Coping with 9/11 through faith

When the Pope Benedict XVI visited Ground Zero last week, USA Today ran a cover story asking the question: Where was God on September 11, 2001? Interviews with several people who lost loved ones in the World Trade Center attacks revealed a wide array of religious beliefs, many of which were severely altered after 9/11. While some were left looking for answers, many others found those answers rooted in religion.

Jennifer Sands, who lost her husband in the attacks, said that her faith was shattered on 9/11. She used to pray for his safe return when he left for work every day, and suddenly, he was gone. But Sands’ curiosity over this matter led her to begin to study the Bible for the first time and to develop a newfound evangelical Christian faith. Sands now prays before every meal (even in restaurants) and casually talks about Jesus with her friends—an issue that has led to some of them to peg her as a “Jesus freak.” She says that after 9/11, she had trouble grasping the fact that God would let something so terrible happen to her. Now, her faith has changed her mindset: “In John 16:33, Jesus says that in this world, you will have some trouble. But I know he has a plan for me.”

Travis Boyd, who, at age 12, lost his mother on 9/11, also turned to religion to help cope. “I know God does things for a reason,” he said. “I knew God would get me through it.”

Sands and Boyd, like so many others after 9/11, turned to religion to help ease her suffering. These actions fall under the realm of the terror management theory—the idea that self-esteem protects us from thoughts about death. The terror management theory presumes that, when reminded of death, people will use defense mechanisms to help rid thoughts of death from their mind and return them to a more composed psychological state. These defense mechanisms are often in the form of personal and cultural worldviews. Specific cultural views, such as religion, can help shield people from their underlying death anxiety.

Brian Jordan, a Franciscan priest who offered sermons to rescue and recovery workers, points out that “there were no atheists at Ground Zero—suddenly everyone had a spiritual life, no matter how tortured or confused.” After September 11, many of those who survived the attacks or lost loved ones discovered a new faith in God and religion. They were able to ease their pain by embracing cultural views that they had previously only hardly acknowledged. Their faith helped them deal with the reminders of death—and the accompanying anxiety—that were suddenly all around them.

Source: USA Today, 4/18/08