The Psychology of Faith in Mental Health

Mutiara Tanila

Abstract


Faith and spirituality are increasingly recognized as crucial factors in supporting mental health. This study examines the role of faith in strengthening psychological resilience, regulating emotions, and providing social support, while also highlighting the ambivalent effects of religious struggles. A narrative review design is employed with a systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar for articles published between 2019 and 2025. Fifteen peer-reviewed studies were analyzed qualitatively to identify thematic patterns. The findings reveal that faith provides meaning-making frameworks, enhances psychological flexibility, and fosters community support that reduces depression, anxiety, and stress. At the same time, religious struggles are associated with higher levels of distress, showing that faith has both protective and risk dimensions. The novelty of this work lies in synthesizing recent cross-cultural evidence, thereby expanding the psychology of religion beyond Western contexts. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of integrating culturally

Keywords


faith, psychology, mental health, resilience, spirituality

Full Text:

PDF

References


Captari, L. E., Hook, J. N., Hoyt, W., Davis, D. E., McElroy-Heltzel, S. E., & Worthington, E. L., Jr. (2018). Integrating clients’ religion and spirituality within psychotherapy: A comprehensive meta-analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 74(11), 1938–1951.

Demir, Y., Okan, N., & Pekdemir, Ş. (2025). Constructing and validating the Spiritual Justice Scale: A psychometric study. Journal of Religion and Health, 1–19.

Exline, J. J., Pargament, K. I., Grubbs, J. B., & Yali, A. M. (2014). The religious and spiritual struggles scale: Development and initial validation. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 6(3), 208–222.

Faruk, S., Asadullah, M., & Tsang, A. K. T. (2025). Religious-tailoring of mental health services in Ontario: A qualitative study exploring service user and provider recommendations. Journal of Community Psychology, 53(7). https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.70036

Koenig, H. G. (2020). Maintaining health and well-being by putting faith into action during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Religion and Health, 59(5), 2205–2214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-020-01035-2

Lee, A. K., Wong, B., & Krumrei-Mancuso, E. J. (2025). The development of an online intellectual humility intervention for religious or spiritual conflict. Internet Interventions, 42(September), 100871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2025.100871

Othman, K., Yaakub, M. B., Kamal, N. F. M., Al, A., & Shafie, H. (2025). How Islamic psychospiritual contributes to balanced mental health and human wellbeing. Journal of Posthumanism.

World Health Organization. (2022). World mental health report: Transforming mental health for all. World Health Organization.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18103599

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 Mutiara Tanila

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

 

 

Socius: Jurnal Penelitian Ilmu-Ilmu Sosial

ISSN : 3025-6704