Religiosity, Spirituality, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder-Related Symptoms in Clinical and Nonclinical Samples

Despite speculation that highly religious individuals may be predisposed toward developing obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), results regarding the relationship between religiosity and spirituality and OCD symptoms are mixed. Limitations of the literature include the use of measures with unknown psychometric properties that do not differentiate between facets of religiosity, a limited range of religious affiliations, and predominant use of undergraduate samples. The current study attempted to clarify the relationship using multidimensional measures. Seven hundred forty-six nonclinical and 24 clinical participants (with a principal diagnosis of OCD) from a wide range of religious affiliations completed questionnaires. In both samples, obsessional thinking was positively associated with scrupulosity (r = .56 and r = .73 in the nonclinical and clinical samples, respectively) but not religious fundamentalism. Compulsions were not meaningfully associated with religiosity and spirituality. Religious crisis was positively associated with scrupulosity (r = .40 and r = .73 in the nonclinical and clinical samples, respectively) and thought-action fusion (r = .26 and r = .53 in the nonclinical and clinical samples, respectively). In the clinical sample, OCD severity was negatively associated with spirituality (r = −.42). The belief that the universe is ordered and humanity is connected (universality; a facet of spirituality) significantly moderated the relationship between religiosity and moral thought-action fusion (high religiosity was only associated with high moral thought-action fusion when universality was low, explaining 18.42% of variance in the relationship). These findings suggest that religious individuals with OCD may benefit from enhancing spirituality through consultation with a religious authority or within therapy.