This study examines the relationship between spiritual dryness and various religious and spiritual resources, including daily spiritual experiences, religious consolation, religious tension, and coping mechanisms. The sample consisted of 242 individuals (79% women) who participated in the Spiritual Exercises (Ignatian retreats) in Poland for a duration of one to four weeks, as well as several other types of retreats inspired by Ignatian spirituality. Data were collected using standardized scales: the Spiritual Dryness Scale, the Religious Comfort and Strain Scale, the Brief RCOPE, and the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale. The results indicated significant correlations between the frequency of daily spiritual experiences and several factors, including spiritual dryness, acedia, levels of religious consolation, and specific stress-coping strategies. However, the data showed no significant association between the level of engagement in the Spiritual Exercises and the frequency of daily spiritual experiences. These findings suggest that while spiritual dryness is an integral part of the broader dynamics of religious life, it may operate independently in individual participants of the Spiritual Exercises. The findings also reveal a moderate positive correlation between the intensity of daily spiritual experiences and the use of adaptive coping strategies, alongside a moderate negative association with acedia. The data indicate that positive religious coping mechanisms are inversely related to levels of acedia; conversely, higher scores on the acedia scale are predictive of increased negative religious coping. Furthermore, the DSES was identified as a primary determinant influencing the depth and quality of positive religious and spiritual experiences.
The experience of spiritual dryness among participants of the Spiritual Exercises