Christian Religious Addiction in Hawaii?

Surveys show that religion and spirituality play a central role in the lives of most of the population in human experience. Gallup (1989) found that 53% of the U.S. population considers religion to be very important in their life, and another 31% considered it fairly important (p. 176). The religious and spiritual dimensions of culture were found to be among the most important factors that structure human experience, beliefs, values, behavior, and illness (Browning et al., 1990; James, 1961; Krippner and Welch, 1992).

Researchers however, report that some individuals have problems that concern their religion. Members of the American Psychological Association reported that at least one in six of their clients presented issues that involve religion or spirituality (Shafranske and Maloney, 1990). In another study, 29% of psychologists agreed that religious issues are important in the treatment of all or many of their clients (Bergin and Jensen, 1990, p. 3). Psychotherapy can sometimes be effective in treating religious problems. Robinson (1986) noted, “Some patients have troublesome conflicts about religion that could probably be resolved through the process of...