Reconstructing Faith and Resilience: Spiritual Meaning in Survivors of Religious Oppression

Abstract

Religious persecution continues to shape the lived experiences of faith communities, demanding deeper exploration within the fields of comparative religion and theology. While existing studies have primarily addressed institutional and political aspects of religious oppression, the spiritual meaning-making processes of survivors remain underexamined. What remains unclear is how individuals reconstruct their spiritual identity and interpret divine presence after experiencing religious trauma. This study applies an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to investigate how survivors of religious persecution make sense of their suffering and reshape their faith. The study involved in-depth, semi-structured interviews with ten adult participants (aged 25–54) comprising Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists who had experienced religious-based marginalization or violence in Southeast Asia. Data were collected through two interview sessions per participant over a two-month period, conducted both in-person and via secure video conferencing platforms, and recorded with informed consent. The research uncovers four essential themes: divine presence amid suffering, spiritual identity reconstruction, forgiveness as a healing act, and interfaith solidarity. The analytical process involved transcript coding, thematic clustering, and interpretative synthesis to reveal how participants internalized their experiences and redefined their relationship with the sacred. These findings demonstrate that spiritual transformation often emerges from trauma, challenging rigid theological frameworks and highlighting the resilience of faith as a lived experience. The study provides both empirical and conceptual contributions by situating personal narratives at the center of theological discourse and offering a nuanced understanding of post-traumatic spirituality. This research broadens our insight into religious resilience and opens future avenues for trauma-informed interfaith dialogue and spiritual care in post-conflict settings.