Church putting you to sleep? You’re one of many battling ‘spiritual boredom’
STUDY FINDS
Catholic sermons ranked most eye-shutting spiritual activity in eye-opening study
In a nutshell
✔ The more bored practitioners felt, the less motivated they were to continue their spiritual practice, potentially hampering long-term spiritual growth
✔ Researchers found significant levels of boredom across spiritual practices, with Catholic sermons ranking highest (3.56/5) and pilgrimages lowest (1.35/5)
✔ Spiritual boredom emerges when practices are either too challenging or not challenging enough, and when practitioners don’t see value in what they’re doing
VIENNA — Have you ever found yourself stifling a yawn during meditation? Or perhaps your mind wandered during a religious sermon, or you felt restless while on a spiritual retreat? If so, you’re not alone. A new international study reveals that spiritual boredom affects many practitioners across various spiritual contexts, from yoga to pilgrimage.
While researchers have spent decades studying boredom in classrooms, offices and during leisure time, boredom in spiritual contexts has been largely overlooked. This is surprising, given the rich historical documentation of spiritual boredom. Medieval Christians called it “acedia” or the “demon of noontide,” which St. Thomas Aquinas described as the “sorrow of the world” and the “enemy of spiritual joy.” Even Viktor Frankl, the renowned Austrian neurologist and Holocaust survivor, noted that “the existential vacuum manifests itself mainly in a state of boredom.”
The study, published in Communications Psychology, sheds light on this overlooked emotion. Their investigation across five different spiritual practices reveals that spiritual boredom follows predictable patterns that can explain why some people lose motivation for spiritual practice.
“Our research shows that boredom in spiritual contexts can pose a serious obstacle, which reduces the transformative power of these practices,” says lead study author Thomas Goetz from the University of Vienna, in a statement.
What Causes Spiritual Boredom?
The study examined five popular spiritual contexts: yoga, meditation, silence retreats, Catholic sermons, and pilgrimage. For each context, the researchers conducted two separate studies, one assessing trait boredom (habitual experiences across time) and another measuring state boredom (momentary experiences during actual practice). This comprehensive approach included 1,267 adults across 10 different studies.
According to the researchers, spiritual boredom stems from two main factors: inappropriate levels of challenge and lack of perceived value. When a spiritual practice is either too challenging or not challenging enough, boredom tends to set in. If you’re trying to hold a complex yoga pose that’s beyond your capability, you might feel frustrated and eventually bored because you can’t engage properly. If you’re an experienced meditator forced to participate in an overly basic guided session, you might feel unchallenged and bored.
Another key to staying engaged is perceived value. When practitioners don’t see value in what they’re doing, boredom increases significantly. These factors connect to what researchers call the control-value theory, which explains how emotions like boredom arise from our perceptions of control over activities and how much we value those activities.
DAILY MAIL
[…] Now, scientists think they know why people are turning their backs on religion.
According to researchers from the University of Vienna, many people find spiritual practices boring.
In their study, the researchers surveyed more than 1,200 adults about their experiences with five popular spiritual practices, including yoga, pilgrimages, and Catholic sermons.
Their results revealed that many people reported feeling bored during these practices.
According the researchers, boredom can have a negative effect on motivation and mindfulness during spiritual practices.
What’s more, it can ‘seriously dampen’ any positive effects.
‘Our research shows that boredom in spiritual contexts can pose a serious obstacle, which reduces the transformative power of these practices,’ said Dr Thomas Götz, first author of the study.
The emotion of boredom has already been widely studied.
For example, previous research has shown that experiencing the ‘wrong’ sort of boredom can make us obese, self-destructive, and sexually impotent.
In extreme cases, it may even lead us to earlier death.
However, until now, boredom experienced in spiritual contexts (dubbed ‘spiritual boredom’) has been largely unexplored.
‘A key reason why spiritual boredom has been neglected may be that it is theoretically unexpected that spiritual contexts could ever be boring,’ the researchers explained in their study, published in Communications Psychology.
‘People typically engage in these contexts voluntarily and with high motivation, seeking meaning and fulfillment in their lives.’
To address this research gap, the researchers surveyed 1,267 adults about their experiences with five typical spiritual experiences – yoga, meditation, silent retreats, Catholic sermons, and pilgrimages.
The results revealed that pilgrimages were the least boring of the five spiritual experiences.
In contrast, Catholic sermons were rated as the most boring.
As for why participants said spiritual experiences were boring, the researchers uncovered three main reasons.
‘The results show that the central triggers of spiritual boredom are in fact the feeling of being over-challenged or under-challenged as well as a lack of personal relevance for those practising the spiritual activity,’ they explained.
While Catholic sermons were rated as the most boring, the researchers say that this might not put people off going to church.
‘Many participants may attend Catholic services for reasons unrelated to the sermon, such as enjoying the singing of hymns or the quiet elements of the service,’ they explained.
‘Consequently, some attendees may tolerate the sermon, even if boring, in order to experience the other aspects of services they enjoy.’
Based on the findings, the researchers are calling for spiritual teachers to find new ways to promote the value of their practices.
‘It is important to individually adapt spiritual practices and to repeatedly emphasise their relevance and meaning in order to promote their transformative value for our society,’ Dr Gotz added.
‘Spiritual teachers should maintain an active dialogue with those involved in the spiritual practice about feeling over-challenged or under-challenged.
‘In addition, they should emphasise the relevance of spiritual practice for a fulfilling life.’
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