Religious Coping With Domestic Violence: What's God Got to Do With It?

Kristin Godlin described her 2008 experience of her husband becoming violent while she was serving in ministry, and how that upended her faith and her career. She then explained shattered-assumptions theory, positive religious coping, spiritual struggle and post-traumatic growth, citing published studies, and reported on her own survey research with 50 local survivors of domestic violence. A long audience Q&A covered patriarchy in religious traditions, spiritual struggle among Muslims and atheists, and how clergy and chaplains might better support survivors.