Humility and religious leadership: a qualitative study of theology and practice

Wolfteich, Claire E.; Ruffing, Elizabeth G.; Crabtree, Sarah A.; Devor, Nancy G.; Sandage, Steven J.

doi:10.1080/19349637.2019.1691967

Cited by 10 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Such programs may help leaders to build self-awareness about narcissistic tendencies-both ones that may exacerbate their distress in the face of ministry stressors and ones that may emerge in response to ministry stress. Beyond self-reflection, religious leaders can be encouraged to take up practices that cultivate humility (Wolfteich et al, 2019) and to invest in the relational developmental capacities of secure attachment and differentiation of self that are related to healthy humility (Ruffing et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Religious leaders involved in peer support groups were significantly more likely to engage in self-care and development, and their congregations were more likely to have lay leadership and a culture of involvement (Marler et al, 2013). Self-care, learning, and sharing leadership are important practices that can foster humility rather than narcissism in religious leaders (Wolfteich et al, 2019). Research on clergy peer support groups cautions against a "one-size-fits all" approach to religious leader support (Miles & Proeschold-Bell, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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PTSD symptoms in religious leaders: Prevalence, stressors, and associations with narcissism

Ruffing¹,

Bell

Sandage

2020

Archive for the Psychology of Religion

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Religious leaders face numerous mental health challenges, and prior research suggests that some experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to work-related experiences. This study employed a diverse sample of 274 religious leaders to (a) qualitatively describe the types of work-related experiences they identify as particularly stressful or overwhelming, (b) assess the prevalence of PTSD symptoms associated with these experiences, and (c) test hypothesized associations between PTSD symptoms and narcissism. The study found that the stressful experiences reported typically involved relational conflict, having limited resources, or caring for people suffering. Over half of the sample endorsed symptoms that were above the cutoff for a clinical concern for PTSD, and PTSD symptoms were significantly associated with symptoms of both vulnerable narcissism and grandiose narcissism. Practical implications for the ongoing formation and support of religious leaders are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

PTSD symptoms in religious leaders: Prevalence, stressors, and associations with narcissism

Ruffing¹,

Bell

Sandage

2020

Archive for the Psychology of Religion

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“…Participants identified personal practices that cultivate humility. They were asked, “As you think about ways that you’ve cultivated humility in the past six months, please rank the five most important practices for you.” They were provided with a list of 25 practices (e.g., receiving feedback or correction, gratitude to God, prayer alone, sharing leadership; see Table 1) developed by the authors based on the results of a previous qualitative study of 274 religious leaders who responded to an open-ended question about their humility practices (Wolfteich et al, 2019). Participants identified five practices from the list, with the additional option of “other.” This required them to choose the practices that were most helpful to their humility specifically rather than indiscriminately endorsing all the practices in which they engage.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The practices were divided into two categories for the purpose of analyses: (a) prayer/worship/reflection, capturing an emphasis on the self and the divine and (b) relationships/service, capturing an emphasis on relationships with others (see Table 1). While practices in both categories could be seen to contain elements of relationship with the divine, with the self, and with others, these categories were chosen in the context of previous qualitative research (Wolfteich et al, 2019) to distinguish between a primary emphasis on relationship with the self and the divine and a primary emphasis on relationship with others.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Jesus’s own saying from the Gospel of Matthew, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29), also emphasizes the practical nature of humility, as a quality that emerges through a life of religious discipleship. In psychology, qualitative research has also identified particular practices that religious leaders report are helpful to their cultivation of humility, including prayer, study and worship practices, self-reflection, relationships with others, and service (Wolfteich et al, 2019). These studies have called for greater attention in seminaries to the cultivation of this virtue, both for seminarians’ well-being and for their development into future religious leaders who lead with humility in ways that benefit their communities.…”

Section: Humility-cultivating Practices and Well-beingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Humility and Relational Spirituality as Predictors of Well-Being among Christian Seminary Students

Ruffing¹,

Oleson²,

Tomlinson

et al. 2021

Journal of Psychology and Theology

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The present study investigated the unique contributions of relational spirituality and humility factors to seminary students’ eudaimonic well-being in a diverse sample ( n = 111) of urban seminary students. Hypotheses were developed in conversation with this research on humility, seminary student formation, and virtue ethics. As hypothesized, the relational spirituality factors of differentiation of self and quest exploration each made a significant independent contribution in predicting students’ well-being over and above impression management. In addition, humility-cultivating practices and dispositional humility were modestly correlated and each made a significant independent contribution in predicting well-being over and above relational spirituality factors and impression management. Implications for future research and for seminary student formation are discussed.

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A mixed-method intervention study on relational spirituality and humility among religious leaders.

Jankowski¹,

Sandage²,

Ruffing³

et al. 2022

Spirituality in Clinical Practice

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Existing humility intervention studies have yielded inconsistent findings, despite prior findings that suggest a salutary influence for general humility, including on religious leaders' religiousness/spirituality (R/S). We tested a relational spirituality model (RSM) proposition that change in humility would correspond to change in self-and coregulation, as measured by differentiation and God attachment. We did so by conducting a mixed-method study with a diverse sample of emerging religious leaders attending a graduate theological school in the northeastern United States (N = 136; M age = 39.50; SD = 11.14, range = 20 -67; 43.4% female; 41.2% Black/African American). Results of a multiple simultaneous latent change score model were consistent with the RSM, as we found evidence of concurrent and conditional changes among humility, differentiation, and God attachment over the course of a humility intervention. Qualitative analyses revealed five categories of humility cultivation practices, (a) relationships with others, (b) prayer/study/worship, (c) self-reflection, (d) self-care/rest, and (e) service, and yielded evidence of intervention fidelity. Multigroup comparisons indicated that intention toward prayer/study/worship and self-care/rest practices, and following through on completing a cultivation plan moderated the associations between humility, differentiation, and God attachment. Findings suggested that an RSM theoretical framing of change in virtuousness could inform the design of humility interventions and future studies evaluating the effectiveness of those interventions.

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Humility and religious leadership: a qualitative study of theology and practice

Cited by 10 publications

References 28 publications

PTSD symptoms in religious leaders: Prevalence, stressors, and associations with narcissism

PTSD symptoms in religious leaders: Prevalence, stressors, and associations with narcissism

Humility and Relational Spirituality as Predictors of Well-Being among Christian Seminary Students

A mixed-method intervention study on relational spirituality and humility among religious leaders.

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