User Contributed Dictionary
- The property of being scrupulous.
Extensive Definition
Scrupulosity is obsessive concern with one's
personal sins, including
"sinful" acts or thoughts usually considered minor or trivial
within their religious tradition. The term is derived from the
Latin scrupulus, a sharp stone, implying a stabbing pain on the
conscience.
In modern times, scrupulosity is often considered
to be a religious expression of
obsessive-compulsive disorder, or the unrelated
obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. The scrupulous
person lacks a balanced religious outlook, veering to the extreme.
Often the person has a morbid feeling that they are rejected by
God and doomed
to damnation despite
rigid adherence to rituals or rules of conduct. The over-scrupulous
person may refuse to acknowledge the verdict of otherwise accepted
religious authorities that he or she is being excessively concerned
with moot religious points.
In Catholicism, scrupulosity in itself is not
considered to be sinful; some well-known saints, including Saint
Thomas Aquinas, Ignatius
Loyola, and Alphonsus
Liguori struggled with scrupulosity. Some Catholic scholars
have speculated that Martin
Luther, whose ideas and writings helped give rise to the
Protestant
Reformation, suffered from scrupulosity and broke with the
Catholic Church because he could not accept Catholic assurances of
grace in the
face of his feelings of sinfulness.
Protestants are likely to disagree that
scrupulosity was the basis for Luther's actions, but some agree
that he suffered from scrupulosity. Some Protestants also find
traces of scrupulosity in the writings of the 17th century Puritan pastor and
author John
Bunyan.
In overcoming scrupulosity, medical treatment for
OCD may be used alongside religious counseling, wherein a member of
the clergy will counsel
the subject to focus on positive, objective messages of religious
faith rather than subjective feelings of sinfulness and objection;
he or she may also advise the person to avoid typical scrupulous
behaviors, which can include repeating past confessions or constant
bathing.
References
- Thomas M. Santa, Understanding Scrupulosity: Helpful Answers for Those Who Experience Nagging Questions and Doubts (Ligouri, 1999)
- Joseph W. Ciarrocchi, The Doubting Disease: Help for Scrupulosity and Religious Compulsions (Paulist Press, 1995)
External links
- OCD Dave - The personal reflections of a sufferer from scrupulosity along with thoughts on treating scrupulosity.
- Scrupulous Anonymous
- OCD Sufferers Consumed by Religion
- Scrupulosity: Religious Obsessions and Compulsions
- God Forbid