Religion, spirituality, and attachment.

Abstract

An individual who has been fortunate in having grown up in an ordinary good home with ordinarily affectionate parents has always known people from whom he can seek support, comfort, and protection, and where they are to be found. So deeply established are his expectations and so repeatedly have they been confirmed that, as an adult, he finds it difficult to imagine any other kind of world. (Bowlby, 1973, p. 208) RELIGION AND SPIRITuALITY CAPITALIZE ON THE OPERATION OF THE ATTACHMENT SYSTEMAttachment refers to a strong disposition on the part of offspring in many mammalian species to seek proximity to and contact with a specific figure (i.e.,

To Know and Be Known: An Intimacy‐Based Explanation for the Gender Gap in Biblical Literalism

“…The theory posits a kind of infant socialization process that translates the infant/caregiver relationship into patterns of relational expectation housed in what are called internal working models (IWMs). Individuals experience their IWMs as a complex of social, emotional, neurological, and biological events used to form expectations of what may or may not be received in future attachment relationships (Granqvist and Kirkpatrick ).…”

Religion: Psychiatric Aspects

“…Consistent with this theory, emerging research has found a correspondence between the quality of an individual's parental attachments and attachments to God (Granqvist and Kirkpatrick, 2013). Thus secure attachments to parents are often tied to a secure felt connection to the Divine.…”

Spirituality across Disciplines: Research and Practice:

“…Yet psychological research clarifies the process of spiritual seeking, particularly when situations of threat, loss, or challenge motivate the spiritual search. In these situations, as causes and outcomes are questioned, meaning becomes salient (Spilka et al 1985); self-transformation is typically sought (e.g., through psychotherapy or religious conversion); corresponding changes in meaning-systems occur (Paloutzian 2005); and relationships with others, including spiritual relationships, are intensified (Granqvist and Kirkpatrick 2013). …”