The current study examined spiritual maturity as a moderator of the relation between Christian fundamentalism and shame. One hundred sixty four Christian-identified participants (141 women) were recruited through social networking sites. Participants completed the following measures through a secured website: the Revised Religious Fundamentalism Scale (Altemeyer & Hunsberger, 2004), Spiritual Assessment Inventory (Hall & Edwards, 1996), and The Shame Inventory (Rizvi, 2010). Hierarchical regressions were used to examine the moderation effects of spiritual maturity on shame for Christians who scored both high and low on the fundamentalist spectrum. Results revealed that two components of spiritual maturity—awareness of God and realistic acceptance—moderated the relationship between Christian fundamentalism and shame. Christians scoring high on fundamentalism and high on these dimensions of spiritual maturity experienced low shame. Conversely, Christians scoring high on fundamentalism and low on these dimensions of spiritual maturity experienced high shame. Implications for mental health clinicians and clergy are discussed.
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