Confession and Absolution for Wellbeing

A Guest Essay by Mr. Gideon Ripley, MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling

Article XI of the Augsburg Confession states that “Private Absolution ought to be retained in the churches” (BookofConcord.org), yet a simple survey of modern American Lutherans (excluding the ELCA for obvious reasons) shows something else. Instead of Private Absolution, we have Corporate Absolution. It has some similarities and is effective for forgiveness, but it lacks the “private” part of Private Absolution. We have traded the power of confession for ease and convenience. The end result is the same, we think, as both end with forgiveness. Yet, if both of these acts result in forgiveness, why do our Confessions state that we must keep Private Absolution in our churches? Perhaps there is some benefit that we don’t see immediately. Perhaps there is something more to Private Confession and Absolution (C&A).

The Holy Scriptures state that “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). There are a great many theological truths which arise from this verse, many of which are addressed in Luther’s Small Catechism. The act of C&A is stated to have “two parts: the one is, that we confess our sins; the other, that we receive absolution, or forgiveness, from the confessor, as from God Himself” (BookOfConcord.org, 2024).

As a practice in the Church, C&A was given not just for the good of the Church, but for all of her members individually (Matt. 16:19, 1 John 1:9, 1 Tim 1:20). Ultimately, the Rite of Confession is before God and is it to Him alone that we need to confess our sins (Psalm 51:4), but the act of Confession also has psychological power on the individual. Confession of our sins leads to a greater sense of relief (Kassin & Gudjonsson, 2004; Peer et al., 2014). Publicly confessing the changes we wish to make helps us to keep to these changes (Helgason & Berman, 2022). In C&A, we acknowledge to God and our pastor the wrongs we have done while simultaneously acknowledging the good we want to do. The Church was given C&A, but was it only given for her spiritual good, or for her psychological good as well?

Confession has value from a psychological perspective. Carl Jung, the father of psychoanalytic theory, posited that confession works to bring up the secret and hidden part of the individual’s psyche. He proposed that there is transference occurring because of the bringing out of the hidden, and that a bond is formed between the confessor and confessant (Todd, 1985). This idea of bringing the hidden to light is further reinforced by Murray-Swank, who found that those who confessed to wrongdoing initially had more guilt but after two weeks had less guilt and a stronger spiritual connection to God (2003). Theologically, it should be noted that God knows all our faults (Psalm 90:8). However, there is a psychological effect to bringing our sin and wrongdoing before God: there is not only a lessening of guilt, but spiritual and attitude shifts as well (McCormick & McMinn, 2012). Furthermore, we know that religion has a positive correlation with overall wellbeing and has even been tied to healthy behaviors (Bożek, Nowak, & Blukacz, 2020).  This agrees with the theological understanding that Christians “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24).

The underlying emotions related to confession are guilt and shame. In some psychological theories such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), the use of confession would be rejected in favour of the DBT skill of opposite action, citing the need to act instead of simply verbalizing sin (McCormick & McMinn, 2012). However, research has contradicted this understanding. Watson et al. found that awareness of personal fault has been positively correlated with psychological wellbeing among Christians (2004). Research has also shown that attending weekly worship has an impact on psychological wellbeing and spiritual wellbeing, an example being research by Bożek, Nowak, & Blukacz (2020) that showed that actively participating in religious activities is related to higher wellbeing.

Private Confession gives the opportunity for not only confession, but true and real absolution. Those who attend both weekly worship and C&A tend to have higher and more stable psychological and spiritual wellbeing, as opposed to those who only attended weekly worship and did not attend C&A. Perhaps the creator who calls for us to “Confess your faults one to another” (Jas 5:16) knows that in doing so we are benefitted spiritually and mentally. This may be well and good, but for most people the focus of wellbeing is now sought from and understood by going to a professional: a therapist, a doctor, an individual removed from your life and who knows or cares nothing about you. We seek advice and betterment from these transactional relationships, rather than from the relationships God has already given us in our parents, pastor, siblings, and even the body of Christ. While these latter relationships may not be the experts in psychology, are the experts themselves the ones we should first turn to?

Now would be a prudent time to discuss the differences and tensions between the views of psychology and Christianity (the Church). Some Christians reject psychology outright because of its sordid history of opposition to the Church, while others don’t reject it and instead embrace American culture which loudly proclaims for us to “trust the experts”. There is a tension between Christians and psychology. Christians are divided on how to approach this topic because of our own inclinations towards schism. The problem with psychology and the Church is not that one wants the benefit of the individual and the other does not; rather, the tension lies in the different views of how to go about obtaining this benefit, and of where the individual flourishes.

In 1974, Valerie Worthen wrote an article entitled Psychotherapy and Catholic Confession. In this article, she asks the question of “how the [Church and Psychology] are truly comparable in terms of contributing to one another” (Worthen, 1974, p. 275). Some wholly reject psychology, some try to integrate it into the Church, and some relegate it as a worldly pursuit, one which a Christian could work in, but has very little consequence in the Church herself. Some who reject it do so because of the history of psychologists like Sigmund Freud, B.F. Skinner, Erich Fromm, and William James who either twist religion into a sick corpse or just outright reject it. These are just four out of the thousands who deny Christ in their unbelief. Still, there are many Christians who practice and study this field out of interest and God given talent. The defence given by many Christian psychologists is a simple one: psychology itself is a morally neutral area of study, no different than physics, chemistry, or math.

Psychology as a field allows man to study the natural world and the creation God has made. It presents the challenge of studying both body and soul. The study of Man takes certain proclivities: no-one enters the field of psychology without some desire to learn about the nature of pain and suffering, or their own inner workings. Psychology can be a tool or a master, just like any other passion Man has. However, psychology can also help us to understand some of the physical truths of the spiritual blessings from God.

The Rite of C&A is similar, in a sense, to psychotherapy. Worthen writes, “The process of psychotherapy involves confrontation on a one-to-one basis, the same element that exists in Catholic confession” (1974, p. 277). In the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), the Rite of Confession instructs the penitent to bear in mind both the Ten Commandments and their vocation, and then to confess the sins which particularly trouble them (Lutheran Service Book, 2006). Here, the individual goes to their pastor and alleviates themselves of their wrongdoings. They then receive the forgiveness of God and are sent on their way.

On the other hand, psychotherapy uses “forms of communication and interaction to assess, diagnose, and treat dysfunctional emotional reactions, ways of thinking, and behavior patterns” (American Psychological Association, 2023). In therapy, the goal is to take your behaviors, thinking, and distress, and then to move them towards health and wellbeing. This is very similar to the Christian, who is told to be perfect (Matt. 5:48, Lev. 19:2) and is to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). Christians themselves strive to keep the Law of God, for it is “that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom. 12:2). Furthermore, the Christian is renewed through receiving Christ and is told that “[having] received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk ye in him” (Col. 2:6). Walking in Christ is done through “the traditions which ye have been taught” (2 Thess. 2:15), which includes the use of the Keys (Matt 18:18). The Keys are best seen in private C&A. There is evidence for the spiritual efficacy of the Rites of the Church, yet the question of how these Rites transfer into psychological health is one that should be addressed at another time. While psychotherapy and C&A are not dissimilar metaphysically speaking, they have the same effects rather than the same essence.

The essence of C&A lies not in merely feeling better, but in the full restitution of the sinner to God. There is an inner turmoil in which man faces, this turmoil being the Law that God has placed into the heart of everyone (Rom 2:15). Sin conflicts with the Law and with the conscience which man has been given. Sin entered the world and with it came suffering, (Romans 5; Askins, 2015), that same suffering which psychotherapy attempts to alleviate (Worthen, 1974). C&A has a Secondary effect of the alleviation of mental health symptoms precisely because it has a Primary effect of removing sin.

Secular psychotherapy “presupposes the acceptance of sin as a symptom of some larger problem that is unconsciously motivated” (Worthen, 1974, p.283). Psychotherapy looks at the individual from a community perspective (Worthen, 1974). The essence of psychotherapy is restitution to the community and the group in which one belongs. Often, this leads to the encouragement of the counselee towards sin (Worthen 1974). Secular psychotherapy can and does alleviate mental health symptoms, but the focus of it is towards acceptance of the individual’s condition, rather than towards restoration to a right conscience (Worthen 1974).

C&A and psychotherapy share similar effects and can look very similar in practice, as both have the end goal of wellbeing (Worthen 1974). Their presentation is similar in that the sinner goes before a confessor and seeks restoration, one for his mental health and the other for his spiritual. However, spiritual health is connected to mental health in a way that psychotherapy does not address, while C&A’s focus on the spiritual is able to address both.

Because of this difference, Christian psychotherapy looks different than secular psychotherapy. It acknowledges the sin which causes suffering, while also providing the psychological expertise needed for those seeking psychotherapy. Christian psychotherapy incorporates the understanding and teaching of the Christian Faith, which is nonsensical (1 Cor. 1:23) and distressing (Ro. 2:8-9) to those who are not in the Faith. The Christian psychotherapist builds up their fellow believer (1 Thess. 5:11) through their own knowledge and expertise in mental health. The importance of utilizing the Faith in therapy should also include an admonition to seek pastoral care, which care should include the use of C&A.

Another challenge and tension between psychology and the Church arises because psychotherapists are called to be advocates. According to the American Counselling Association (ACA) code of ethics A.7.a, counsellors are to advocate and remove barriers which inhibit the growth of the client (American Counselling Association, 2014). This, paired with the unbeliever’s hatred of God, creates further disconnect and reason for a Christian to not participate in psychology. However, especially for the Christian but even perhaps the un, we know that the spiritual is ultimately more important than the psychological. There is both psychological and spiritual gain from attending both C&A and church; thus, the energy of advocacy should go towards encouraging this attendance. Ultimately, the therapist and the counselee are both members of one body (1 Cor. 12:12) and should interact as such. Even if there is not an explicit issue of faith present in counselling, the issue of acting according to the Faith is always present.

As for the Church, she is to be reminded of her Rites and reminded to not cast them out. Lutherans in particular ought to be admonished that their own Confessions state that “Private Absolution ought to be retained in the churches” (BookofConcord.org, 2024). There, the pastor can be a part of benefitting the mental health of the congregation through the church’s established Rites.

The pastor, meanwhile, should not send his parishioners to a secular psychologist, but rather to one who professes the Faith and who will work with the pastor for the spiritual and psychological health of the parishioner. The pastor should also be reminded that psychotherapy has its place within the body of Christ, and he should take the time to encourage and study the Faith with the psychologists under his care, for their work is similar in effect to his.

The individual Christian who suffers under the effects of sin should seek both psychological and spiritual help. Mental health should never be sought to the exclusion of spiritual health. Rather, if an individual is able, they should seek both, for both influence psychological wellbeing.

Conclusion

The benefits of C&A and church attendance on psychological wellbeing give a glimpse into the conflicts that religion and psychology have. This conflict is truly one between the Christian and the non-Christian. The resolution of the matter requires that the spiritual be restored to it’s rightful place as primary in life, not to exclude the psychological, but rather as a reordering of priorities.

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