Journal of Psychology and Theology

Although numerous studies have linked social media use with lower well-being, little is known about the ways in which social psychological resources might mitigate the psychopathology. In this study, we examine the intersection of social media use, religion/spirituality, and well-being. Drawing on data from a sample of over 4,500 respondents from the United States (ages 13–25), we find that each additional hour of reported social media use is associated with lower levels of flourishing. Although identifying as religious or spiritual failed to attenuate this association, religious participation and religious cognitions (believing in God’s plan, perceiving a sacred presence, and maintaining a close divine relationship) were found to buffer against the adverse psychological consequences of social media use. We outline the contributions of our analyses and explore important directions for future research on the ways in which concepts related to religion and spirituality may help to advance our understanding of the toxic effects of social media use.

Religious orientations, such as intrinsic (IRO), extrinsic (ERO), and quest (QRO), may influence individuals’ sense of meaning in life and life satisfaction. This study examined these relationships among 392 Spanish Catholic undergraduates using the Religious Orientation Scale, Purpose in Life-10 Items, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Correlational analyses showed that IRO was positively related to both meaning in life and life satisfaction, while ERO showed no significant relationships, and QRO was linked to life satisfaction but not meaning in life. Mediation analysis using bootstrapping indicated that meaning in life significantly mediated the relationship between IRO and life satisfaction. These findings suggest that intrinsic religiosity enhances life satisfaction by fostering a sense of meaning, highlighting the importance of cultural context in understanding the pathways from religiosity to well-being.

Religion is generally associated with meaning in life and overall well-being and has been shown to result in better physical and mental health outcomes. However, the benefits that religion/spirituality offers may be more nuanced for sexual minorities. As evidenced by the minority stress theory, sexual minorities likely experience external and internal struggles, including discrimination within a majority of religious spaces. These struggles can cause long-term health consequences; however, a strong sense of belonging may mitigate the impact of these struggles. In an online sample of 555 sexual minorities, our study had participants complete measures of minority stress, spiritual struggles, intrinsic religiosity, well-being, and a sense of belonging. While intrinsic religiosity positively predicted spiritual struggles and discrimination experiences, participants’ sense of belonging fully moderated these relationships. We summarize these findings and suggest practical applications for helping sexual minorities develop a strong sense of belonging.

I am pleased to introduce the fourth installment of the Clinical Integrative Practice (CIP) section, a special issue dedicated to the integration of psychology and Christianity through clinical practice and case study. In this section, Bland and Hoard present a Lacanian conceptualization of moral and spiritual perfectionism through the metaphor of the “Christian filter,” drawing on a clinical case with Lucas to explore the tension between the ideal, the demands of evangelical culture, and “unknown.” In their responses, Taylor, Allen-Peck, and Lin and Wang engage perfectionism from psychoanalytic, cultural-religious, clinical, and empirical perspectives.

Recent discussions on the integration of psychology and Christian theology have highlighted the need for contextual specificity with regards to how one talks about integration and for what purpose. Using descriptors such as domains or waves of integration, different authors have attempted to clarify how meanings and processes of integration may shift depending on the setting and circumstance. Using a psychoanalytic clinical case this article engages the activity of clinical integration by exploring the notion of perfection as understood in the normative experience of evangelical Christian life, particularly in relation to guilt, shame, and trying hard. Musing through clinical material from a more traditional psychoanalytic lens, we shift to a critique and an expanded perspective of perfection considering Lacanian psychoanalytic theory. We end with psychoanalytically informed reflections on how perfection as a theological construct may impact everyday Christian experience.

This article offers a clinical-theological response to Bland and Hoard’s Lacanian account of Christian perfectionism. I engage with Earl’s clinical work with patient Lucas for exploring the limits of the Christian filter embedded in his Evangelical Christianity. Drawing on Christian mysticism and Bion’s concept of “O,” I suggest that Evangelical Christianity may be enriched by a greater tolerance for mystery, unknowing, and lived experience. Lucas’s perfectionism is understood as a defensive stance, a moral narcissism, that forecloses desire, relationality, and psychological growth by resisting ambiguity and affective experience. Christian mysticism, articulated through Meister Eckhart, offers a non-dual framework in which human longing, fallibility, and desire become sites of growth rather than threats to one’s faith. Integrating Bion’s emphasis on emotional containment and learning through experience, I posit that a mystically informed Christian filter can support both spiritual growth and psychological transformation by holding complexity without collapsing into moralism or certainty.

This piece responds to Bland and Hoard’s work on The Christian Filter by focusing on the psychological function of the Christian filter for hiding. The theme of hide-and-seek is explored to understand the patient’s relationships with God and with his clinician. The difference between being sought and being shamed helps expand the understanding of therapeutic action. The mechanism of hiding is also used to explore how various forms of filters impact clinicians’ understanding of their patient’s experience with God. An argument is also presented for understanding the necessity of hiding as a function of emerging self-agency and how it differs from shame-driven hiding.

This article is a response to Bland and Hoard’s article, “The Christian Filter: Lacan and being a ‘Good Enough’ Christian.” Rather than critiquing, we further engage with the concept of perfectionism through an empirical lens, examining its valence, directionality, and sociocultural domains in which ideals are constructed. Drawing from the multidimensional perfectionism literature, we highlight how perfectionism is not merely an intrapsychic phenomenon but also socially prescribed and culturally embedded. Placing Bland and Hoard’s Lacanian framing in dialogue with empirical models of perfectionism, we offer additional language for understanding Lucas’s oscillation between religious zeal and self-condemnation, as well as the interpersonal and symbolic forces that sustain the “Christian filter.” Ultimately, we suggest that clinical integration is enriched when psychological research and psychoanalytic-theological reflection are held together, allowing clinicians to see perfectionism as both a source of suffering and a space of grace where desire, lack, and faith may be reimagined.