Spiritual Dryness in Non-Ordained Catholic Pastoral Workers
Background: We wondered whether spiritual dryness as a specific phase of spiritual crisis or insecurity is mostly a matter only of Catholic priests or can also be found in other pastoral professionals. Methods: In a cross-sectional survey, we measured the prevalence of spiritual dryness in non-o...
Authors: | ; ; ; |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
MDPI
[2016]
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In: |
Religions
Year: 2016, Volume: 7, Issue: 12, Pages: 1-9 |
Further subjects: | B
Pastoral workers
B Spiritual dryness B transcendence perception B Sense of coherence B Stress perception B Catholics |
Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
Parallel Edition: | Electronic
Electronic |
Summary: | Background: We wondered whether spiritual dryness as a specific phase of spiritual crisis or insecurity is mostly a matter only of Catholic priests or can also be found in other pastoral professionals. Methods: In a cross-sectional survey, we measured the prevalence of spiritual dryness in non-ordained Catholic pastoral workers, and identified relevant predictors. Results: In a sample of 3.277 pastoral workers, 50% would occasionally experience phases of spiritual dryness, while 13% experience it often or even regularly. There were no significant differences between women and men, professions, or age groups. The best predictors of spiritual dryness were low transcendence perception and a low sense of coherence (both are resources), as well as depressive symptoms and stress perception (both are demands or stressors), which would explain 41% of the variance. Self-efficacy expectation and social support were not among the significant predictors. Conclusion: Both the proportions and the main predictors are similar compared to Catholic priests. It is thus not the underlying profession or vocation and the related life situation or differences in social support, but predominantly specific perceptions, feelings, and attitudes that are related to the phenomenon of spiritual drynessand these can be found in all pastoral professionals who seriously live their spirituality. |
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ISSN: | 2077-1444 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Religions
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3390/rel7120141 |