Religious/Spiritual Struggles and Mental Health Among Black Adolescents and Emerging Adults: A Meta-synthesis

Abstract

We conducted a meta-synthesis to understand how religious/spiritual struggles are linked to Black adolescents’ and emerging adults’ mental health, considering their various socio-demographic identities. To address this research aim, we reviewed and synthesized qualitative data from 19 studies that included the voices of approximately 382 Black adolescents and emerging adults. Data were analyzed using a seven-step meta-ethnography analysis approach. Findings revealed three themes highlighting contributors to Black youths’ negative mental health in relation to their religious/spiritual struggles: (a) Rejected and Unloved, (b) Abandoned and Dismissed, and (c) Doubt, Disengaged, and Reconciliation. Moreover, difficult religious/spiritual experiences were nested within contextual issues associated with typical developmental milestones (i.e., increased sexual activity and religious/spiritual identity development) and participants’ race, gender, sexual orientation, and mental health status (and related trauma). This meta-synthesis provides a foundation for understanding and responding to Black youths’ religious/spiritual struggles when providing culturally responsive and social justice-oriented mental health support.

Keywords

mental health Black adolescents emerging adulthood meta-synthesis religion/spirituality

Religion and spirituality are critical aspects of cultural diversity that have garnered increasing attention in psychology-centered literature. Religiosity is defined as one’s adoption of an organized system of beliefs, rituals, and practices that are oriented toward the sacred. One’s religiosity may occur through (a) non-organizational religious practices, reflected by the amount of time one engages in private religious activities, or (b) organizational religious practices, reflected by the frequency of one’s involvement in formal and group religious activities (Taylor et al., 2011a). Spirituality refers to one’s internal and personal relationship with self, others, a higher power, or something that is transcendent in nature. Spirituality may occur through religious practices; however, one’s relationship with the transcendent may not be associated with a specific religious institution (Richards & Bergin, 2005).

National survey data show that religion and spirituality are important to many Black Americans, as evidenced by a 2014 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center (2014) with approximately 35,000 United States citizens. Eighty-three percent of Black respondents (ages 18–65+) reported being “absolutely certain” about believing in God, and 75% of respondents reported that religion was very important in their lives. Indeed, religion and spirituality have been documented as interrelated sources of support for Black families in the United States due to their promotion of internal strength, collective care, and resource sharing within the community (Raboteau, 1999). The significance of religiosity and spirituality among Black Americans has resulted in a proliferation of research highlighting the link between Black individuals’ mental health and their religiosity and spirituality (e.g., Taylor et al., 2003). This line of research has also included studies focused on adolescents and emerging adults (a group comprised of individuals between the ages of 18 and 29; Munsey, 2006), considering that adolescence and emerging adulthood are proximal developmental periods that are accompanied by significant biological, social, emotional, and vocational changes, including identity development and formation (Wong et al., 2015; Yonker et al., 2012).

Most research centered on Black adolescents and emerging adults has underscored desired mental health outcomes (e.g., life satisfaction and low levels of psychopathology) associated with positive religious and spiritual experiences (Park et al., 2020). However, few empirical studies have examined outcomes associated with negative aspects of religiosity and spirituality among this population. Such a gap in the professional literature is problematic, as Constantine et al. (2000) postulated that mental health providers are better prepared to respond to religious and spiritual diversity among Black clients when they understand the religious and spiritual issues Black individuals may encounter. In response to the knowledge gap relative to Black youth (a term we use to describe adolescents and emerging adults), the authors executed a meta-synthesis of religious/spiritual struggles and related mental health outcomes among Black adolescents and emerging adults. We also attended to Black youths’ socio-demographic identities in relation to religious/spiritual struggles and mental health outcomes, considering that Taylor (1988) stressed a need to acknowledge the heterogeneity within the Black community.

Mental Health and Religiosity/Spirituality Among Black Youth

According to Raboteau (1999), religion, and more so spirituality, predates the period of chattel slavery, wherein White America manipulated Christianity to maintain power and control among enslaved African people. African people were not devoid of a spiritual core when they were forced into bondage, as persons of African descent relied on the Divine and the unity between the mind, body, and spirit to guide their daily lives (Myers, 1985; Raboteau, 1999; Wheeler et al., 2002). Dependence on organized religion to connect with the Divine (or God) became more pronounced when enslaved people were required to outwardly convert to Christianity, as practiced by White America (Raboteau, 1999). Nevertheless, free and enslaved Black people engaged in private acts of collective worship outside the purview of White America, with worship meetings blending traditional styles of African spirituality (kinesthetic movement) with colonial-styled worship. A growing number of predominantly Black religious institutions (mainly predominantly Black Protestant churches) emerged when White America chose to maintain segregated practices in religious spaces after people of African descent were freed (Raboteau, 1999). As the primary institution in America that was developed and operated by Black people with an African cultural heritage, predominantly Black religious institutions have contributed to the advancement and uplift of African Americans through collective action and spiritual healing (Raboteau, 1999; Taylor et al., 2003). Accordingly, research has shown that Black youth have generally benefitted from their relationship to the Divine, engagement in non-organizational religious activities, and connection to predominantly Black religious communities, with positive mental health being a well-documented correlate (e.g., Park et al., 2020).

Scholars have examined the relationship between adaptive and maladaptive indicators of mental health and various representations of Black youths’ spirituality and religiosity. Adaptive indicators of mental health, also referred to as psychological well-being, have included measures of self-esteem, self-acceptance, positive relationships with others, mastery, active coping, autonomy, personal growth, life satisfaction, and purpose in life (Butler-Barnes et al., 2017; Johnson & Carter, 2020; Rose et al., 2014; 2020; Yonker et al., 2012). Maladaptive indicators of mental health, or negative psychological well-being, have included perceived stress, suicidality, diagnosis of a mental health disorder, and engagement in risky behaviors (e.g., substance use; Rose et al., 2014, 2020; Yonker et al., 2012).

With respect to adaptative mental health among adolescents, researchers have found significant positive associations between Black adolescents’ psychological well-being and their communication with God, positive relationship with God, the extent to which they choose to engage in religious activities, and non-organizational religious involvement (Butler-Barnes et al., 2017; Rose et al., 2014; 2020; Yonker et al., 2012). Likewise, researchers have generally found significant inverse relationships between Black adolescents’ involvement in religious activities and negative psychological well-being (Rose et al., 2014, 2020; Yonker et al., 2012). Similar findings have been reported in studies including Black emerging adults (Johnson & Carter, 2020; Robinson et al., 2012; Taylor et al., 2011b; 2012; Yonker et al., 2012).

For example, in a national representative study including Black and emerging adults, Taylor et al. (2011b, 2012) found that African Americans who attended religious services at least once per week and looked to God for strength were less likely to experience suicide ideation, have a lifetime suicide attempt, and have a major depressive disorder compared with their counterparts. Likewise, Robinson et al. (2012) found that attending services infrequently was associated with increased odds of being diagnosed with a substance use disorder among adults (including emerging adults) of African descent. Specific to adaptive aspects of mental health, Johnson and Carter (2020) found that spirituality was positively related to life satisfaction and psychological well-being (e.g., happiness) among Black American adults ranging in age from 18–80.

These studies suggest that religiosity/spirituality may promote psychological well-being and reduce the likelihood of diminished mental health among Black adolescents and emerging adults. As depicted in qualitative research, participation in organized religious activities may be particularly helpful when Black youth receive social and emotional support from their religious communities (Brooks & Allen, 2016; Herndon, 2003; Riggins et al., 2008; Strayhorn, 2011), which can also include positive messages of racial affirmation (e.g., Muhammad, 2015; Riggins et al., 2008; Strayhorn, 2011). Qualitative research conducted with Black adolescents and emerging adults also showed that viewing God as one who accepts all and is a protector, provider (of strength, confidence, hope, resources, etc.), and helper contributed to their psychological well-being when faced with challenging situations (Brooks & Allen, 2016; Harley & Hunn, 2015; Herndon, 2003; Muhammad, 2015; Riggins, et al., 2008; Strayhorn, 2011). Still, because Black Americans are not a monolithic group, scholars such as Taylor (1988) have long called for greater attention to the heterogeneity of “religious beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors within the [B]lack population” (p. 127). Accordingly, researchers have also examined the relationship between mental health indicators and religiosity/spirituality among specific groups within the Black population, primarily based on respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., income status, gender, and sexual orientation).

Heterogeneity, Religiosity/Spirituality, and Black Youth Mental Health

Specific to variations across age groups, Pang (2017) found a significant decline in religious participation from adolescence to emerging adulthood and Wright et al. (2018) found a significant decline in spiritual connectedness from early adolescence to middle adolescence, both among Black respondents. Few studies have examined mental health implications of declining participation and beliefs. However, research including Black emerging adults showed that a higher degree of religious doubt (e.g., doubting whether one’s religious beliefs are true) is significantly associated with increased depression, especially for individuals who experience growing doubt over time (Upenieks, 2021). Similarly, Wright et al. (2018) found that Black adolescents generally experienced lower levels of positive reframing, goal directedness, and life satisfaction, and higher levels of emotional lability and avoidant coping when their spiritual connectedness (e.g., belief in a higher power) declined over time.

Black youths’ income status has also garnered attention in this line of research, considering the structural disadvantages (e.g., poverty concentration and lack of access to quality care) associated with Black families’ low-income status. For example, Wright et al. (2018) also revealed that greater spiritual connectedness was associated with higher levels of positive reframing, goal directedness, and life satisfaction, and lower levels of emotional lability and avoidant coping among Black adolescents from low-income backgrounds. Kim et al. (2018) found an inverse relationship between religious/spiritual involvement and delinquent behaviors, substance use, and sexual intercourse among Black adolescents from low-income environments. In contrast, Fowler et al. (2008) and Sisselman-Borgia et al. (2018) did not find significant, direct relationships between participants’ engagement in problem behaviors (e.g., substance abuse and deviant behaviors), private religiosity (e.g., belief in higher power and prayer), public religiosity (involvement in religious activities), and perceived support from God for African American adolescents and emerging adults living in low-income environments. Considering that Black youth who live in low-income and high-stress communities may be exposed to more community violence and related trauma (Ginwright, 2015), Fowler et al. (2008) also examined the impact of religiosity among youth exposed to community violence. Overall, Fowler et al. (2008) found that African American emerging adults exposed to community violence reported less substance abuse and deviant behavior when they engaged in higher levels of public and private religiosity.

Finally, several studies have taken gender identity and sexual orientation into account when examining the impact of religiosity and spirituality among Black youth. For example, research, including Black adolescent girls and emerging adult women, has revealed significant relationships between greater religiosity and spirituality and increased psychological well-being (e.g., self-esteem and life satisfaction) and fewer psychopathological symptoms (Ball, et al., 2003; Morrison & Hopkins, 2019; Reed & Neville, 2014). Of note, Rose et al. (2021) found some variation among adolescent girls, as religious emotional support was positively related to Black adolescent girls’ self-esteem, mastery, and life satisfaction; however, organized religious involvement was not directly related to any mental well-being outcomes. Although qualitative studies have suggested that religiosity/spirituality contributed to psychological well-being among Black adolescent boys and emerging adult men (Barrett, 2010; Dancy, 2010; Herndon, 2003; Riggins et al., 2008), Cokley and colleagues (2013) found that an increase in religious engagement was predictive of lower anxiety and depression for emerging adult Black women, but higher anxiety for emerging adult Black men. Cokley et al. (2013) postulated that Black emerging adult men may experience increased anxiety in predominantly Black churches when they preferred a more relaxed style of worship due to notions of “masculinity” amid high levels of emotional expression as a typical style of worship.

The research is scarce with respect to Black youth who are minoritized because of their gender identities (e.g., transgender and gender nonconforming). However, Exline et al. (2021) found that rejection by religious communities and the perception of God as disapproving of one’s gender identity were linked with more gender minority stress and lower levels of self-esteem and trait resilience among transgender and gender nonconforming emerging adults (with 1.6% of participants identifying as Black). Exline et al. (2021) also found that participants who were more involved in religious communities and disengaged over time reported more struggles compared with participants who were never affiliated with a religious community.

Relatedly, research including Black youth has also revealed a link between religiosity/spirituality and more psychological distress and less psychological well-being among LGBTQ+ youth. This pattern may be especially true when LGBTQ2IA+ individuals are immersed in non-affirming religious environments and experience internalized homophobia (Barnes & Meyer, 2012; McCann et al., 2020; Szymanski & Carreta, 2020). It is also important to note that a positive relationship with God and one’s religious community can promote psychological well-being among Black LGBTQ+ youth (McCann et al., 2020; Walker & Longmire-Avital, 2013). (Different abbreviations are used of sexual orientation based on the focus of the population at the time the studies were.)

These studies bring attention to two key points. First, some Black individuals may view the personal impact of religiosity and spirituality within the context of multiple socio-demographic identities they hold. Second, more variation in the relationship between religiosity, spirituality, and positive mental health is observed when researchers take subgroup experiences into account. Consequently, scholars have increasingly attended to the association between religious and spiritual struggles and adverse mental health, acknowledging that positive religious and spiritual experiences are not universal.

Religious and Spiritual Struggles

Religious and spiritual struggles occur when certain aspects of religious/spiritual beliefs, practices, or experiences result in negative thoughts, emotions, concerns, or conflict (Exline et al., 2014). Exline et al. (2014) reported the results of two studies that aimed to (a) identify various domains of religious/spiritual struggles using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, (b) validate their measure of religious/spiritual struggles (Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale), and (c) examine religious/spiritual struggles in relation to participants’ mental health outcomes. Exline et al. (2014) revealed that their scale was composed of six dimensions of religious/spiritual struggles. Divine struggle refers to negative emotions or conflict regarding one’s beliefs about deity or their relationship with a deity, largely based on personal perceptions; Interpersonal struggle occurs when one encounters negative and conflictual experiences with religious people or institutions. Demonic struggle includes concerns about evil forces (e.g., spirits and the devil) contributing to negative events or inflicted harm upon an individual; and Moral struggle can occur when one wrestles with or strives to adhere to moral principles (this can lead to immense guilt). Ultimate Meaning struggle is based on one’s concern about whether life has a deeper meaning; and Doubt struggle involves one experiencing a sense of worry in response to the doubts or questions they may have about their religious/spiritual beliefs (Exline et al., 2014).

In a second follow-up study with undergraduate students, Exline et al. (2014) found that all dimensions of religious/spiritual struggles predicted negative aspects of mental health, including depression, anxiety, anger, low life satisfaction, and feelings of loneliness. With respect to demographic differences, the researchers found that emerging adult men reported higher struggles compared to women, LGB individuals reported higher struggles compared to straight individuals, and Christian and African American participants had a higher total religious/spiritual struggle score compared to their counterparts. In their first study including a general sample of U.S. adults, Exline et al. (2014) also found that individuals with a higher education and income status reported lower levels of religious/spiritual struggles compared with participants with a lower education and income status.

Results from the studies conducted by Exline et al. (2014) are informative, yet additional research is needed to understand the implications of religious/spiritual struggles among Black Americans, considering that no more than 10% of participants in Exline et al.’s (2014) studies identified as Black/African American. Recent studies conducted by Chatters et al. (2018) and Holt et al. (2018) provide some support for Exline et al.’s work in relation to Black Americans. Their research with exclusive samples of African Americans showed that negative social interactions in one’s religious community predicted higher rates of depressive symptoms and a decline in overall emotional health. Nonetheless, because the average ages of participants in their studies were approximately 41 and 58, it is unclear how their results apply to adolescents and emerging adults. The lack of attention to adolescents was also noted as a limitation in Exline et al.’s (2014) study. Furthermore, Chatters et al. (2018) and Holt et al. (2018) did not examine other aspects of religious/spiritual struggles or compare differences among subgroups, which warrants the need for additional research.

Purpose of the Current Study

Research has largely found that religiosity/spirituality predicted positive mental health outcomes among Black adolescents and emerging adults (Park et al., 2020). Although large scale quantitative studies can lead to broad inferences (Cohen, 2008), general conclusions drawn from representative samples may fail to account for variable experiences that exist among individuals. As such, more research has begun to examine the links between religious/spiritual struggles and mental health outcomes among different U.S. populations. Most studies, however, have focused on White populations (e.g., Exline et al., 2014) or older Black adults (e.g., Chatters et al., 2018; Holt et al., 2018), at the exclusion of Black adolescents and emerging adults. Furthermore, more research is needed to understand how Black youths’ socio-demographics intersect with their religious/spiritual struggles and mental health due to the heterogeneity that exists within the Black community (Taylor, 1988). Qualitative studies can shed light on phenomena in which little are known (Mohammed et al., 2016), including contextual considerations and nuanced differences within groups. A meta-synthesis is one approach to qualitative research where researchers can synthesize existing qualitative studies and build a new understanding of an understudied phenomenon (Mohammed et al., 2016). Thus, we conducted a meta-synthesis of religious/spiritual struggles among Black adolescents and emerging adults to explore the following question: How do Black adolescents and emerging adults with various socio-demographic identities make meaning of their religious/spiritual struggles in relation to their mental health?

Method

Search Strategy

The research team (comprised of all three authors) synthesized the data using Noblit and Hare’s (1988) meta-ethnography approach, as described by Mohammed et al. (2016). The goal of a meta-ethnography is to explore participants’ lived experiences; and data are synthesized through a structured seven-step process. We followed the seven steps based on Mohammed et al.’s (2016) recommendations. Step 1 involves deciding the phenomenon of interest by defining the objective of the study and developing a research question to address the aim. As previously described, the research team decided to explore how Black adolescents and emerging adults with various socio-demographic identities make meaning of their religious/spiritual struggles in relation to their mental health.

During Step 2, researchers must decide what is relevant to determine what studies to identify and how to identify the studies of interest. Consistent with Step 2, the research team identified the criteria for studies that were eligible for inclusion in this review. First, participants had to identify as Black/African Americans who were between the ages of 13 and 29. Studies that included older young adults (no more than 35 years-old) and non-Black/African American participants were included if emerging adults and Black participants’ perspectives were explicitly detailed in the findings (all quotes analyzed were limited to participants who met the study criteria). As a second criterion, the findings had to describe social and emotional challenges participants experienced and how indicators of religiosity and spirituality contributed to their experiences.

Regarding the “how,” the following electronic databases were searched from inception (January 1, 2021) to March 3, 2021: APA PsycArticles, APA PsychInfo, Atla Religion Database, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, Education Research Complete, ERIC, Family & Society Studies Worldwide, Family Studies Abstracts, Jewish Studies Source, LGBTQ+ Source, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, Race Relations Abstracts, Religion and Philosophy Collection, and Urban Studies Abstracts. The first author also searched articles listed in the JSTOR database as a secondary search from inception to January 7, 2021. Index terms and keywords included African American* (or Black Americans or Black), youth* (or adolescents or young people or teen or young adults), religion* (or religious or religiousness or religions or religious or spiritual or spirituality or faith), beliefs* (or perceptions or views or attitudes), and qualitative research* (or qualitative study or qualitative methods or interview). A limiter was added for the JSTOR search, wherein the terms “religious” or “spiritual” had to be in the title. Finally, the first author reviewed the reference list of included studies to identify any relevant papers not identified in the original search.

A final consideration in Step 2 pertains to the number of studies the researchers wish to include. According to Mohammed et al. (2016), there is not a standard requirement regarding how many articles to include, and researchers do not have to complete an exhaustive search. Instead, the articles of foci are dependent upon the researchers’ decisions, study context, and available resources. With respect to researcher decision making, the quality of the studies reviewed is an important consideration when conducting meta-syntheses. Although there is not an agreed upon standard with respect to how a study’s quality is defined, Major and Savin-Baden (2010) emphasized that peer-reviewed research can provide one layer of quality control given that it is subjected to the scrutiny of colleagues in the author’s respective field. Because this study was exploratory in nature, the research team only included empirical studies published in peer-reviewed journal articles. We excluded dissertations and book studies, though our decision should not suggest that these are low-quality sources. Finally, our team reviewed articles that were published between the years 2000 and 2020; we utilized a 20-year period given the paucity of research in this line of inquiry. Mixed methods studies were eligible if the qualitative data were analyzed separately.

The first author screened all titles, abstracts, and full papers and selected the preliminary group of relevant articles. The second author cross-checked the initial selection of articles and identified articles that should be included and excluded for final review. Final decisions about inclusion were made by the first and second authors. After reviewing each article, the first and third authors extracted all data and study details onto an Excel spreadsheet. Here is where we used Steps 3–7.

Data Synthesis

Mohammed et al. (2016) note that Noblit and Hare’s (1988) data synthesis process involves the generation of three order constructs to arrive at the final set of themes. Researchers typically develop the first and second order constructs during Step 3, which entails a careful reading and re-reading of included studies to become more acquainted with study details and identify key concepts related to the research aim. The first order constructs are defined by direct participant quotes reported in the paper. Thus, we extracted all quotes that aligned with our study criteria. Because direct quotes may not fully capture the studied phenomenon (considering that selected quotes are presented in published work), researchers should develop second order constructs to “understand the totality of the data” (Mohammed et al., 2016, p. 697). Second order constructs are defined as the authors’ interpretations of participants’ experiences, as conveyed in the listed themes and discussion section. Developing third order constructs, that is synthesizing the findings, occurred during Steps 4–6. All three authors examined the second order constructs, and group discussions were held to identify new third order constructs.

A key goal of Steps 4 and 5 is to determine how studies are related and translate studies into one another, respectively. Because researchers can use a predefined framework to conceptualize the core themes, we utilized indicators of religious/spiritual struggles and related mental health outcomes, as described by Exline et al. (2014), to inform data interpretation. We also noted relevant demographic characteristics that intersected with participants’ experiences. Step 6 entails synthesizing the translation and developing a higher-level interpretation to give new understandings. According to Mohammed et al. (2016), the objective of this stage is to bring together the translated themes, make sense of the findings by synthesizing data from all themes, and map them together to develop a “the whole category” (p. 698). Once the team agreed on the final synthesis, all authors checked the interpretation of the data and made suggested changes based on the original context of the studies. The final step includes expressing the synthesis through the presentation of findings, which is conveyed in subsequent sections. Our final synthesis is reported in the discussion section of this paper.

Results

The process of selection based on the PRISMA guidelines is presented in Figure 1. The initial search identified 520 records with nine additional articles identified from reference list searches. After duplicates were removed, 249 records remained, and the first author read all titles and abstracts to identify relevant papers. Two hundred and five records were excluded at this stage, and 44 papers were selected and fully screened to determine if the inclusion criteria were met. Twenty five papers were excluded at the data extraction phase. Twelve of the 25 papers were specifically excluded because they did not reveal indicators of religious/spiritual struggles. A total of 19 papers were included in the final review (see Table 1).

Figure 1.

PRISMA flowchart of search strategy and outcome.

Table 1.

Characteristics of studies included.

Author(s)	Aims	Participants	Methodology
Breland-Noble et al. (2015)	To assess African American adolescents’ reported experiences of spiritual and religious coping when dealing with depression	-28 Black youth between the ages of 11 and 17 -Family backgrounds: About half of families reported annual family incomes greater than or equal to $50,000 and parental completion of college and/or graduate school -Religious affiliation: Primarily Christianity -Other identifying information: Diverse in family background and other identities (specific numbers not disclosed)	Interviews and focus groups Grounded theory
Brooks & Allen (2016)	To examine the ways in which fictive kin relationships and religiosity impact academic persistence in African American college students	-14 African American college-attending students aged 20–23 (males, n = 5; females, n = 9) -Family background: 9 raised in two-parent households; 4 raised in single-parent households; 1 raised by grandmother; family income ranged from less than $30,000 per year to over $90,000 -Other identifying information: Diverse in religions (specific numbers not disclosed)	Interviews Codes to themes
Constantine et al. (2006)	To explore the associations among religion, spirituality, and career development	-12 African American undergraduate students aged 18–22 (women, n = 8; men, n = 4) -Religious affiliation: Catholic, n = 4; Protestant Christian, n = 8 -SES background: 6 came from middle class backgrounds; 6 were from working class backgrounds	Interviews Consensual qualitative analysis
Cooper & Mitra (2018)	To examine religious disengagement among African American young adults	-15 Black individuals aged 22–28 (males, n = 7; females, n = 8) -Education status and employment: High school graduate only, n = 9; Bachelor’s, n = 6 -Religious affiliation: All previously affiliated with Christianity -No other identifying information disclosed	Interviews Pragmatic-iterative approach
Dancy (2010)	To explore the role of spirituality and religion in the lives of undergraduate African American males and illustrate how spirituality influences their identities and college experiences	-24 African American male undergraduate students -Religious affiliation: Christian -Other identifying information: Diverse in sexualities, socioeconomic status, family background, and other identities (specific numbers not disclosed)	Interviews Grounded theory, Phenomenology, and case study
Lee et al. (2020)	To examine how religiosity and spirituality may function as cultural assets to help young Black men cope with homicide bereavement, violent victimization, and chronic vulnerability to premature violent death	-31 young Black men aged 18–24 -Education and employment: 25% had a GED/diploma; others were in pursuit of a GED or workforce -Religious affiliation: Christianity, n = 29; Muslim, n = 1; belief in higher power/spiritual, n = 1	Interviews Modified grounded theory approach
*McGuire (2018)	To propose a theorization of religion’s afterlife—or how religion continues to matter in Black students’ lives despite their lack of affiliation and engagement with institutionalized faith organizations	-21 Black undergraduate students (women, n = 16; men, n = 5) -Religious affiliation: Protestant Christianity, n = 16; Roman Catholic, n = 1; Muslim, n = 1; secular, n = 2; secular with Christian overtones, n = 1; religious and spiritual, n = 14; spiritual only, n = 6; loved Jesus, n = 1 -Sexual orientation: 3 men identified as queer	Interviews Thematic analysis, structural analysis, and interpersonal analysis
McGuire et al. (2016)	To examine the experiences of a Black, Muslim, immigrant, female college student born in Saudi Arabia	-1 21-year-old college woman -Religious affiliation: Muslim -Immigrant status: Immigrant	Interviews Narrative analysis
*McGuire et al. (2017)	To understand factors that influence students’ spiritual identities prior to and during college; to understand how students’ spiritual identities are raced and gendered and interact with their sexual identities	-21 Black undergraduate students (women, n = 16; men, n = 5) *See other data reported by (McGuire, 2018)	*See method reported by (McGuire, 2018)
Means & Jaeger (2015)	To explore the spiritual journey and spaces of one Black gay male college student and how he successfully integrated his racial, sexual orientation, and spiritual identities	-1 Black gay male college student -Religious affiliation: Christianity -No other identifying information listed	Interviews, photovoice and field observations Case study (codes to themes)
Miller & Stack (2014)	To explore African American lesbian and queer women’s responses to Christian-based homophobia (CBH)	-15 African American women aged 23–35 -Education and employment: All college educated -Gender identity: 7 identified as femme; 5 identified as stud; 2 identified as queer; 1 identified as stem -Religious affiliation: Primarily Christianity -Sexual orientation: 10 identified as lesbian; 5 identified as queer (3 identified as queer and lesbian)	Semi-structured interviews Cross-case analysis
Molock et al. (2007)	To explore African American adolescents’ perceptions of help-seeking behaviors in the context of a hypothetical suicide crisis	-42 church-going African American adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 (African American, n = 39; mixed race, n = 3; males, n = 16; females, n = 26) -Family background: 20 lived in two-parent households and were from low to middle class SES backgrounds -Religious affiliation: Primarily Christianity	Focus groups Codes to themes
Moore et al. (2015)	To explore church youth’s (a) sex beliefs and values, (b) sources and evaluation of sex communication and education, (c) facilitators/barriers to adolescent sexual risk reduction and communication behaviors, and (d) intentions to engage in these behaviors	-54 African American adolescents aged 12–19 (males, n = 32; females, n = 22) -Religious affiliation: Christianity	Surveys and focus groups Grounded theory
Patton & McClure (2009)	To explore the role of spirituality in the experiences of African American undergraduate women	-14 African American undergraduate women -Religious affiliation: Christianity -No other identifying information listed	Interviews Phenomenology
Powell et al. (2017)	To identify the facilitators and barriers to implementing adolescent sexual health programming in Black churches	-45 adolescents aged 13–19; 38 parents; 18 faith leaders (all Black/African American) -Religious affiliation: Christianity -No other identifying information listed	Focus groups Qualitative content analysis
*Quinn & Dickson-Gomez (2016)	To examine the experiences of homonegativity in the Black church among young Black men who have sex with men	-30 youth aged 16–24- -Education and employment: 8 had some college education; 6 in high school -Religious affiliation: Primarily Christianity -Sexual orientation: 9 identified as bisexual; 21 identified as gay	Interviews Grounded theory
*Quinn et al. (2016)	To examine the role of the church in the lives of gay and bisexual Black youth and to understand how they reconcile any tension between their religious and sexual identities	-30 youth (ages 16–24); and 21 pastors *See other data reported by Quinn & Dickson-Gomez (2016)	Interviews Grounded theory
Williams et al. (2014)	To understand the ways in which African American churches discuss adolescent sexual health topics	-30 adolescents aged 12–18 (African American, n = 23; European American, n = 1; multiracial, n = 6; males, n = 11; females, n = 19) and 19 adults aged 31- 61 -Religious affiliation: Christianity -No other identifying information listed	Focus groups Content analysis
Winder (2015)	To identify how young adults in Los Angeles were able to repurpose and reclaim a religious theology and practice within an organizational space dedicated to encouraging the successful coalescence of their identities: religious, sexual, racial, etc.	-26 young men aged 18–31 (24 Black/African American) -Education and employment: 56% employed, 26% full-time students, 18% unemployed -Religious affiliation: Primarily Christianity -Sexual orientation: 78% identified as gay or homosexual; 22% identified as bisexual or pansexual	Interviews/ethnography Abductive analysis

Note. * = Data appear to be collected from the same study.

Study Characteristics

The studies represent the views of approximately 382 Black adolescents and emerging adults. However, this number may be a slight overestimate of the number of participants who met the inclusion criteria based on their age, given that some studies did not report the exact age of each participant. Across studies, participants were diverse in gender identity, sexual orientation, family background, income status, education, and employment status. A total of 16 articles specifically referenced Christianity, three articles referenced Islam, and three articles referenced Catholicism.

Core Themes

Findings revealed three core themes: (a) Rejected and Unloved, (b) Abandoned and Dismissed, and (c) Doubt, Disengagement, and Reconciliation. Theme 1 and Theme 2 primarily underscore participants’ struggles with the Divine (i.e., God and Jesus Christ) and their religious communities. We combined participants’ struggles with both sources in these two themes, given that the essence of their difficulties was similar in nature. Issues of morality (concerns about what is right vs. wrong) were also evident in Themes 1 and 2 when participants discussed matters related to sex, sexuality, and critiquing their faith. Theme 3 highlights participants’ experiences with religious and spiritual doubts, including the ways in which they attempted to reconcile such doubt. Except for emerging adults who had more freedom to leave their religious communities and adolescents who discussed sexual health issues, participants’ experiences were generally similar across adolescence and emerging adulthood. In fact, several emerging adults indicated that their struggles began during adolescence. Thus, we reference participants’ developmental age group for descriptive purposes only. Other demographic characteristics are explicitly alluded to throughout the section when relevant to the findings.

Rejected and Unloved

Participants struggled with feeling rejected and unloved by God and their religious communities due to certain aspects of their social identities: race, gender (especially for girls and emerging adult women), and sexual orientation. Specific areas of concern in this theme related to experiences of race-based isolation, gender socialization, and homonegativity. We present findings for theme one through two subthemes: (a) Racial Isolation in Religious Settings and (b) Gender- and Sexual Orientation-Based Oppression.

Racial Isolation in Religious Settings

Participants were aware of their “Blackness” (McGuire et al., 2016, p. 319) and non-Black individuals’ anti-Black perspectives. As such, some participants experienced racial isolation and race-based microaggressions from non-Black members in their respective religious communities. For example, an emerging adult Black male in Means and Jaeger’s (2015) study described his experience as an adolescent who attended a predominantly White church where his mother served as the pastor, “I felt singled out…because we were the only African American family there” (p. 17). Although White church members treated his family differently, the family strove to maintain membership at the church after leaving a predominantly Black church that was unaccepting of the young man’s sexual orientation. Nevertheless, his mother was encouraged to leave her post as the pastor at the predominantly White gay-affirming church because people were not comfortable with “an African American woman holding such a position of power in that church that is usually filled by Caucasian males” (Means & Jaeger, 2015, p.17).

Likewise, an emerging adult male who participated in Dancy’s (2010) study recounted his experience with race-based isolation in his church community as an adolescent:

The church that we went to was in the next town over…which is predominantly White and we would go to catechism…I just noticed a difference between me and the students who were all White and how I didn't really relate to them... And there was always a separation like you know...I didn't think that it was supposed to be that way in church as that's not what Christ teaches… (p. 426)

Several emerging adult women in Patton and McClure’s (2009) study shared similar experiences, as Black students who attended a predominantly White Christian university. Participants often felt “unwelcomed” (p. 50) by White members during campus worship services, and an acknowledgment of Black culture and race-related issues seldom occurred. Such actions led the participants to not want to attend worship services because the church community failed to cater to their “spiritual needs” (Patton & McClure, 2009, p. 49) as Black women.

Aligned with their experiences on a college campus, an emerging adult Muslim woman who participated in McGuire et al.’s (2016) case study reflected on the negative interactions she had with non-Black Muslims in religious settings on her university campus. She explained that because “[she] was often the only Black person in the room” she encountered “a lot of microaggressions. . .” (p. 323) by the other students. As a result of her experiences, she was heavily involved in a predominantly Black student organization to receive racial support. However, she experienced religious-based harassment when interacting with Black Christian students, as they often questioned the merits of her Muslim faith. In turn, the ongoing tension she felt when interacting with non-Black Muslim students and Black Christian students caused her to distance herself from her religious identity, which ultimately impacted her mental well-being: “…unfortunately, the process was a process of forgetting and of shutting down a lot of these things (e.g., forgetting Arabic, praying multiple times a day) in hopes of fitting in” (McClure et al., 2016, p. 325).

In summary, these accounts show that Black youth may participate in religious-based organizations where they are racially marginalized due to proximity (close location), their caregiver’s choice of religious membership, and to escape other forms of discrimination in predominantly Black spaces (i.e., homophobia and religious discrimination). This exposes Black youth to harmful faith-based environments as they strive to find a religious community that embraces all their identities.

Gender- and Sexual Orientation-Based Oppression

Issues related to gender socialization and sexual orientation also emerged in our review. Specifically, participants experienced frustration, guilt, self-doubt, social isolation, and other negative emotions in response to (a) how they perceived God viewed them based on their gender and sexual orientation and (b) church members’ (including family) attempts to socialize participants into restrictive gender roles and/or condemn their sexual orientation as members of the LGBTQ+ community. We first start with a review of findings related to gender socialization.

As described by one woman who had “beef with [God]” (McGuire, 2017, p. 12), emerging adult women expressed long-held critiques of the “patriarchy, sexism, and misogyny in certain religious practices and theologies” (p. 12), with concerns dating as far back as middle school. In this regard, participants expressed feelings of frustration toward (the Christian) God due to what seemed to be biases rooted in the devaluing of women:

There were points where I found the Bible really [misogynistic]…the Bible puts women as No. 2…When Adam and Eve got their separate punishment, Eve had to suffer through childbirth and Adam had to work for a living. And I’m like, “…We have to die giving birth to children, but he just has to work the soil of the earth to earn a living?” I’m like, “That’s not fair.” (McGuire et al., 2017, p. 187)

Participants’ frustrations with God were perpetuated by oppressive expectations conveyed by their religious communities, which also led participants to experience a lack of belongingness among other members. Consequently, emerging adult women were tired of hearing “all of this misogyny” thrown at them based on a “Bible…[that was] written by men for men, promoting men” (McGuire et al., 2017, p. 187).

For example, emerging adult women who participated in studies conducted by McGuire et al. (2017) and Miller and Stack (2014) experienced frustration when church members expected them to behave like a “lady” based on heteropatriarchal and heteronormative standards. This included preventing women from holding leadership positions in the church (e.g., serving as preachers), telling young women that it was important for them to demonstrate femininity, and encouraging young women to take a back seat to their male counterparts. An example of such is as follows:

At first that was hard…[in] a lot of Christian denominations a woman’s role is supposed to be behind [her husband]…I was just like, “I don’t understand how that’s okay.” And I’m too strong headed of a person to be okay with somebody telling me I’m just supposed to sit back and do nothing. (McGuire et al., 2017, p. 186)

A significant consequence of this expectation resulted in a church community telling an emerging adult woman not to “rock the boat” and stay silent during her teenage years when her uncle sexually abused her (Cooper & Mitra, 2018, p. 518).

As adolescent girls and emerging adult women were socialized to the “take a back seat,” adolescent males and emerging adult men were socialized to assume roles of leadership and power. For instance, one participant in Dancy’s (2010) study suggested that his experience of gender socialization came in the form of other people expecting him to assume a leadership position as a pastor in the Black Church, against his desire. Most accounts of gender socialization, however, occurred within the context of adolescent boys and young adult men being taught about the importance of masculinity. Because such messages were discussed in relation to men exerting power within heterosexual relationships, many emerging adult men wrestled with this idea.

Participants in McGuire et al.’s (2017) study, for example, spoke about their “struggle, confusion, and (at times) refusal to live up to and perform heteropatriarchal and heteronormative masculinities” (p. 189). Men who were raised in Christian homes and mentored by Christian pastors shared stories of being told that “women were in positions of less power than men” (McGuire et al., 2017, p. 189), which also occurred as early as middle school. Given the messages they were exposed to as adolescents and beyond, several emerging adult men were uncertain about how to balance their personal commitment to gender equality with the leadership and power they were told to demonstrate. One emerging adult man noted, “I’m still deciphering about what it really means to not be—chauvinistic…the dichotomy between the spiritual head of household [and] still being equal with your wife…I’m not sure what it actually means” (McGuire et al., 2017, p. 190).

Expectations of masculinity also served as a source of stress for emerging adult men who were members of the LGBTQ+ community. Participants explained that men who desired to express more “feminine” qualities “struggled to find a balance between their identity as a gay or bisexual men and the masculine expectations tied to their family, friends, and community” (Quinn & Dickson-Gomez, 2016, p. 59). Indeed, an emerging adult man explained the conversation he had with his father (a preacher) when the young man told his father he was gay, “That was the conversation me and [my father] had. ‘If this is what you are going to do, I would appreciate if you would carry yourself as a man’” (Quinn et al., 2016, p. 530).

Consistent with these findings, adolescents who participated in Williams et al.’s (2014) study criticized the anti-gay messages they heard in their respective church: “I don't think he should project them [homosexuals] in…a harsh manner…Like, the way he [pastor] says it…can be very rude” (p. 345). In fact, the greatest source of stress in this larger theme was the tension participants felt when trying to “reconcile” their sexual orientation with their religious identity (Cooper & Mitra, 2018; Dancy, 2010; McGuire et al., 2017; Miller & Stack, 2014; Quinn et al., 2016; Quinn & Dickson-Gomez, 2016; Winder, 2015). This internal battle participants experienced resulted in feelings of guilt, shame, fear, depression, anxiety, and even suicide ideation. Emerging adult participants indicated that they began to experience many of these feelings as adolescents when they became aware of their sexual orientation.

A participant who identified as a lesbian in Miller and Stack’s (2014) study, for example, explained that she often tried to pray away her feelings toward other girls: “For a long time, I felt like [being gay] was wrong. I was like, ‘Okay God, I’m going to need you to take this away from me…Please forgive me for having those thoughts about girls’” (p. 253). Likewise, an emerging adult man in Quinn and Dickson-Gomez’s (2016) study described the negative perceptions he had about himself during adolescence, due to his preference to have sex with individuals of the same sex and his Christian identity: “At first, growing up, I used to think like, ‘You are stupid’ and ‘How can you think that you are gay?’ or ‘You are going to be gay all of your life and you can’t get rid of it, like it’s a rash, there is no comeback’” (p. 55). Considering the internal battle LGBTQ+ participants experienced, this group of participants struggled with understanding what was “punishable by God” (Miller & Stack, 2014, p. 256), and they questioned whether God loved them.

Participants’ perceptions of God in relation to their sexuality were also funneled through the harsh ways religious communities treated the youth. An emerging adult male explained:

I felt betrayed…I felt a little angry, I felt a little ashamed, I’m feeling kind of sad…how are you going to preach to me that He loved all of his children? Because I’m different from the rest of His children, I’m going to hell and I’m going to burn? Like, what am I supposed to do?.. I know that He’s our Christ and I know that He’s our Savior, but I just don’t know if He’s going to accept me. (Quinn & Dickson-Gomez, 2016, p. 55)

In addition to being condemned to “hell” (Means & Jaeger, 2015; Miller & Stack, 2014; Quinn et al., 2016; Quinn & Dickson-Gomez, 2016; Winder, 2015), several participants explained that pastors/preachers directed hateful messages and acts of public humiliation toward the youth during worship services and in the presence of others. For example, an emerging adult in Cooper and Mitra’s (2018) study explained, “One Sunday, my mom’s good friend was teaching the sermon. She did altar call and was asking if anyone wanted to get prayed for…She mentioned homosexuality and pointed directly to me…” (p. 520). Another participant in Quinn et al.’s (2016) study noted, “[My pastor] was saying stuff like…you’ll die, God isn’t going to love you, God is not going to want you in his church…you are going to burn in your seat” (p. 529). Participants were also ostracized by the larger church community, as described by Miller and Stack (2014) in reference to a participant in their study:

The generosity she received from church members drew her into the Christian faith. The family-style relationship she developed with them during her middle and high school years all changed during college, when she disclosed her lesbian identity…She was shunned by some of her fellow church members; this experience led her to contemplate…the validity of Christian love…and how that dried up in an instant when [she] came out. (p. 260)

Abandoned and Dismissed

Participants indicated that God abandoned them, and their religious communities dismissed their concerns, when they experienced traumatic events, suffered from depression and suicide ideation, and/or strove to navigate novel experiences that were typical of their developmental period (i.e., increased sexual encounters and questioning their religiosity/spirituality). This theme, reflecting participants’ perceptions of being neglected and forgotten, is organized around two subthemes: (a) Limited Response to Mental Health and Trauma and (b) Developmental Needs Unmet.

Limited Response to Mental Health and Trauma

Feelings of abandonment by God often coincided with participants’ experiences of severe mental health disorders (i.e., depression and suicide) and exposure to traumatic events (e.g., tragic death of loved ones and sexual abuse). During these moments, participants questioned whether God was present or had the capacity to intervene. Adolescent and emerging adult participants, for example, discussed their familiarity with youth suicide, depression, grief, and trauma based on their own experiences and that of their peers (Breland-Noble et al., 2015; Cooper & Mitra, 2018; Lee et al., 2020; Molock, 2007). Some of the adolescents who participated in Molock’s (2007) study reported making previous suicide attempts, and the participants shared several stories about peers who attempted or died by suicide. For example, one participant reported: “My man tried to kill himself…everybody was picking on him…So he tried to stab himself… He tried to kill himself a couple of times. He tried to hang himself (pause), (that’s) crazy man...” (Molock, 2007, p. 57). Another participant explained, “last month my friend killed himself, he shot himself in the head, um ‘cause he didn’t want to go back to jail, that’s all I know…” (Molock, 2007, p. 57). A final detailed account included, “My best friend…It was over a boyfriend… (They’ve) been together for five years and her heart was broken…she jumped off a cliff and she took her life over it...she was only sixteen...” (Molock, 2007, p. 57). When reflecting upon these experiences, participants indicated that they believed in God, but they questioned whether God “helped people in the midst of depressive episodes and suicide crises, because God acts on God’s ‘own time’” (Molock, 2007, p. 58). As noted by one focus group:

It’s like God works on His time but when you’re in those moments when you’re fed up on your time and you’re not on His time…you don’t feel like believing in God ‘cause you wanna know right now, you don’t feel like waiting for Him. (Molock, 2007, p. 58)

Participants suggested that such moments were disappointing because youth sought immediate relief only for God to not step in when they desired.

Similar sentiments about God’s absence were expressed by emerging adult men participants in Lee et al.’s (2020) study. Lee and colleagues interviewed 31 Black men between the ages of 18 and 24 who experienced traumatic loss due to frequent homicides occurring within the context of living in inner-city neighborhoods that were also marked by high levels of poverty. In response to the murders of friends and family members, participants experienced grief, depression, and trauma. Though some participants’ experiences resulted in them gravitating toward God, other participants began to doubt whether God existed or cared about their struggles. For example, one 19-year-old man witnessed two homicides before the age of eight, he was shot in the leg at ages 13 and 15, and he lost a cousin and best friend before age 18, in which he witnessed one of the murders. As a result, he did not believe that God cared about him or his peers, “I'm not gonna say I don't believe in God but I'm sitting here like ‘What the f[***]? Why would you let this happen if you really up there, and s[***]?' You feel me?” (Lee et al., 2020, p. 5). Likewise, a 22-year-old man shared his experiences of witnessing the homicides of two friends and surviving life-threating injuries after being a victim of violence. He also questioned God’s care for him: “I was like ‘yo, why does this got to happen to be me?'…‘why my…loved ones got to go?'… that's what I was asking that day, like ‘what did I do…for you to take them away from me, God?'” (Lee et al., 2020, p. 6). In turn, he blamed himself and wondered why God would allow such tragedy to occur. Overall, both participants’ experience of grief, guilt, and perceived abandonment by God resulted in spiritual struggle.

Related to the struggle with God because of loss and grief, an emerging adult female who participated in Cooper and Mitra’s (2018) study expressed disappointment in the absence of Jesus when her grandmother passed away, after experiencing a “painful death” and being on “life support for 39 days” (p. 521). Because she viewed her grandmother as the “model Christian woman,” she explained the following, “For me to see her, of all people go through this stuff with this so-called prayer for Jesus, I thought for sure he would ride in and save her” (Cooper & Mitra, 2018, p. 521). Her thoughts about Jesus’s limited presence were also influenced by the sexual abuse she experienced at the hands of her uncle: “When it did not stop, she concluded that baby Jesus was not going to come and save me” (Cooper & Mitra, 2018, p. 518). Like participants in other studies, multiple tragedies and emotionally painful situations made her feel like the Divine abandoned her during times in which she needed the most help.

Consistent with how participants felt about God’s abandonment, participants expressed frustration and anger when adults in their religious communities responded to their trauma and mental health with phrases such as just pray about it or turn it over to God. Instead of being helpful, participants indicated that those statements made them feel like their religious community ignored the extent of their pain or their need for more direct social support. For example, adolescent participants who struggled with depression and suicide ideation in the Breland-Noble et al., (2015) and Molock et al., (2007) studies were hesitant to reach out to their religious community because they were not always confident their needs would be met. In addition to concerns about confidentiality and judgment, participants strongly believed that being encouraged to pray as the only solution was insufficient. One participant noted:

Religious black people or Christian Black people are usually like, okay, “All you have to do is take your troubles to God and he’ll deal with it” and…I think that people, teenagers especially, don’t get help because of what other people say about…how you should pray and all that… (Breland-Noble et al., 2015, p. 336)

A similar sentiment was shared by the emerging adult woman in Cooper and Mitra’s (2018) study who experienced ongoing sexual abuse by her uncle. When she reported it to church members, they urged her to simply pray about the situation. Indeed, it was through this experience where she began to feel unseen by Jesus because her prayers were unanswered:

I remember people telling me, “Pray about this.” I remember praying he would stop, or somebody would make him stop, and it continued. When I got to about 19 or 20, I got to the conclusion that sweet little baby Jesus was not going to come and save me. I remember not knowing what to do. (Cooper & Mitra, 2018, p. 518)

Another example of the combined frustration with the Divine and one’s religious community during times of tragedy was illustrated in Lee et al.’s (2020) study. In addition to feeling abandoned by God after witnessing multiple homicides, the 19-year-old man who we previously discussed expressed anger toward church leaders who failed to help him navigate the deep pain he felt. He was told to let go of the situation and let God take care of it. This made him feel angrier because he seemed to have had enough of repeatedly experiencing the same traumatic event:

The preacher…tried to tell me “you gotta let go and let God deal with it.” You know what I told the preacher? “…you all keep on telling me to leave it in God’s hands. What the f[***] is He doing right now if the n[****] dead?” (Lee et al., 2020, p. 5)

Each of these exemplars suggest that adolescents and emerging adults can feel abandoned by God and neglected by their religious communities when it is unclear how/if the Divine is present and when adults immediately defer to an abstract, intangible solution (turn to God) in response to the individual’s emotional pain.

Developmental Needs Neglected by Religious Community

Participants also felt neglected when adults deliberately ignored and silenced younger people or presented restricted solutions to their developmental needs. With that in mind, participants felt dismissed by their religious communities when the adults refused to help the youth process their desire to learn more about their faith or other belief systems. Several participants reported that they began to think more critically about their faith as adolescents and emerging adults who were forming their own identities. Different reasons why participants questioned and critiqued matters related to their faith included having a natural curiosity for other spiritual belief systems (e.g., African spirituality); feeling confused and frustrated about what appeared to be contradictory messages in the Bible; experiencing a disconnect between their own identity and Biblical teachings (this was especially the case for members of the LGBTQ+ community); and observing hypocrisy, gossip, and shallow ways of thinking (e.g., “Church is like a fashion show—it’s fake” Patton & McClure, 2009, p. 49) among adults in their religious communities (Breland-Noble et al., 2015; Cooper & Mitra, 2018; McGuire, 2018; Moore et al., 2015; Patton & McClure, 2009).

However, participants’ outward display of questioning and criticism came with a price. Participants who were raised in Christian communities described the negative reactions they received when they longed for their own understanding relative to the merits of their faith, as they were rarely given a space to “question it” (Cooper & Mitra, 2018, p. 520). For example, an emerging adult woman in Cooper and Mitra’s (2018) study described the “angry rebuttals” she received and being denounced for “showing dissent” when she asked questions about her faith as a child: “‘You don’t question God, everything’s in God’s hands, Jesus makes everything work out how it’s supposed to.’ When I kept asking and inquiring, I would get angry rebuttals” (pp. 517–518). Likewise, an emerging adult man who identified as queer in McGuire’s (2018) study noted that he experienced fear, an emotion that was taught and learned, because he was often silenced when he questioned or critiqued how gender and sexuality were conceptualized by Christians: “The answer always is you do not question God… That’s why I was born in a level of fear…You do not question anything…That’s how it’s written… And the consequences for such is, like, damnation” (McGuire, 2018, p. 12).

In addition to silencing participants, youth were told that they were “going to hell,” accused of being a “devil worshipper,” or “shamed” into feeling like they were dishonoring God and the family when they desired to make their own choices about their religious/spiritual identity (Cooper & Mitra, 2018; McGuire, 2018). As a result of being silenced and verbally assaulted, participants were isolated by family and church members, and they were consumed with guilt and fear at the thought of their relationship with God being severed. One emerging adult woman, for example, noted, “Because of that fear, I feel like I’m not going to get saved sometimes” (McGuire, 2018, p. 13).

Finally, adolescents were aware of their desire for or peers’ engagement in increased sexual activity as youth who were becoming more attuned to the biological changes they were experiencing (Moore et al., 2015; Powell et al., 2017; Williams et al., 2014). This caused some participants to feel overwhelmed by trying to adhere to what they were taught in church (do not have premarital sex) and resisting the “urge” to have sex (Moore et al., 2015, p. 1818). Because adolescent participants developed more questions about sex, sexual orientation, and related topics (e.g., pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections), they wanted church leaders and members to facilitate discussions about these topics. As described by an adolescent female, “Prevention, condoms, how to say no, all that stuff. If they talk about it, it really does show that your community or your church cares” (Moore et al., 2015, p. 1820). Instead, participants worried that “older church members would react negatively to the idea of teaching about sexual health in the church” (Powell et al., 2017, p. 5), and the youth contended that scare tactics (e.g., “you’re going to hell”) and abstinence only messages conveyed in a “preachy” way precluded youth from having meaningful dialogue (Moore et al., 2015, p. 1820). Consequently, adolescents felt like they were unprepared to navigate feelings that emerged during moments of sexual encounters, which heightened their propensity to teenage pregnancy and STIs. To this end, youth also did not receive information about how to “cope with STIs and pregnancy” when the two phenomena occurred (Williams et al., 2014, p. 347).

Considering these accounts, adolescents were not comfortable discussing matters of sexual health, and they experienced anxiety at the thought of having conversations about sex in their church due to a fear of being judged (Moore et al., 2015; Williams et al., 2014). Adolescents in studies conducted by Moore et al. (2015) and Williams et al. (2014) also conveyed mixed feelings with respect to if and why premarital sex was right or wrong, with assumed consequences including “unintended pregnancy, STIs, or eternity in hell” (Williams et al., 2014, p. 344). In the same vein, an emerging adult participant in McGuire’s (2018) study indicated that because she was always told that sex was wrong, she suffered from feelings of guilt when she did have premarital sexual encounters: “It comes back to guilt and conviction. It’s like if you’re taught your whole life that like that is wrong…when you do it…you feel guilty and like that’s hard to understand” (p. 11).

In the absence of healthy dialogue, participants struggled with navigating issues related to sexual activity and working through feelings of guilt and condemnation. Participants understood that sexuality was a normal part of adolescence and emerging adulthood that deserved more authentic versus “fake” attention by adults in the church (Williams et al., 2014, p. 346).

Doubt, Disengagement, and Reconciliation

Emerging adult participants were more vocal about their experiences of religious and spiritual doubts as they strove to reconcile how they wanted to exercise their faith, if at all. Participants suggested that religious and spiritual doubts occurred out of a natural process of identity exploration as youth developed agency and transitioned to living on their own. As described by an emerging adult participant in Patton and McClure’s (2009) study: “It's kind of hard [with] spirituality because most…Black people grow up in the church…but around this age [emerging adulthood] you kind of stray…you try to pick your own spirituality…I'm dealing with that right now” (p. 48).

Some participants indicated that the process of doubt began as early as adolescence when they felt “forced” to physically attend church (e.g., Brooks & Allen, 2016, p. 827; Constantine et al., 2006, p. 234). An example of this notion was conveyed by Cooper and Mitra (2018) in reference to an emerging adult whose doubts formed during his teenage years:

“That’s when I decided, if I am going to church, it’s because I am a child and have to do what my mother says. Not because it’s somewhere I want to be…” It was when he finally moved out from his mother’s home and “could make his own decisions” that he publicly disengaged. (p. 517)

Still, other participants’ doubtfulness was sparked by their other religious/spiritual struggles, including feeling rejected, unloved, abandoned, and dismissed. In turn, participants used internal and external self-help strategies within the process of deciding the extent to which they would continue to engage with their religious/spiritual beliefs.

Internal Strategies for Reconciliation

With respect to internal (or cognitive) strategies, some participants researched information for themselves (including during adolescence) to (a) learn about other belief systems (Cooper & Mitra, 2018), (b) develop a personal understanding of the tenets of their faith (Dancy, 2010), and (c) learn how to defend themselves when others weaponized sacred texts (Cooper & Mitra, 2018). The latter was especially true for members of the LGBTQ+ community: “I had to research scriptures, because people like to use those as an argument against homosexuality, against me. People used it as a weapon…So, I had to prepare myself to deal with it over and over again…” (Cooper & Mitra, 2018, p. 525).

Participants also recognized that adults in their church were also human beings (Dancy, 2010; Williams et al., 2014) who were capable of making mistakes as well: “And I get to treat [the pastor] like a man…and not a God… [A pastor] is human, mortal just like you… Because of that realization, I think it kind of pushed me away from religion…” (Dancy, 2010, p. 427). Consistent with the idea of being “pushed away,” some participants rejected the validity of their religion/spirituality, as in the case of an emerging adult man who witnessed the homicide of a loved one in the low-income, high-stress community in which he resided: “I'm like religion was kinda fake to me when that s[***] happened… I wasn't with half of it, for real” (Lee et al., 2020, p. 5). Other participants negotiated their own religious/spiritual beliefs, rather than reject the teachings altogether: “I was brought up my whole life going church. I still believe in God but I don’t go to church as much…” (Brooks & Allen, 2016, p. 872). To protect their mental well-being, participants also indicated that they kept their thoughts private and refrained from talking about their beliefs to other people. An example of such is as follows: “I try to keep my flow of energy on the positive side…I prefer not to engage in talk about my religion with people, because I don’t want anyone getting angry or making me angry about opinions” (Cooper & Mitra, 2018, p. 523).

Specific to members of the LGBTQ+ community, participants in Winder’s (2015) study paralleled their suffering to that of Jesus, “They talked about Jesus Christ too!” (p. 390), to accept that suffering may occur among those who society deem as different. In other studies, participants affirmed their identities after recognizing that God loved them for who they were. An example of such is noted below:

[She] recalled receiving a message from God saying, “I love you. I’m happy with you. It’s you that’s not happy with you.” She identified this moment as a spiritual awakening that forever changed her reality…she became accepting and affirming of her lesbian identity. (Miller & Stack, 2014, p. 253)

In a similar vein, LGBTQ+ individuals embraced God’s acceptance of them while rejecting oppressive teachings in their religious communities, especially when they decided not to leave marginalizing religious communities: “If God created everyone how they are, perfectly…he doesn’t make mistakes...so I really just don’t feed into those things” (Quinn et al., 2016, p. 533). On the other hand, some participants elected to separate their identities when they did not believe they could be Christian and gay:

When I was 12 or 13, I became really, really religious, [but] I don’t believe you can reconcile the two…I feel like in Christianity if you want to make it to heaven, you have to follow the rules…to a tee. And I feel like being homosexual, you can’t reconcile the two. So, I had to make a decision that I was going to drop Christianity. (McGuire et al., 2017, p. 190)

External Strategies for Reconciliation

Participants who experienced social marginalization in their religious communities due to their race, gender, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs used a variety of external strategies centered on their connections with other people. For example, some participants opted to leave their religious organization altogether, recognizing that it was important to be in community with people who accepted all their identities: “I thought about how certain things didn’t fit with my identity… I didn’t make a choice to be this way, so, if that’s how the religion feels, maybe I shouldn’t be a part of it” (Cooper & Mitra, 2018, p. 517). Some participants challenged oppressive views when speaking to family, church members, and/or religious leaders, as in the case of a queer/lesbian woman who refused to be insulted by her mother: “I said, ‘I’m not about to take all this abuse.’ I said, ‘I’m not going to let you keep doing this to me.’ So since that conversation, our dynamic has totally changed” (Miller & Stack, 2014, p. 255).

With respect to more encouraging experiences, participants shared their perspectives with supportive people, including friends and family. One emerging adult explained, “Once I became more strong or rigid in my belief system, I finally came out to my mother, which was a bit hard…It was liberating for myself. I definitely first spoke with my best friend, then my mother” (Cooper & Mitra, 2018, p. 522). Likewise, some participants found affirming leaders (sometimes their own caregivers) who encouraged the youth to embrace their identities. For example, in reference to restrictive gender socialization, McGuire et al. (2017) detailed the experience of an emerging adult woman:

Yet, her mother’s purposeful resistance to others’ expectations of what it meant to be an appropriate and respectable First Lady (i.e., pastor’s wife) showed [her] that there were tangible ways to own both her womanness and spiritual-and-religious identity. In large part, [she] credits her critique of heteronormative gender norms to her mom’s refusal to adhere to these standards… (p. 188)

Similarly, Miller and Stack (2014) described an emerging adult woman’s positive experience when she referenced her sexual orientation as a lesbian during a confession in the Catholic church:

She sought to heal her relationship with God through the act of confession…she recalled her internalized CBH [Christian-Based Homophobia] being interrupted during a confession when a priest informed her that she would not enter Hell because of love…this was the last time she included her sexual identity as a sin in her confession…she attends mass without hiding internal shame. (p. 254)

In addition to one-to-one interactions, participants also joined affirming group spaces that embraced all their identities. For example, the emerging adult Black Muslim woman who experienced racism in religious spaces, and religious discrimination in predominantly Black settings with Christian peers, found solace in her connection to a predominantly Black Mosque: “[It] empowered me to be that much more in tune with being a Black person in America, but also being a Muslim in this community” (McGuire et al., 2016, p. 325). The emerging adult Black man who faced discrimination based on his sexual orientation in a predominantly Black church, and racial discrimination in an affirming predominantly White church (based on one’s sexual orientation), described the positive reactions he experienced when his family found an “open and affirming, predominantly African American church…where he could put all his identities on the backburner and ‘just fully focus on [the] worship service…’” (Means & Jaeger, 2015, p. 20).

Overall, participants experienced varied reactions in response to these self-help strategies. Some participants described their attempts of reconciliation as “alienating” (Cooper & Mitra, 2018, p. 524) because the “dynamic” (Miller & Stack, 2014, p. 255) between themselves and their family members changed, and they felt like an “outcast” among their community (McGuire et al., 2017, p. 13; Quinn et al., 2016, p. 532). In contrast, other participants described these strategies as acts of self-care, with specific references to feeling a newfound sense of “freedom” (Brooks & Allen, 2016, p. 827), “liberating” themselves (Cooper & Mitra, 2018, p. 522), having a “cathartic” moment as they exercised a sense of “agency” (Cooper & Mitra, 2018, p. 517), and no longer feeling shamed (Miller & Stack, 2014).

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to understand Black adolescents’ and emerging adults’ experiences with religious/spiritual struggles and how participants’ struggles related to their mental health. A second aim was to examine the participants’ religious/spiritual struggles and mental health outcomes within the context of their socio-demographic identities. Hence, we sought to explore the following question: How do Black adolescents and emerging adults with various socio-demographic identities make meaning of their religious/spiritual struggles in relation to their mental health? Due to the dearth of research focused on religious/spiritual struggles and mental health outcomes among Black adolescents and emerging adults, we addressed our research question through a meta-synthesis. The goal, then, is to synthesize existing qualitative data and build a new understanding of a phenomenon in which little is known (Mohammed et al., 2016). Our systematic review of 19 studies including approximately 382 Black adolescents and emerging adults resulted in three core themes: (1) Rejected and Unloved, (2) Abandoned and Dismissed, and (3) Doubt, Disengagement, and Reconciliation. A synthesis of the three themes revealed: (a) how religious/spiritual struggles manifested among Black adolescents and emerging adults, (b) how such struggles contributed to participants’ mental health difficulties and limited psychological well-being, and (c) how religious/spiritual struggles and related mental health challenges intersected with Black adolescents’ and emerging adults’ socio-demographic identities. We summarize each of these findings in relation to previous research and discuss how our study builds upon the existing body of literature.

Manifestation of Religious/Spiritual Struggles

According to Exline et al. (2014), experiences of the Divine and interpersonal conflict with religious/spiritual people are two core dimensions of religious/spiritual struggles that can occur simultaneously. Indeed, the first two themes revealed that participants felt (a) unloved by God and rejected by their religious communities because of their socio-demographic identities and (b) abandoned by God (and Jesus) and ignored by their religious communities when they experienced emotionally taxing situations. Additionally, Exline et al. (2014) found that interpersonal struggles may arise when individuals are looked down upon because of their religious/spiritual beliefs or when conflict arises because of religious/spiritual matters. In this regard, participants also felt dismissed by their religious communities when they desired non-judgmental support in response to developmental-related needs: (a) responding to increasing sexual urges (Wong et al., 2015) and (b) navigating their religious/spiritual identity development (Fowler, 1981). In these situations, their religious communities silenced and shamed the participants by emphasizing what they should and should not do, largely based on Biblical teachings (e.g., one should not have sex before marriage) and theological interpretations (e.g., one should not question God). Conflicts with God and their religious communities led youth to worry about whether their sexual orientation, sexual activity, and criticism of their faith were morally or spiritually wrong, reflecting the dimension of religious/spiritual struggles related to questions of morality (Exline et al., 2014).

With respect to the third theme, participants experienced doubt, another dimension of religious/spiritual struggles (Exline et al., 2014), in relation to their religious involvement and spiritual beliefs. Like Exline et al. (2014), we found that doubt was related to the other aspects of religious/spiritual struggles (Divine, Interpersonal, and Moral) participants experienced. However, the qualitative nature of this study also led our research team to identify several internal and external strategies participants employed to reconcile the doubt that stemmed from the other religious/spiritual struggles. Their efforts at reconciliation led to varying degrees of religious/spiritual participation, rather than complete disengagement for all participants. This finding expands upon Exline et al.’s (2014) research by shedding light on how Black adolescents and emerging adults may reconcile religious/spiritual struggles when doubt and disengagement begin to emerge.

Overall, Exline et al.’s (2014) factor analysis revealed each dimension of religious/spiritual struggles as a unique subscale that was significantly related to the other domains. Although the current study revealed links between multiple domains like Exline et al. (2014), we also found contextual situations that may bind different domains together in the lives of Black adolescents and emerging adults. It is worth noting that none of the studies we reviewed revealed demonic struggles and ultimate meaning struggles. This finding warrants additional research to determine whether all of Exline and colleagues’ (2014) study results generalize to larger samples of Black emerging adults and adolescents. Still, based on the domains alone, emerging adults in our synthesis appeared to experience comparable religious/spiritual struggles as the emerging adults in Exline et al.’s (2014) study. Furthermore, our synthesis suggests that Black adolescents may experience similar religious/spiritual struggles compared to adult populations, which supports Exline et al.’s (2014) call for additional research to understand the implications of their findings among children and adolescents. Because emerging adults in the studies we reviewed suggested that many of their struggles occurred during adolescence, short- and long-term implications related to Black youth mental health warrants further examination.

Mental Health and Religious/Spiritual Struggles

There are a plethora of studies demonstrating significant links between psychological well-being (including low levels of psychopathology) and healthy aspects of religious participation (e.g., connecting to others) and spirituality (e.g., maintaining a positive relationship with God) among Black adolescents and emerging adults (Park et al., 2020). In contrast, the current study showed that Black adolescents and emerging adults who experienced Divine, interpersonal, and moral struggles also experienced diminished mental health and negative psychological well-being. Aligned with Exline et al.’s (2014) study, specific indicators of mental health difficulties in relation to the Black adolescents’ and emerging adults’ religious/spiritual struggles included guilt, depression, anxiety, fear, anger, and loneliness. Suicidal ideation was another indicator of mental health difficulties that was associated with negative experiences of God and unsupportive interactions with one’s religious/spiritual community. The link between limited social support from one’s religious community and participants’ experiences of depression and other adverse mental health outcomes also relates to the results of studies conducted by Chatters et al. (2018) and Holt et al. (2018). Considering that their studies were largely reflective of the experiences of older adults, our study shows that continuous immersion in toxic religious/spiritual communities can have adverse impacts among Black youth as well. It is also important to consider that interpersonal religious struggles may be particularly distressing for Black youth due to the collectivistic mindset that typically permeates among persons of African descent (Wheeler et al., 2002).

Interestingly, Exline et al. (2014) found that the Doubt subscale predicted slightly less depression and anger, and slightly more life satisfaction compared to the other dimensions. Exline and colleagues attributed this finding to the fact that religious/spiritual doubt may reflect a healthy process of adopting one’s own religious/spiritual belief system among some individuals. Expanding upon their study, the current study suggests that how one reconciles their doubt using cognitive and/or behavioral processes may be more critical to one’s psychological and social functioning, rather than doubt in and of itself. This notion is evident by the positive (e.g., personal liberation) and negative (social isolation) reactions participants reported experiencing when they acted upon their religious/spiritual doubts in a myriad of ways.

Socio-demographic Characteristics as a Critical Consideration

A final point of consideration that surfaced among themes is contextual matters surrounding participants’ socio-demographic characteristics. Exline et al. (2014) found differences in religious/spiritual struggles between subgroups of participants. However, the current study shows how the connection between Black adolescents’ and emerging adults’ religious/spiritual struggles and mental health outcomes may be nested within specific experiences associated with their socio-demographic backgrounds.

Racism and Race-Based Stress

Historical accounts of the Black American experience (Raboteau, 1999) and recent research including Black adolescents and emerging adults has indicated that religion and spirituality may serve as protective factors against the psychological harms caused by racial discrimination (e.g., Hope et al., 2017; Strayhorn, 2011). The current study, however, shows that it is important to attend to the racial demographics of Black individuals’ religious communities when drawing such conclusions. As highlighted in the studies we reviewed, Black adolescents and emerging adults encountered race-based stress when they were positioned as racial minorities in religious spaces. Although these experiences led to feelings of isolation, factors outside of the participants’ control (e.g., caregiver’s choice of religious membership) made it difficult to reduce participation within racially isolating religious communities. This finding related to racist encounters in religious communities may partially explain why African American undergraduate students in Exline et al.’s (2014) study obtained higher scores on the overall religious/spiritual struggle measure. It also raises critical questions about how to support Black adolescents and emerging adults who are connected to religious communities where racism abounds.

Gender Socialization

Some participants experienced oppressive treatment by their religious communities due to their gender identity. While adolescent boys and emerging adult men were socialized to exert power over women and assume leadership roles in their lives, adolescent girls and emerging adult women were encouraged to take a back seat to their male counterparts. This, in turn, resulted in emerging adult women feeling frustrated and isolated, as they questioned whether God truly adopted a non-biased stance toward girls and women. Emerging adult men participants who embraced gender equality also wrestled with oppressive messages regarding the expected roles of men versus women, leading to confusion and uncertainty. Such messaging may not be limited to the participants in the studies we reviewed. A recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center with 8, 660 Black and African American adults showed that respondents were more likely to report that their congregation emphasized the men’s role in the family and community compared to women, and participants were less likely to have heard sermons on sexism compared with sermons on racism (Mohamed, 2021). Along the lines of gender role expectations, participants in the current study also experienced depression, anxiety, and social isolation when they did not conform to traditional gender roles, and their religious community conveyed restrictive expectations of masculinity and femininity.

In short, religiosity/spirituality may not predict positive mental health outcomes among adolescent girls and emerging women, as demonstrated in previous research (Ball, et al., 2003; Morrison & Hopkins, 2019; Reed & Neville, 2014), when sexism and gendered discrimination are not addressed in their religious communities. Furthermore, ideological differences around gender roles may partially explain why emerging adult men reported greater interpersonal religious/spiritual struggles (Exline et al., 2014) and more anxiety with increased religious participation (Cokley et al., 2013) compared to women in prior research—additional research is needed to support this notion. Finally, like findings reported by Exline et al. (2021), participants who were gender expansive experienced interpersonal religious struggles and diminished mental health. More research is needed to examine related implications among Black transgender and agender youth, as this group of participants were generally underrepresented.

Sexual Orientation

Just as Exline et al. (2014) found that LGB participants reported higher religious/spiritual struggle scores, participants who were sexually minoritized (lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and pansexual) in the studies we reviewed appeared to struggle the most. In fact, over half of the studies highlighted difficulties youth experienced as non-heterosexual individuals. Consistent with other studies (Barnes & Meyer, 2012; McCann et al., 2020; Szymanski & Carretta, 2020), Black emerging adults reported current and prior feelings (as adolescents) of anxiety, depression, isolation, and suicidal ideation due to internalized homophobia, social exclusion, and violent verbal messages conveyed by their religious communities and families. As a result of the hateful and oppressive messages participants received from their religious communities, this group of participants also questioned God’s love for them, and they experienced guilt in relation to not knowing whether their sexual orientation was right or wrong.

Mental Health Status and Trauma Exposure

The presence of mental health disorders begins to increase during adolescence and emerging adulthood, owing to biological, social, and environmental changes that occur during these developmental periods (Mash & Barkley, 2014). As reflected in one study we reviewed (Lee et al., 2020), and previous scholarship (Ginwright, 2015), increased mental health challenges among Black adolescents and emerging adults may be compounded by some Black youths’ exposure to traumatic events that are more prevalent in low-income and high-stress communities (i.e., neighborhood violence). Attention to Black adolescents' and emerging adults’ mental health difficulties is important to note, because participants felt forgotten by God and their religious communities in response to their trauma and mental health needs (depression and suicidal ideation). Insufficient support provided by their religious/spiritual communities aligns with the results of Planey et al.’s (2019) review, where limited understanding of how to address mental health in religious institutions can serve as a barrier to mental health care for Black youth and families. Indeed, being told to pray and turn to God as the solution to their struggles led participants to also experience feelings of disappointment, anger, and frustration when they concluded that they had to deal with their issues alone.

Age and Development

When considering developmental-related issues, adolescence represents a time when individuals may contemplate engaging in increased sexual activity due to physiological changes in their bodies (Wong et al., 2015). This study shows that adolescents and emerging adults may experience confusion and guilt when their religious communities fail to help them navigate such changes. In addition to physiological changes, religious/spiritual identity development is another area of consideration among this group. Though some youth may adopt their family’s religious/spiritual belief system as their own, it is not uncommon for individuals to decrease religious participation and have more religious/spiritual doubt from adolescence to emerging adulthood (Fowler, 1981). Aligned with key ideas discussed in Upenieks’s (2021) study, our study revealed that religious doubt among Black adolescents and emerging adults can impede their psychological well-being if helpful strategies for reconciling their doubt are not employed. As reflected in the current study, adult support is critical to the process of reconciliation; however, some religious/spiritual communities may be ill-prepared to support Black youth who demonstrate diversity in religious/spiritual thought. Accordingly, participants experienced frustration, guilt, and isolation when their religious communities were not supportive in this regard.

Limitations

Overall, the meta-synthesis revealed several critical yet understudied areas. However, the findings of this study should be considered within the context of its limitations. Although the research team strove to execute a comprehensive search by referring to various databases, it is possible that the team may have missed additional articles that could inform data interpretation. Our decision to limit the synthesis to peer-reviewed articles alone also pose a limitation, as book chapters and dissertations may have revealed additional insights that are relevant to our findings. Because most accounts were based on the experiences of Black participants who were associated with the Christian faith, the extent to which these findings apply to Black adolescents and emerging adults who identify with other religious and/or spiritual beliefs systems is unclear. Furthermore, all papers we reviewed were based on cross-sectional studies. Longitudinal approaches to understanding Black adolescents’ and emerging adults’ experiences can be more informative, considering that several emerging adults’ religious/spiritual struggles began during their teenage years. Finally, although the authors strove to check their biases when interpreting the data by keeping memo notes, challenging each other’s perspectives, and re-reading the articles as needed, it is possible that the authors’ own biases and experiences influenced the interpretation of data.

Future Directions for Research

Black emerging adults’ religious/spiritual experiences are typically studied alongside older adults. However, the current study suggests that this approach may present a limited understanding of Black emerging adults’ experiences that are linked to their adolescent years. Future research can build upon this study by conducting longitudinal studies with Black adolescents and emerging adults. Longitudinal studies may be useful for determining (a) how religious/spiritual struggles and related mental health difficulties manifest from adolescence to emerging adulthood, (b) how such differences are mediated by socio-demographic variables, and (c) contextual considerations that may be overlooked. Research could also examine the effects of different internal and external coping strategies Black youth may employ to reconcile marginalized experiences within their religious communities.

Finally, most studies focused on religious/spiritual struggles have been conducted with Christian-affiliated participants. Additional research is needed to understand the experiences of Black youth from other religious and spiritual backgrounds, including those who identify as spiritual only. Extending the focus beyond Christianity is especially critical when adopting an Afrocentric worldview. Afrocentric spirituality is not necessarily defined by one’s adherence to specific religious doctrine, as one’s spirituality may be grounded in their reverence for nature, their ancestors, and other transcendent matters (Wheeler et al., 2002). Because such practices may occur outside of organized religious participation, individuals who adopt an Afrocentric spiritual worldview may not be exposed to messages of oppression that have traditionally occurred in Christian religious spaces. Hence, the experiences of Black youth who adopt an Afrocentric spiritual worldview can be compared to Black youth whose lives are more influenced by specific religious doctrine.

Implications for Practice

Helping Black Americans navigate religious and spiritual issues in mental health settings is not a new idea (Constantine et al., 2000). The literature is scarce with specific intervention approaches for serving Black adolescents and emerging adults when religious and spiritual issues emerge. However, general strategies that are highlighted in the professional literature may provide insight into critical first steps. At the individual level, mental health providers can invite Black youth to discuss religious/spiritual issues (a recommendation underscored by Constantine et al., 2000) by using assessment instruments such as the Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale (Exline et al., 2014) and the American Psychiatric Association’s (2013) Cultural Formation Interview to understand Black youths’ experiences and welcome their discussion of religious/spiritual issues. From there, treatment goals may include helping Black youth process their perceptions of God before, during, and after times of distress and addressing forgiveness issues when clients have been harmed by members in their religious communities (see Walker & Hathaway [2013] for recommendations for working with youth). For clients who experience marginalization in their respective religious communities, mental health providers can also empower clients to develop a plan for addressing their oppressive experiences as a method of liberation, such as leaving their religious community altogether or using internal resistance strategies when leaving is not a viable solution.

Group-based psychoeducation is a common recommendation for mental health and faith-based partnerships (Parker, 2021). Based on the current study, mental health providers can provide psychoeducation about the ways in which religious/spiritual struggles may contribute to diminished mental health among Black youth and discuss options for responding to such difficulties: (a) linking the youth to formal mental health services, (b) connecting the youth to a non-judgmental and trusted religious/spiritual leader, or (c) taking steps to address an unhealthy relational climate within one’s religious community. Informational sessions should also include specific discussions about actions and rhetoric that are especially harmful toward marginalized members, including those who desire to make their own decisions relative to their religiosity and spirituality. Ultimately, mental health professionals should only act within the boundaries of their professional competence. Practitioners can increase their competence by pursuing professional development opportunities or consulting with colleagues who hold expertise in this area of practice. Practitioners can also refer clients to treatment providers and religious leaders who are trained to address religious/spiritual issues (Vieten et al., 2016).

Conclusion

Considering that the professional literature is generally saturated with positive exemplars of the relation between religiosity, spirituality, and Black mental health (Park et al., 2020), the experiences of individuals who encounter religious/spiritual struggles and diminished mental health are understudied. As professionals who are committed to the liberation and mental wealth of all Black people, researchers can build upon this study by critically examining religious-based practices that continue to oppress subgroups of Black adolescents and emerging adults. Equally so, gaining a deeper understanding of the ways in which Black youth navigate difficult experiences of the Divine may inform the provision of person-centered and culturally responsive mental health support for young Black people. Overall, this study calls researchers and practitioners to attend to the complexity of Black individuals’ religious and spiritual experiences, such that the mental health needs of Black adolescents and emerging adults are not overlooked.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author Note

We would like to express our gratitude to Veronica Brown for her support during the development of this manuscript.

ORCID iD

Janise S. Parker

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