Psychological aspects of religious faith among participants of combat operations in crisis situations

The purpose of the study is to examine the influence of the psychological dimensions of religious faith on the sense of coherence among military personnel, which in turn serves as an indicator of heightened stress tolerance. The study employs various empirical methods, including questionnaires, as well as both qualitative and quantitative analyses. The Duke Religiosity Index is utilized to assess the level of religiosity among military personnel, encompassing three dimensions: organizational religious activity, non-organizational religious activity, and intrinsic religiosity. To evaluate the level of coherence in military personnel under stress and combat conditions, the Antonovsky SOC-13 scale is employed, utilizing a 7-point rating system. The sense of coherence is examined through three components: comprehensibility, manageability, and awareness. The findings of the survey reveal that the sense of coherence among religious servicemen was 23.3 points higher than that of their non-religious counterparts, indicating a superior level of stress resilience. The perception of comprehensibility regarding the surrounding situation was 1.05 points higher among religious military personnel compared to non-religious. The study reveals the impact of stressful experiences encountered by combatants on their attitudes toward faith. Religious servicemen confirmed that their faith was strengthened by the adverse military environment. Conversely, non-religious ones reported that the military context had no impact on changes in their religious status. The analysis showed that the positive influence of religious faith was not manifested in non-religious servicemen. The insights obtained from this study may prove invaluable to military psychologists, chaplains, and researchers.