Humor

Relationship of Humor to Spirituality

The relationship between humor and spirituality is both subtle and overt. One often sees a cartoon with the lead character asking ”Does God have a sense of humor?” followed by a funny scene or person, indicating that the answer to the question is obvious; for example, the woman with a bald head secondary to breast cancer whose son sells “feels” of her bald head to his friends. 

Cohn (1990) stated that humor integrates physiological, psychosocial and spiritual well-being.  Dunn (2002) observed that laughter and a sense of humor seen to be uniquely human.  He went on to say that “those whose confidence rests in God and not in themselves are free to laugh and play in a way not available to others” (p.4).

What Is Therapeutic Humor?

Conrad Hyers, author of And God created laughter: The Bible as divine comedy and Spirituality and comedy: Comic heroism in a tragic world, defines many positive forms of humor: the laughter of the little child (playfulness); the venting of fears and conflicts of the adolescent (tension); and playfulness at a higher level (maturity). This level provides the person with harmony, peace, sense of well-being, resolution and liberation.  Sad to say, many adults are stuck in the adolescent level.  We need to give one another permission to laugh in worship, to lighten up and listen to the other person’s side, and to affirm one another despite our differences (in Dunn, 2002). 

Dunn (1999), in a interview with the John Morreall, PhD, author of Comedy, tragedy, and religion, stated that:

            The world’s religions tell us that when we meet failure, obstacles, and
            disappointment, we should not succumb to negative emotions such as fear,
            anger, and sadness.  If you think it all the way through, a good alternative
            would be to laugh about things” (p.7). 

According to Morreall, the comic response of some religions is “to see the humor and rise above the emotion, to enjoy the incongruity of disrupted plans and dreams” (p.1). 

How Does Humor "Work?"

Seaward (1994) observes that “Humor has an adhesive quality which connects and bonds people together, if only for the duration of a joke, and connectedness is a component of spiritual well-being” (p. 204).  Dossey (1996) believes that humor catalyzes spiritual growth by (a) revealing the naked truth about ourselves; (b) dissolving the walls of our ego; (c) melting barriers between ourselves and others; and (d) eliminating obstructions between ourselves and the Absolute. 

Many persons find laughing to be spiritually uplifting. Humor is viewed as “transcendent…perhaps strength and inner resources can be measured by one’s appreciation of the humor in life (Carson, 1989), p. 198). Carson and others have noted that women with breast cancer, for example, are able to laugh at themselves and at life as a way of coping with the disease, its treatment, and the side effects of treatment. Likewise, Secrist (1994) observed that humor encourage us not to take ourselves so seriously, which often leads to self-acceptance in the face of life’s challenges. 

Frankl (1967) noted that the ability to laugh at oneself is a precursor to finding meaning in life; finding meaning in life is the essence of spiritual well-being.

Resources

Carson, V. (1989). Spiritual dimensions of nursing practice. Philadelphia: Saunders.
Cohen, M (1990). Caring for ourselves can be funny business. Holistic Nursing Practice,4 (4), 1-11.
Dossey, L. (1996). “Now you are fit to live”: Humor and health: Alternative therapies,
            2 (5), 8-13, 98-100.
Dunn, JR (1999). Comedy, tragedy, and religion.  An interview with John Morreall, PhD.
            Humor & Health Journal, VIII, 5, 1-9.
Dunn, JR (2002). Comedy and spirituality: An interview with Conrad Hyers, PhD
            Humor & Health Journal, XI, 4, 1-7. 
Frankl, V. (1967). Psychotherapy and existentialism.  NY: Simon & Schuster.
Kuhn, CC (2001). Easing transitions with humor. Humor &Health Journal,
            X, 3, 1-8. 
Secrist, M.A. (1994). Humor and spirituality. Therapeutic Humor. The Newsletter of the
           American Association for Therapeutic Humor, Vol VIII, Ip. 1. 
Seaward, S. (1994). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being.
          Boston: Jones and Bartlett.

Belcher, A. (2005)