When Faith Becomes a Fence: Spiritual Bypassing and Self-Sabotage

Have you ever struggled with believing in the goodness of God?

For many Christians, “God is good” is a fundamental belief that can sustain them in hard times and can become a great source of resilience.

For others, negative feelings may arise. Maybe you feel ashamed that you aren’t believing hard enough, or that if you really believed it, your life would be better somehow.

At times, this phrase and others like it can be used as a mantra to avoid emotions, and instead of examining beliefs that co-arise, like “I believe that God might disappoint me,” we continue to soldier on.  

Spiritual Bypassing

John Welwood introduced the term "spiritual bypassing" in the 1980s to describe the use of spiritual beliefs and practices to sidestep unresolved psychological issues and developmental tasks.

The research describes spiritual bypassing as a defensive psychological posture characterized by privileging spiritual beliefs or experiences over psychological needs in ways that avoid dealing with difficult emotions or experiences. Related definitions emphasize using spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks.  

Self-Sabotage

Spiritual bypassing can contribute to self-defeating or self-sabotaging patterns, as at its core, it is a religion/spirituality-based avoidance strategy.

As mentioned, phrases like “God is good” can foster great resilience; however, the internalized shame of not measuring up to this ideal could motivate a person to avoid responsibility altogether, which can be self-defeating.

A person's theological framework can contribute to their belief systems and influence their behaviors. This can become a cycle that positively or negatively reinforces itself. 

Phrases like “God is testing me” or “God has a reason for this” could be life-giving or could perpetuate self-defeating patterns and contribute to feelings of low self-worth.

At times, religious thinking can become self-sabotaging when it is used to delay action, avoid accountability, suppress emotion, or reinterpret harmful patterns as spiritually necessary.

The Way Forward

Unwinding the psychological and theological constructs requires that we examine them critically and ultimately point our compass toward Jesus Christ. Our team at Hope Healing takes the integration of psychology and theology seriously, not as an academic exercise, but to ultimately bring freedom to His people. If you’re looking for a Christian approach to Trauma Therapy, reach out today.

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

Picciotto, G., Fox, J., & Neto, F. (2018). A phenomenology of spiritual bypass: Causes, consequences, and implications. Journal of Spirituality in Mental Health, 20(4), 333–354. https://doi.org/10.1080/19349637.2017.1417756