Jeff Bjorck Discusses Religious Coping in Inaugural Lecture

“Faith, Coping, and Illusory Control: Psychological Constructs with Theological Ramifications” was the title of an inaugural lecture given by Professor of Psychology Jeff Bjorck Thursday, April 26, on the occasion of his promotion to full professor in Fuller’s School of Psychology.Bjorck began by discussing his research into faith as a psychological resource. Religious coping—turning to God when trying to solve problems or manage stress—can take both positive and negative forms, Bjorck explained, but when used in positive ways, does result in better psychological functioning. “Those who rely on positive religious coping strategies during negative life events have a great buffer from depression,” his research has found, with evidence that this is true for adolescents as well.

Religious support—seeking out other Christians, church members, or pastors—also provides more psychological help than mere social support, Bjorck’s research has affirmed. A person’s degree of perceived religious support for themselves “statistically shows better psychological functioning,” he said.There is a “shadow side” to all this, however, in the area of “illusory control.” As humans we tend to carry the illusion that we have much more control on the world around us than we actually do, Bjorck claimed, positing that “a primary outworking of original sin can be seen in humanity’s unconscious efforts to maintain the illusion of control.”Bjorck described a variety of ways his research has looked at our control illusions, and explained one set of findings that individuals are more likely to turn to God for help when facing threats that have not yet happened than they are to seek his help in situations—such as loss—where they need to accept the unchangeable. “Acceptance of loss involves denying our self-sufficiency,” he said. “People are more likely to congratulate themselves for success or blame themselves for failure than to consider that something is simply out of their control.”

What can we learn from this? “I always tell my students to embrace your limits as God’s gifts to you,” Bjorck said. Embracing our limitations and not denying them, he concluded, provides us with a deeper desire to turn to God in utter dependency, leaning not on our own understanding. “Without him we can do nothing,” said Bjorck. “By grasping this connection, perhaps we can become more aware of Jesus as the vine and ourselves as the branches—and thus bear much fruit.”A member of the Fuller faculty since 1990, Bjorck regularly teaches Legal and Ethical Issues, Psychometric Theory, and Psychopathology. His research and writings have addressed faith, coping, and life stress, with a recent emphasis on religious coping and support among adolescents and adults of varying faiths and ethno-cultural groups. He also maintains a local private practice as a psychologist.