Alcohol consumption falls among some of the activities, which the society strongly condemns especially when it comes to cases of addiction. Individuals who are dependent on alcohol cannot function properly and put themselves in a state of vulnerability. While drunk, these individuals cannot interact with their loved ones effectively, which creates relationship issues with their spouses and other family members. Additionally, they exhibit below standard performance at work, which could lead to them loosing their jobs. The effects of alcohol addiction not only affect the addict themselves, but also the society at large. That being the case, intervention methods have been sought as researchers seek to identify various measures to address the issue. While others have sought rehabilitative measures such as therapy, others have shed focus on the role of religion and spirituality. Comparatively, through imposing a sense of inferiority on addicts, religion manages to make such individuals see their vulnerabilities towards alcohol and upon acceptance of their subordinate status, they are able to manage their addiction.
Various studies have been conducted focusing on the potential of religion to help deal with the issue at hand. Wendy E. Thompson (2017) conducted a study focusing on the influence of religious involvement and social support on the frequency of alcohol consumption among college students. A survey approach was used whereby respondents were asked to provide information regarding 124 items, which cumulatively covered aspects such as sexual activity, substance misuse, pornography, relationships, personal religious activities, social support (Thompson, 2017). The study relied on a descriptive analysis approach and a chi-square, which helped determine the likelihood of a relationship between frequency of alcohol use and marital status, GPA, religion, gender, student class, age and ethnicity. Additionally, a linear regression was carried out to assess whether religious involvement and support were predictors of frequency of misuse of alcohol (Thompson, 2017). The study findings showed religious support was a major determinant of frequency of alcohol use, while there was minimal evidence showing the efficacy of social support in leading to lower frequency of alcohol use (Thompson, 2017). The study was effective in that it compared religious involvement with social support in terms of how either aspect affects the frequency of alcohol abuse. However, there is no clear demonstration of the effect of other diversity aspects such as age, gender, or even the religious affiliation itself when it comes to assessing the frequency of alcohol misuse. There is a possibility that individuals from a particular religious affiliation are stricter in their values and norms towards drugs and substance use compared to others, which could explain variations in the rate of alcohol misuse. Simply limiting the study’s conclusion to a comparison of religious involvement and social support overshadows the potential effect of other aspects of diversity as mentioned.
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In a different research, Donna Leigh Bliss (2007) carried out a literature review of already existing studies, which addressed the issue in question. Some of the key points, which Bliss (2007) noted in her article were that: spirituality and in this case religiousness was considered a protective factor against alcohol misuse in adults, but certain factors such as age and ethnicity were found to have moderated such a relationship; that among spirituality, religious involvement, social support, stress management skills, relapse prevention strategies, cognitive coping skills as well as lifestyle changes were also identified as being key factors affecting the frequency of alcohol use among individuals. Other findings showed that high levels of spirituality were linked to improved functioning in various areas of life and one of them being abstinence from alcohol use (Bliss, 2007). The study is credible as it bases on the findings of already existing studies. A review of the findings demonstrates the relevance of the article in addressing the issue at hand. Important to note is that there is some might argue that spirituality and religion are distinct terms, while others view these two as being related. In some of the findings, the authors noted that spirituality, in addition to religious involvement, was effective in leading to low frequency alcohol use. From such a finding, it becomes evident that even if these constructs are considered different, the study confirms the potential role of religion in helping individuals recover from alcohol abuse. A major limitation of the study was that relying on already existing research does not assure credibility of the methods authors of reviewed literature used when conducting their studies. Additionally, the lack of proper definition of spirituality and its affiliation to religion was lacking.
Thus far, it is evident that from the study that Bliss (2007) conducted, there is no clarity about the extent to which religion and spirituality are similar or different constructs. However, a study, under the authorship of John R. Knight et al. (2007) addressed the issue of religiousness, which was placed alongside spirituality. The authors noted that religiousness and spirituality are not mutually exclusive, meaning that they can exist at the same time. This informed their hypothesis that, “… higher spirituality scale scores will be associated with lower rates of alcohol use, but that the effect size will vary among scales and be independent of religiousness” (Knight et al., 2007, p. 352). Through an observation study, the study found that spirituality measures such as religious coping, beliefs and daily spiritual experiences, had a considerable impact and were negatively associated with alcohol use, but when analyzed individually. This means that, for instance, the extent to which individuals used religious coping determined the rate at which they abused alcohol. A notable finding was that religious preference was not associated with alcohol use during adolescence (Knight et al., 2007). As the study relied on frequencies and descriptive statistics in part, the researchers noted that they did not include, for instance, a proper sample size to identify misuse of alcohol in adolescents. This conclusion was based on their finding that compared to adults, adolescents were less likely to feel that God was punishing or had abandoned them (Knight et al., 2007). This was one of the key limitations of the study as it failed to consider the influence of other demographics such as age, when it comes to perceptions towards alcohol abuse in victims.
Supporting the studies above, Witkiewitz, McCallion, and Kirouac (2016) conducted a study focusing on the impact of religious affiliation and spiritual practices as protective factors against development of alcohol use disorder (AUD). The authors noted that, “greater general religiosity, social religiosity, belief in the involvement of God in a person’s life, belief in God as judge, and thankfulness all were significantly associated with a decreased risk for alcohol dependence” (Witkiewitz, McCallion, and Kirouac, 2016, p. 56). Such a finding demonstrates the potential influence of religion towards limiting the existence of alcohol abuse in the society. It provides support for the various findings noted in the three studies reviewed above. However, important to note is that similar to Knight et al. (2007), the authors identify the close relationship between religiousness and spirituality in that they consider certain spirituals behaviors as denoting religiousness. A good example is belief in God as the supreme being, which means that one accepts existence of a spiritual being higher in power. At the same time, such a belief demonstrates one’s religiousness.
Conclusion
Thus far, it is evident that religion has a positive impact when it comes to helping individuals cope with alcohol addiction. It leads to reduced frequency of alcohol misuse. The survey study was effective as it included first-hand data gotten from respondents. The findings of this particular article are further corroborated by the literature review, which identified already existing studies demonstrating the effectiveness of religion in lowering the frequency of alcohol abuse. In the last article, statistical procedures used allowed for objective analysis of data gathered. However, while the researchers found evidence of the positive impact of religion towards reducing dependence on alcohol, they warned that larger sample is needed to address other aspects of diversity such as age. The studies analyzed confirmed that religion has the potential to lead to decreased dependence on alcohol.
References
Bliss, D. (2007). Empirical research on spirituality and alcoholism: A review of the literature. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 7(4), 5-23. DOI:lO,1300/J160v07n04_02
Knight, J. R., Sherritt, L., Harris, S. K., Holder, D. W., Kulig, J., Shrier, L. A., … Chang, G. (2007). Alcohol Use and Religiousness/Spirituality Among Adolescents. Southern Medical Journal , 100 (4), 349–355. http://doi.org/10.1097/SMJ.0b013e3180316a32
Thompson, W. E. (2017). Social Support, Religious Involvement and Alcohol Use among Students at a Conservative Religious University. Behavioral Sciences , 7 (2), 34. http://doi.org/10.3390/bs7020034
Witkiewitz, K., McCallion, E., & Kirouac, M. (2016). Religious Affiliation and Spiritual Practices: An Examination of the Role of Spirituality in Alcohol Use and Alcohol Use Disorder. Alcohol Research: Current Reviews , 38 (1), 55–58.
