Understanding spiritual confession: A review and theoretical synthesis

Spiritual confession has a prominent role in the practices of many religious and spiritual traditions. This paper proposes a definition of spiritual confession and reviews confession practices in Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Native American, and 12-step traditions. Psychological research on confessi...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mental health, religion & culture
Authors: Murray-Swank, Aaron B. (Author) ; McConnell, Kelly M. (Author) ; Pargament, Kenneth I. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Taylor & Francis 2007
In: Mental health, religion & culture
Year: 2007, Volume: 10, Issue: 3, Pages: 275-291
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Spiritual confession has a prominent role in the practices of many religious and spiritual traditions. This paper proposes a definition of spiritual confession and reviews confession practices in Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Native American, and 12-step traditions. Psychological research on confession and disclosure processes is reviewed, and functions of confession are identified, based on prior empirical and theoretical work. Identified functions include: reducing guilt and shame, seeking social connection, seeking meaning and coherence, impression management, and spiritual functions. Finally, experimental studies focused on spiritual confession are reviewed, and specific suggestions for future research are proposed.
ISSN:1469-9737
Contains:Enthalten in: Mental health, religion & culture
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/13694670600665628