The impact of stressful life events on highly religious Chinese Christians living in Belgium.

While there has been considerable inquiry into how religion may help Christians deal with stressful life events (SLEs), only limited research has been conducted on the impact SLEs might have on religion. This study's purpose was to provide an in-depth analysis of this relationship in a sample of highly religious Christians of Chinese origin. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 11 Chinese couples residing in Belgium, and a conceptual model was created to describe how SLEs impact religiosity and how religion influences people's coping processes. Results indicated that for highly religious Chinese Christians, an SLE may represent a faith-growth opportunity.