Bellah and his associates in Habits of the Heart use what

they call the “active interview” as their primary tool for gathering information on their subjects. It is a hermeneutical method designed to engage their subjects in

dialogue. He notes: “we sought to bring our preconceptions and questions into the conversation and to understand the answers we were receiving not only in terms of the language but also, so far as we could discover, the lives of those we were

talking with.”115 Furthermore, Ganzevoort notes that Pargament does not given enough attention to the influence of crisis and coping on religion. He claims that

Pargament “has treated religion too much as a stable system and not as a dynamic process, changing over time and influence by life-experience such as crisis and coping.”116 Thus, religious coping and conversion needs a multidimensional

model of research. To summarize, religious coping has been conceptualized as a mediator for

the relationship between religiousness and mental health in times of crisis. In the framework of religious coping, crisis periods have been identified as significant

moments for the development of faith. There is no doubt that crises can become an opportunity for closeness to God. Crises open doors for spiritual growth and positive transforming of mental health. As Spilka notes: “”the faith factor” is a

powerful force in coping. It makes everything meaningful and strengthens our hand in dealing with the world.”117 Hereafter, the faith factor will be evaluated to see

how well it assists conversion in the resolution of inner conflict.

Conversion and Crisis

I will now turn to the influence of crisis on the phenomena of conversion. Some form of crisis usually precedes conversion. Most scholars of conversion

acknowledge this fact. Among the first social theorists to note the importance of crisis in the conversion process were John Lofland and Rodney Stark. They

113 Bailey V. Gillespie, Religious Conversion and Personal Identity, (Birmingham: Religious

Education Press, 1979), 97. 114 Ruard, Ganzevoort, “Religious Coping Reconsidered Part One: An Integrated Approach,” 261. 115 Robert, Bellah, Habits of the Heart, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985), 301. 116 Ibid., 261. 117 Bernard Spilka., Ralph W. Hood., Jr., Bruce Hunsberger, Richard Gorsuch, The Psychology of

Religion: An Empirical Approach (New York: Guilford Press, 2003), 506.

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describe these crises as a “felt discrepancy between some imaginary ideal state of

affairs and the circumstances in which these people saw themselves caught up.”118 Johnson is of the opinion that in every conversion process there is a crisis. He is

convinced that authentic religious conversion is the outcome of crises. He claims that: A genuine religious conversion is the outcome of a crisis. Though it may occur to person in a variety of circumstances and forms, and though we may find

many preparatory steps and long-range consequences, the event of conversion comes to focus in a crises of ultimate concern. There is in such conversion a sense

of desperate conflict in which one is so involved that his whole meaning and destiny are at stake in a life-or-death, all-or-none significance…. If in such a crises a person reaches out to Thou, willing to give all himself to this relationship,

and out of mingling despair and hope… he may be radically changed in a religious conversion.119

I intentionally quoted the whole passage because in this definition there are some specifics, which are of main concern. Lewis Rambo, one of the most influential theorist of religious conversion, put it in this way saying that: “The

crisis may be the mayor force for change, or it may be simply the catalytic incident that crystallizes the person’s situation.”120 Rambo divides crises into

two basic types: 1) those which call into question people’s fundamental orientation to life; and 2) those which are rather mild in themselves.121

Empirical studies also point to the connection between crises and

conversion. John Lofland and Rodney Stark observed participants in a cult in an urban area and found that some sort of crisis initiated a religious quest.122

Furthermore, Kox, Meeus, and Hart did research among nine-two Dutch adolescents and tested the Loflands and Starks model of religious conversion.123

Their results show that converts have experienced personal problems far more often, sixty-seven percent, compared to twnety percent, who had no such experience. Converts were also more likely than the nonconverts to report a major

life event prior to their conversion. Chana Ullman in her research evaluated the contribution of several cognitive factors and emotional factors (e.g. childhood

relationship with parents and adolescence stress and trauma) in precipitating religious conversion. In her research converts reported more traumatic events during childhood and described their adolescence as unhappy. In the interviews

with converts, personal stress was reported more often than cognitive quest as

118 John Lofland., Rodney Stark, “Becoming a World-Saver: A Theory of Conversion to a

Deviant Perspective,” in American Sociological Review, 1965, 30: 864. 119 Johnson, Psychology of Religion, 117. 120 Rambo, Understanding Religious Conversion, 166. 121 Ibid., 46. 122 John Lofland., Rodney Stark, “Becoming a World-Saver: A Theory of Conversion to a

Deviant Perspective.” 862-75. 123 Willem Kox, Wim, Meeus, Harm Hart, “Religious conversion of adolescents: Testing the Lofland

and Stark model of religious conversion,” in Sociological Analysis, 1991, 52, 234. (pp. 227-240).


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characterizing the two year period preceding conversion and as involved in the immediate consequences of conversion.124 Of course, it is also important to note that a significant percentage of converts did not report crisis just prior to their

conversion.125

Conclusion

There are a few major points to be highlighted based upon this review. Structurally both coping and conversion are processes of change, where a system

of meaning is perceived as no longer the most adequate frame of reference for the life of individual.126 Many theorists agree that a crisis experience is an antecedent

of conversion and it’s typically occurs under pressure. Crises force individuals to confront their limitations and can stimulate religious resources to resolve problems. As Pargament notes “chronic or acute tension often precede radical

religious change.”127 Certainly, crises can provide an opportunity for new religious options, which can culminate in conversional experience.

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Srdjan Sremac

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

TEORIJSKI PRISTUP SAVLADAVANJU KRIZE I KONVERZIJI

Rezime

Poslednjih godina mnogo je pisano u oblastima teologije i psihologije religije o reli-

gijskom savladavanju krize (coping) i konverziji. Međutim, mali broj autora pokušao je da

pronađe zajedničke imenitelje za oba koncepta. U radu autor predstavlja teorijski okvir u

istraživanju religijskog savladavanja i konverzije u kontekstu kriznih perioda, te ukazuje

na zajedničke imenitelje koji sačinjavaju oba koncepta. Strukturalno religijsko savladava-

nje krize (coping) i konverzija se u radu razumeju kao procesi u kojima osoba traga za

smislom u periodima krize i stresa. Nadalje, autor ukazuje na neophodnost interdiscipli-

narnog pristupa u proučavanje oba fenomena.

Ključne reči: kriza, religijsko savladavanje krize, konverzija, religija.

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THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO COPING WITH CRISIS ......Srdjan Sremac Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam UDK...

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