Spirituality and the black community: Criminality, victimisation and well-being

A growing number of studies have reported fairly consistent positive relationships between religion and spirituality with positive coping strategies for negative life experiences (Hazel and Moffat 2001; Maman et al. 2009). This suggests that the spiritual dimension of an individual needs to be considered in experiences of victimisation and negative life experiences. Although Struve (2001) demonstrated that religious involvement directly influences an individual’s quality of life, other studies have reviewed the close connection between religion and spirituality and positive well-being (see the work of Hylton 1997; Larson et al. 1998). Hill and Butter (1995) argued that religion and spirituality can have beneficial effects on well-being through social networks. Religious and spiritual communities provide opportunities for companionship and involvement in formal social programmes, which can have beneficial effects by reducing both psychological and physical stressors. For people of African descent, Smith (2010) discusses how members of the community who adhere to Kwanza celebrations articulate the strategic benefits of this ceremony in facilitating, more poignantly, their reaffirmation as people of African descents unity and culture.