Understanding Spiritual Bypass
For many individuals, spirituality plays a crucial role in their life. Research has shown benefits between people incorporating spirituality and positive physical and psychological outcomes. Although many positive parts of spirituality have been studied, there has also been evidence that when spirituality is practiced improperly, it may result in hurting people. One such destructive strategy is spiritual bypass.
A Little History
The term "spiritual bypassing" was first used in 1984 by psychologist and Buddhist practitioner John Welwood (Cashwell et al., 2004). Welwood defined spiritual bypassing as the employment of spiritual ideas, concepts, or activities as a means of evading or "bypassing" important psychological processes (Welwood, 1984). Later, Charles Whitfield, a trauma, recovery, and co-dependent specialist, made the term spiritual bypass prominent in the recovery literature (Whitfield, 1987). Whitfield (1987) described spiritual bypass as the tendency to utilize spirituality to ignore or evade crucial human needs, emotions, and mental commitments. Additionally, Cashwell et al. (2004) studied spiritual bypass in the Christian religion and the consequences for people who utilize it for self-defense against psychological distress. Lastly, Jesse Fox (2019) created the Spiritual Bypass Scale-13 to evaluate a person's capacity for spiritual bypassing themselves. All these studies focused on how people commit the act of spiritual bypass on themselves. However, my research introduced how spiritual bypass can also be done one person toward another.
The Phenomenon of Spiritual Bypass
Used on Oneself
Although spiritual bypassing may have adaptive benefits, such as protecting against the effects of psychological discomfort, long-term usage can have negative effects and be harmful to one's psychological well-being. When someone uses spiritual bypass, they might ignore or evade crucial psychological activities that are essential for healing. Masters (2010) further outlined the primary symptoms of spiritual bypass as emotional detachment and inhibition, over-engagement, over-optimism, blind empathy, or excessive tolerance, a distorted sense of one's own awareness, the conviction that all suffering and pain are illusions, and a disregard for the personal or ordinary. Furthermore, some people exhibit a "spiritual emergency” (Cashwell and Young, 2020). Such an experience could result from an unexpected event in one's life (such as a friend ending a relationship) or an inexplicable event (such as a betrayal or sudden death) that leaves the person desperate for anything to ease their suffering (Cashwell & Young, 2020).
Spiritual bypass also impacts people’s incapacity to take responsibility for their role in life's obstacles or to find answers. Many spiritual people think that engaging in spiritual activities and/or maintaining a connection to spirituality should alleviate suffering (Cashwell & Young, 2020). However, while spiritual beliefs and practices may provide people skills for understanding and managing the suffering that is inevitable for all humans, they cannot save people from the anxieties, uncertainties, and dilemmas of life.
Used One Person toward Another
When using spiritual bypass on oneself, the person is a willing participant to the act, even if it is done unconsciously. However, when spiritual bypass is used toward someone, the person receiving the act is not a willing participant. This may result in an oppressive and controlling tactics to use someone's religious or spiritual principles and truths against them.
Spiritual bypass used toward someone shifts the definition of spiritual bypass to when someone else using spiritual ideas, truths, or Scripture to encourage another person to bypass the psychological tasks he or she needs to complete. Spiritual bypass may also resemble "overspiritualization" (Hartog and Gow, 2005). In their study of 126 Christians, 38% said that the devil is the cause of severe depression and 37% said that the devil is the cause of schizophrenia. Thirty-one percent of the survey participants said they had come across religious teaching that spiritualized their mental pain by blaming it on curses passed down through the generations, demons, or transgressions. This "spiritualization" is a kind of spiritual bypass since it possibly keeps people from getting the help they may need to manage their mental health or recover, in addition to minimizing the suffering they are going through. Rather, they are told to fast more, pray more fervently, or perform an exorcism.
Next weeks’s blog will address this in more detail. It will explore identifying spiritual bypass and how it may manifest.
Conclusion
Spiritual bypass may happen wherever spirituality resides. The more we understand it, the more we can not only safeguard ourselves from it, but also, we can ensure we do not commit the act toward someone. May we speak in such a way as Ephesians 4:29 reminds us, “When you talk, do not say harmful things, but say what people need– words that will help others become stronger. Then what you say will do good to those who listen to you” (emphasis mine).
Note:
This is a very abbreviated look into the research I conducted regarding spiritual bypass toward others. The dissertation format is not conducive for blog sites. Additionally, I do hope to share the detailed content of my research in other formats in the future.
References:
Cashwell, C. S., & Young, J. S. (2004). Spirituality in counselor training: A content analysis of syllabi from introductory spirituality courses. Counseling and Values, 48(2), 96-109. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-007X.2004.tb00237.x
Cashwell, C. S., & Young, J. S. (Eds.). (2011/2020). Integrating spirituality and religion into counseling: A guide to competent practice. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.
Fox, J., & Picciotto, G. (2019). The mediating effects of spiritual bypass on depression, anxiety, and stress. Counseling and Values, 64(2), 227-245. https://doi.org/10.1002/cvj.1211
Hartog, K., & Gow, K. M. (2005). Religious attributions pertaining to the causes and cures of mental illness. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 8(4), 263-276. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674670412331304339
Masters, R. A. (2010). Spiritual bypassing: When spirituality disconnects us from what really matters. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Welwood, J. (1984). Principles of inner work: Psychological and spiritual. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 16(1), 63.
Whitfield, C. (1987). Healing the child within. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications.