Spirituality and Religiosity in Meaning-Making After Stressful Life Events: A Qualitative Study Using the Meaning Making Model
Religions June 25, 2026 Melanie Neumann, Lea Benz, Wiebke Uhlenbrock et al.
A qualitative study of 27 German participants who had experienced stressful life events found that the most extensive meaning-making occurred among those with a highly integrated spiritual and religious orientation, not among those with more individualized forms of spirituality. Participants were categorized into low-, moderate-, and high-spirituality groups. The high-integration group showed coherent belief systems, regular spiritual practices, communal religious embeddedness, and trust in transcendent guidance. The results suggest that integration of spirituality with religiosity into a coherent meaning system may be associated with more sustained meaning-making and positive outcomes following stressful events.