The Role of Religion in Spiritual Recovery

When dealing with substance abuse, spiritual recovery or growth is an important part. This is why groups such as AA or Alcoholics Anonymous integrate spiritual aspects into their 12-step program. Spiritual growth can be achieved through several means, and one way is through religion.

Understanding the role of religion in spiritual recovery and growth

Religion doesn't only refer to involvement in religious acts such as going to church every Sunday, or strictly adhering to rituals such as praying every night or taking the communion during mass. The aspect of religion also involves developing, having, and maintaining faith in a higher being, whether it be a god, a deity, or a natural being. Because religion also involves some form of self-examination, mediation, and prayer, it has a positive impact on people undergoing recovery from substance abuse.

How religion helps

Having a religion or a sense of spirituality can help you recover from substance abuse. Based on physiological research, spirituality may be important to the effectiveness of treatments for psychiatric disorders such as some cases of substance abuse. According to studies, people who have better personality traits in relation to spiritual transcendence were found to have characteristic brain activity in certain serotonergic sites. This finding suggest that people respond in different ways when exposed to spiritual care. Because there is a close relationship between dream symbolism and symbolic thought as can be seen in the activation of certain parts of the brain, this suggests an association between neural function and spiritual metaphor.

Other explanations

Perhaps the best way to explain the role of religion in spiritual recovery is that the presence of religion or any spiritual belief for that matter provides you with a meaningful life, although this is not always the case with all individuals afflicted with substance abuse.

Spiritual recovery movements

Because of the success of AA as a treatment group, many other spiritual groups have flourished, providing more options for those who want to achieve spiritual recovery as part of the healing process. Hundreds of spiritual manuals, guides, and books have been published to serve as resources for people wishing to experience spiritual recovery and growth as they try to get rid of their self-abusing habits. While the effectiveness and direct relation of religion to spiritual recovery from substance abuse still needs more empirical explanation, many individuals today seek help from spiritual groups such as AA to address their needs.