1. Assessing Spiritual & Religious People Philip Dodgson, PhD, CPsych Southdown Institute pdodgson@southdown.on.ca

2. Religion, Spirituality, & Science  Competitors, mutually exclusive?  Most people have some kind of faith (even scientists)  Religion and spirituality have maintained a strong hold on us

3. Roots  Understanding our origins  Purpose/meaning of life  System of values/ethics  Explaining the unexplainable

5. Do you consider yourself to be religious? 1.Not at all 2.Less than most people 3.About as much as most people 4.More than most people 5.Much more than most people

6. Contentious Terms  Religion, Spirituality, Faith  Religiosity: Religious commitment, belief in doctrine, frequency of participation in faith- related activity  Spirituality: Phenomenological and philosophical approach to faith  Religion:Spirituality = Medicine:Health

7. Tests  Many tests available; rapid growth in development in 1980s and 1990s.  Hill & Hood (1999). Measures of Religiosity. 100+ standardized measures  Natural links between personality psychology and religion/spirituality

8. MacDonald (2000). J. of Pers.  Examined latent factor structure among 11 spirituality measures  Identified 5 dimensions: Cognitive orientation Experience/phenomenology Existential well-being Paranormal beliefs General religiousness

9. Elements of Assessment  Family background  Individuals’ level of engagement with their family in religious practice  Individual’s sense of relationship with a divine entity  How faith/religion inform life in regard to choices of relationships, work, and other activities

10. Assessing Religious People  Major influences on religious and spiritual development.  Developmental course of the relationship with God.  How is faith enacted? Structure/routine? Orthodoxy?

11. Assessing Religious People II  Are there any spiritual crisis points?  What is going well/not so well currently?  What is the nature of the relationship, if any, to a larger community?

12. Summary  Religion/spirituality are common & substantial elements of the clinical picture  Many measures are available; some limitations  Research shows links with health, coping, and personality  Clinicians are encouraged to boldly explore this domain with clients