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6 FEBRUARY 2021 | DENVER CATHOLIC FI N D I N G M E A N I N G I N S U FFE R I N G "The overall trend makes just perfect sense to me, for a couple of reasons," said Dr. Jim Langley, a clinical psychol- ogist and Executive Director of St. Raphael's Counseling. "The main reason is that in a godless world, suffering makes absolutely no sense. There's no meaning to it. There's no purpose for it. So as a culture, when we encounter some- thing that affects us on such a large scale, the secular mind really can only think of it as pointless, meaningless suffering. There's no reason for it. There's no reason to grow through it. Because of that, you experience this learned helplessness. And that's actually a huge part of what's going on." Dr. Langley referenced a psychological study conducted in 1967 at the University of Pennsylvania where dogs were placed on floors that administered mild electric shocks. When the dogs were shocked, they tried to escape; how- ever, upon realizing there was no means to get away, the dogs simply gave up and laid there, only to continue being shocked. Even when the researchers opened the door to give the dogs an out, they'd continue laying there – they wouldn't do anything to help themselves. "That's a big part of what I think is going on in soci- ety, is we don't have any meaning or purpose behind this challenge," Dr. Langley explained. "There's no reason for spiritual growth. "But contrast that with a religious person," Dr. Langley continued. "We can see that there is meaning in suffering and I can understand the purpose of spiritual growth, even through times of struggle. Most faiths, but especially the Christian faith, teaches you that your life is not about just getting everything you want and remaining in control. Its message is pretty opposite of the secular world." Beyond just the notion of forfeiting control to the divine, the Christian message is also one that gives life a greater meaning than what the secular mind purports. In fact, from a purely psychological standpoint, there are countless stud- ies which have shown that religious people lead happier, more fulfilling lives overall than those who are not religious. "It's interesting that the world rejects religion so much, because research shows that there's so many psychologi- cal protective factors that lead to happiness and peace and increased mental health," Dr. Langley explained. "The big- gest one is the idea that religion provides a built-in value system that works. Purely secular values can make you feel happy in the short term and yet in the long run, what people long for is fulfillment. We're not looking for happi- ness, we're actually looking for fulfillment." As those with a healthy prayer life will also attest, there are many studies which have also found that those who maintain regular spiritual practices such as prayer or meditation have healthier psychological makeups and are therefore more psychologically resilient in general, Dr. Langley said.