Date

5-20-2026

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

Jamie E Clark

Keywords

Moral injury, potentially morally injurious event, combat veteran, moral resilience, biblical forgiveness, spirituality, Christian, faith

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

An unsuccessful navigation of exposure to potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) can result in psychological, emotional, and spiritual distress, which can lead to moral injury. Moral injury continues to receive wider attention among researchers and clinicians in the field of military psychology and mental health due to the prevalence of exposure to PMIEs among this population. Research has shown that over half of the veteran population has experienced at least one PMIE, and about 6.5% have reported moral injury. Although moral injury is considered an injury of the soul and has spiritual consequences, there remains a gap in the literature on how individuals’ spiritual and religious resources help them navigate moral injury. A semi-structured interview was utilized to gather data from 10 Christian veterans who deployed to a combat zone after 9/11 to answer questions on their description of their lived experience of moral injury, its impact on their view of self, others, the world, and faith, and the perceived influence of spiritual beliefs and biblical forgiveness on their moral resilience. Thematic analysis uncovered three themes which are experiencing moral injury: consequences and coping, faith and moral injury: the mutual impact, and biblical forgiveness as a path to moral resilience. The result highlights the complexity of moral injury and the need for a thorough approach in conceptualization. It also emphasizes the essence of spiritual beliefs and practices, such as biblical forgiveness, in addressing a phenomenon which has been referred to as an injury of the soul.

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