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Spiritual dryness

Project overview

This area of research at the interface of psychology, medicine and theology deals with the experiences of religious people, which are rarely talked about because they are often associated with shame and the fear of stigmatisation.

Spiritual conflicts or phases of spiritual dryness, as specific forms of a crisis of life or faith, can indeed affect the life orientation and concepts of meaning of those affected. However, spiritual dryness is not a psychiatric diagnosis, but describes a phase (of varying duration) that

  1. can be an essential aspect of spiritual growth if these phases have been overcome and are accompanied by a change in attitudes and behaviour ("transformation").
  2. can also be an indication of a crisis of meaning, depressive mood or emotional exhaustion that requires adequate support from spiritual counsellors and/or psychotherapists.


With the help of the Spiritual Dryness Scale and qualitative interviews, the different levels of experiencing spiritual dryness as well as reactions after overcoming it will be operationalised and examined in different groups of people.

Current research projects

  • Empirical surveys in religious communities on the relationship between spiritual dryness, acedia symptoms and spiritual transformation
  • Qualitative interviews with religious Christians on the experience of spiritual dryness in shrinking communities
  • Experiencing spiritual dryness in healthy and sick Muslims from Iran (in cooperation with Maryam Rassouli (Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Health Promotion & Nursing Services, Tehran)
  • Experiencing spiritual dryness in Muslim patients from Pakistan (in cooperation with Malik Muhammad Sohail, University of Sargodha, Pakistan)
  • Relationship between spiritual dryness and depressive symptoms in hospitalised patients with depressive or addictive disorders
  • Interplay of forgiveness needs and spiritual dryness in palliative care patients (in cooperation with Loren Toussaint, Luther College, Cory Ingram and Caila Rinker, Mayo Clinic Rochester)

Publications

  • Büssing A, Dienberg T (eds.): God's unavailability and the dark night. Dealing with spiritual dryness. Pustet Publishing House, Regensburg (2021)
  • Büssing A, Dienberg T (eds.): Spiritual dryness - empirically, theologically, in accompaniment. Münster: Aschendorff-Verlag (2019).

Project management