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February '25 Newsletter: Childhood Abuse Associated with Greater Spiritual Struggles
Hello!
Welcome to the Serve Well newsletter, a collaborative resource from the Duke Clergy Health Initiative and Duke Religion and Social Change Lab. Every month, we'll be sharing trends in ministry formation and flourishing so that however you serve—seminarian, clergy, researcher, educator, or administrator—you can serve well.
Just like physical and mental well-being, spiritual well-being plays a crucial role in our lives. In our research, we define it by a felt sense of God’s presence and power in daily life and ministry. This month, we unpack what we know about this wondrous kind of well-being.
Trends in Ministry Formation
Childhood Abuse Associated with Greater Spiritual Struggles in Seminarians—What We Know and What Can Help
In the first study to examine the role of early life adversity and the mediating role that spirituality plays, researchers from the Religion and Social Change Lab found that seminarians who had childhood experiences of abuse reported greater religious and spiritual struggles as adults. Religious and spiritual struggles were also found to be strongly associated with feeling more depressed or anxious. These two patterns can be self-reinforcing. Healing from trauma and strengthening one's connection to God can amplify the benefit of just doing one or the other. Download our research summary to learn more, including recommendations for how seminaries can continue to support these students.
>Download the Research Summary
Trends in Ministry Flourishing
Spiritual Well-Being Reduces Occupational Distress Among Clergy
How does spiritual well-being shape the experience of work-related distress over time? In the Clergy Health Initiative's study of 835 clergy, we uncovered two key insights. First, depressive symptoms tended to emerge before occupational distress, not the other way around. Second, clergy with higher levels of spiritual well-being were significantly less likely to experience feelings of depression a year later. So nurturing spiritual well-being isn’t just beneficial in the moment—it can serve as a powerful safeguard for future mental health. Download our research summary to dig deeper into these hopeful findings.
>Download the Research Summary
Your Serve Well Resource
Deepen Your Lent with the Daily Examen
As Lent approaches, we want to help deepen your and your congregation's spiritual well-being through a practice called the Daily Examen. Our research has shown that clergy who practiced the Daily Examen for six months had reduced stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, along with improved spiritual well-being, compared to a control group. Visit our resource page to discover more about this ancient prayer practice, including a downloadable overview and instructions, a bulletin insert you can share with your congregation, and an invitation to join us in a weekly guided practice starting March 5th.
About Us
The Duke Clergy & Religion Research Collaborative (CRRC) is a partnership between the Duke Clergy Health Initiative (CHI) and Duke Religion and Social Change Lab (RaSCL). CHI focuses on providing pastors with tools to improve their physical, emotional, and spiritual health, while RaSCL focuses on helping current and future faith leaders adapt to evolving times. Together, we serve those who want to serve well. Our work is made possible thanks to the generous time of our clergy and seminarian research partners and generous funding from The Duke Endowment. To stay informed of our latest research in ministry formation and flourishing, sign up to get our monthly Serve Well newsletter directly in your inbox.