Dark Night of the Soul

Tragedy is a game changer. In the wake of tragedy, little stays the same. Fundamental assumptions are mocked, lives are destroyed. Because religion is integral to people’s sense of meaning and way of being, it is especially sensitive to the impact of tragedy. Expressing grief and recomposing life are often religious acts.

Based on their research about parents’ lives of faith following stillbirth and neonatal death, Paris and Bakker consider the religious dimensions of this particular type of loss. Parents’ narratives about the interplay between faith and bereavement function as a segue into a broader discussion about the role of tragedy in the life of faith.

Video published by DigitalCommons@CSBSJU.