Understanding Resiliency Through Vulnerability: Cultural Meaning and Religious Practice Among Muslim Military Personnel

Most existing literature on religion/spirituality (R/S) and resiliency focuses on mainstream populations, where R/S appears to be a search for positive meaning, protective factors, and a predictor of successful adaptation in coping with adversity. The role of R/S in fostering resilience among Muslim Military Personnel (MMP) and other minority faith groups is understudied, and it remains unclear how religious coping strategies apply to minority religious groups when faced with faith-related stressors. This study explores situations in which R/S is perceived as both a protective and a risk factor for MMP and describes the effects that faith-related stressors have on their psychological wellbeing. The study used in-depth individual interviews with 20 U.S. MMP, active, reserves/national guards, and retired, from different backgrounds. Grounded thematic analysis guided the processing of qualitative interview data, using the software package NVivo9. The results demonstrate the central role of R/S and practice in the life of MMP, support the approach of understanding resiliency through vulnerability, as well as the importance of the cultural meaning MMP attach to their experiences with adversity and how these meanings contribute to their resiliency. The study has policy and practice implications for social work and other helping professions, as well as for current and likely future American wars and the organization of faith-based services within the total U.S. Armed Forces (USAF).