other names · Added 10 October 2026
Spiritual bypass
Spirituality as avoidance of unresolved psychological issues
Spiritual bypass or spiritual bypassing is a "tendency to use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid facing unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks". The term was introduced in the mid 1980s by John Welwood, a Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist. Clinicians in pastoral psychology have identified both beneficial and detrimental manifestations of behavior that could be described as spiritual bypass.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Not a dictionary word, so it lives in Other Names.
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