Year: 2026
Type: review
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: Religious trauma is an emerging area of scholarship at the intersection of psychology and mental health. However, the literature field is still underdeveloped and the evidence base fragmented. The present systematic review seeks to consolidate the fragmented conceptualizations and clarify how religious trauma relates to allied constructs such as spiritual abuse and other negative spiritual experiences. Systematic review methodology anchored on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework was used to present a robust and unbiased synthesis of extant knowledge. In total, 137 articles were identified. This comprised 96 articles from Google Scholar, 27 from PubMed, and 14 from Crossref. Rigorous screening processes yielded 13 articles that satisfied the inclusion criteria for review. Results showed that the reviewed studies were undertaken across four geographical regions, with western studies dominating the literature stream. The findings generally converge in showing that religious trauma are associated with psychological, emotional, social, and spiritual harm. It emerges as a global phenomenon whose expression is institutionally, socially, and culturally, constructed. Thus, religious trauma is best conceptualized as a multidimensional and context-dependent phenomenon whose effects on mental health are shaped by a multiplicity of personal and social factors. Specifically, the apparent differences in how religious trauma is conceptualized supports the need for a more integrated theoretical framework capable of linking religious trauma with allied concepts such as spiritual abuse, negative spiritual experiences, and related forms of adversity to explain mental health. To this end, an Integrated Model of Religious Trauma and Coping is proposed. However, the evidence base was susceptible to high risk of bias that undermines its generalizability outside the study contexts. Particularly, the systematic review revealed substantial underrepresentation of Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East in the literature, thus raising questions pertaining to the cross-cultural generalizability of existing studies. Therefore, research extension is much needed outside the western world, especially in Africa where religious trauma is largely undocumented.
Institution: Pan Africa Christian University
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7214729920