Spiritual struggles and mental health: New study explores the role of belief in miracles

An analysis of data from the Study on Stress, Spirituality, and Health found that American Indians were nearly twice as likely to believe in miraculous healing compared to South Asians or White nurses. This belief was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms among White nurses, but not among American Indian or South Asian participants. The study was published in Mental Health, Religion & Culture.

Belief in miracles refers to the conviction that extraordinary events can occur through divine power or forces beyond natural explanation. Such beliefs are found across many religions and cultures, where miracles are often interpreted as signs of divine presence or intervention. For some individuals, belief in miracles provides comfort during times of suffering and uncertainty. It can reinforce faith by affirming that a higher power is active in the world.

This belief often influences how people interpret illness, recovery, or unexpected positive changes. Psychologically, it may foster hope, resilience, and motivation during adversity. Socially, shared belief in miracles can strengthen communal bonds and reinforce cultural or religious identity.

Critics argue that such beliefs may encourage passivity, as individuals might wait for supernatural intervention instead of taking personal action. Others see belief in miracles as potentially at odds with scientific reasoning, although many people maintain both scientific and spiritual worldviews. In healthcare, belief in miracles can shape how patients and families approach treatment, sometimes leading to tension with medical recommendations.

Study author Laura Upenieks and her colleagues sought to examine the relationship between belief in miracles and depressive symptoms in three racial and ethnic groups: South Asians, White nurses, and American Indians. They hypothesized that stronger belief in miracles would be associated with lower depressive symptoms across all three groups. They also expected that higher levels of religious or spiritual (R/S) struggles would be associated with greater depressive symptoms.

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To test these ideas, the researchers analyzed data from the National Consortium on Psychosocial Stress, Spirituality, and Health (SSSH), an initiative launched in 2015 to advance research on religious and spiritual influences on health in diverse U.S. populations. The analysis included participants from three cohort studies affiliated with the consortium: the Strong Heart Study (focused on American Indians), the MASALA Study (focused on South Asians), and the Nurses’ Health Study II (focused on predominantly White female nurses).

The MASALA sample included 1,150 participants with at least three grandparents born in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, or Sri Lanka. The nurse cohort consisted of 2,598 women from 14 U.S. states. The Strong Heart Study included 521 American Indian participants from North and South Dakota.

Participants completed surveys assessing their belief in God and in miraculous healing. Specifically, they were asked: “When you think about [God] in relationship to people who are suffering from life-threatening illness, which of the following is closest to your own view?” Response options included: (1) “I believe that [God] intervenes to cure people who are sick by performing miracles or other special types of physical healing,” and (2) “I believe that [God] provides companionship, strength, and comfort, but does not typically intervene to perform a miracle.”

They also completed measures of R/S struggles—using items from the Negative Religious Coping Subscale, including statements such as “I felt confused about my religious or spiritual beliefs”—and depressive symptoms, assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).

Results showed that belief in miraculous healing was most common among American Indians, with nearly 47% endorsing this view, compared to 26% of South Asians and 23% of White nurses. However, belief in miracles was not significantly related to depressive symptoms in the American Indian or South Asian groups. Among White nurses, in contrast, belief in miracles was associated with lower depressive symptoms.

Across all three cohorts, individuals who reported more intense religious or spiritual struggles also reported higher levels of depressive symptoms. Notably, this association was stronger among those who did not believe in miracles. In other words, belief in divine healing appeared to buffer the psychological impact of spiritual struggles.

The study contributes to a growing body of research on how religious beliefs intersect with emotional well-being. However, the authors caution that the study’s design does not allow for causal conclusions. All data were self-reported, which introduces the possibility of reporting bias. Additionally, participants were asked to choose between only two simplified views of God’s role in suffering and illness, which may not capture the full complexity of individual beliefs.

The paper, “Belief in miracles, religious/spiritual struggles, and depressive symptoms: exploring variation among American Indian, South Asian, and White cohorts in the study on stress, spirituality, and health,” was authored by Laura Upenieks, Blake Victor Kent, Alka M. Kanaya, A. Heather Eliassen, Shelley A. Cole, and Alexandra E. Shields.