By Alexandra Berg
It is by far not an uncommon thing, at least in my experience, that people who have recently been diagnosed with a serious illness suddenly become more religious. Why is that? Shouldn’t a personal misfortune instead cause more resentment towards the world? What about a serious illness makes people feel an increased affinity to religion?
One of the most memorable lessons from the course Religion and Society, was titled Religious Communities and Individual Religiosity. The lesson brought up a central question most people have probably wondered about: “Why are some people religious while others aren’t?” At least I have thought about it. The course brought up three main theories: socialisation theory, deprivation theory, and rational choice theory. I think they all have merit, and there are other theories out there, but in this post, we are going to look at the deprivation theory. What is deprivation theory, and how can it explain why people with a serious illness sometimes become more religious?
An article by Rosandi (2020) explains that deprivation theory was first formulated in the late 1940s by American sociologist Samuel Stouffer, and later popularised by the 1961 book by Charles Glock, fittingly titled The Role of Deprivation in the Origin and Evolution of Religious Groups. Deprivation in this context means the lack of something that is needed in life. These things can be economical or social, which is to say the lack of money or sufficient support network to survive. Deprivation theory claims that people turn to religion when a psychological need is not being met, seeking religion’s offer of comfort and explanations for life’s big questions.
Koenig et al. (1992) analyses religiosity among hospitalised patients with serious illnesses and found that religion had many positive psychological effects on patients. Using religion to cope with hospitalisation has been associated with a decrease in negative psychological symptoms in hospitalised patients such as depression, but no effect is shown on physical symptoms like weight loss or loss of energy.
A 2001 meta study by Koenig & Larson (2001) compiles more positive effects of religiosity during serious illness. While not all religions have theistic God/Gods, religions that empathise a personal relationship to a God have shown reduced loneliness and hopelessness in patients. Physical illness often causes the feeling of loss of control, and the belief that praying to a loving God that can be swayed by prayers makes patients feel like there is something they can concretely do to improve their condition.
Religiosity during illness can be praying or reading scripture alone, but there is also the social aspect of religion. Shattuck & Muehlenbein (2018) discuss that both personal religiosity and religious social behaviour is associated with better health outcomes. Other studies (Ano et.al 2005) have also shown a positive correlation between using religion to cope with stressful life situations.
Now that it has been established that during a difficult time such as a serious illness, people may turn to religion for comfort and support, how does this tie into the deprivation theory I presented earlier? The deprivation theory of religion says that when people are in need of something, in cases of serious illnesses, that need might be comfort, hope or a sense of purpose. Religious community can also lead to increased social support, which meets a social need. There were also other reasons for why people turn to religion covered in the course, and this is not to say all seriously ill people become more religious. This post is merely to show that a need for something more in times of distress is a common explanation for the phenomena. And isn’t it also quite nice to think about? That in times of need people can turn to religion to feel better?
Sources:
Ano, G.G. and Vasconcelles, E.B. (2005), Religious coping and psychological adjustment to stress: A meta-analysis. J. Clin. Psychol., 61: 461-480. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20049
Glock, C. Y., University of California, B. Survey Research Center. (1961). The role of deprivation in the origin and evolution of religious groups. Berkeley, Calif.: Survey Research Center, University of California.
Koenig, H. G., Cohen, H. J., Blazer, D. G., Pieper, C., Meador, K. G., Shelp, F., Goli, V., & DiPasquale, B. (1992). Religious coping and depression among elderly, hospitalized medically ill men. The American journal of psychiatry, 149(12), 1693–1700. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.149.12.1693
Koenig HG, Larson DB, Larson SS. Religion and Coping with Serious Medical Illness. Annals of Pharmacotherapy. 2001;35(3):352-359. doi:10.1345/aph.10215
Rosadi, A. (2020). Deprivation theory. In The SAGE encyclopedia of the sociology of religion (Vol. 2, pp. 205-205). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529714401.n119
Shattuck, E.C., Muehlenbein, M.P. Religiosity/Spirituality and Physiological Markers of Health. J Relig Health 59, 1035–1054 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0663-6