Religious Coping in Facing Existential Emptiness among Muslim Housewives: A Phenomenological Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59944/jipsi.v5i4.1791Keywords:
Religious Coping, Existential Emptiness, Muslim Housewives, Phenomenology, Islamic PsychologAbstract
The experience of existential emptiness among Muslim housewives can be characterized by feelings of emptiness, a loss of direction, monotony, loneliness, and confusion regarding self-identity. In facing such conditions, religion can serve as a source of coping that helps individuals regain direction and meaning in life. This study aims to describe the religious coping experiences of Muslim housewives in dealing with existential emptiness. The study employs a qualitative approach using a descriptive phenomenological method. Four Muslim housewives aged 40–48 years, married for 15–21 years, and having one to three children were selected using convenience sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews and analyzed using a descriptive phenomenological approach. The results indicate that religious coping is enacted through increasing closeness to Allah, strengthening the orientation of worship, prayer, self-introspection, acceptance of Allah’s decrees, and deeply internalizing life roles and responsibilities. These religious practices and orientations help participants cope with feelings of emptiness, shift their perspectives on their experiences, and rebuild a sense of direction and meaning in life. Religious coping functions not only as a strategy for managing emotional distress but also as a process for realigning relationships with Allah, the self, and the life being lived. The findings demonstrate that religious coping acts as an adaptive resource in addressing existential emptiness among Muslim housewives. The novelty of this study lies in its phenomenological examination of how Muslim housewives experience and utilize religious coping when facing existential emptiness, highlighting the transformation of existential emptiness into a process of meaning reconstruction through self-reflection and strengthened orientation toward Allah
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