Somewhere between wanting to live a life of faith and trying to please God, a quiet torment can begin. It might start with a question: Did I pray the right way? Was that thought sinful? Should I confess again — just to be sure? What begins as sincere devotion can slowly turn into a cycle of fear, guilt, and relentless self-checking.
This experience is often called scrupulosity — a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that centres on religious or moral fears. For those who live with it, faith becomes an anxious striving for certainty rather than a source of comfort. It is not about lacking faith, but rather feeling trapped by it.
In this post, we’ll look at how perfectionism, fear, and attachment patterns intertwine with scrupulosity, and why understanding these dynamics can open a path toward healing.
What is Scrupulosity?
Scrupulosity has been described as “fearing sin where there is none” (1). It involves obsessions — unwanted, distressing thoughts such as “I might have offended God” or “I didn’t pray properly” — and compulsions, the mental or behavioural acts done to relieve that fear, such as confessing repeatedly, seeking reassurance from clergy, or avoiding situations that might lead to sin.
While scrupulosity appears in religious contexts, it also has secular forms, where the fear focuses on morality rather than faith (2). The common thread is excessive doubt and an intolerable sense of uncertainty: What if I’m wrong? What if I’ve failed to be good enough?
Research consistently shows that scrupulosity sits at the intersection of religious struggle and obsessive-compulsive processes (3,4). People with scrupulosity are not necessarily more religious than others, but they experience higher levels of religious anxiety, guilt, and fear of divine punishment (5). Rather than bringing peace, faith becomes a battleground between devotion and distress.
The Link Between Perfectionism and Scrupulosity
For many, scrupulosity grows in the soil of perfectionism. While perfectionism can sometimes motivate excellence, the maladaptive form is driven by fear — the belief that one’s worth or safety depends on being without fault.
In a study among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, maladaptive perfectionism was found to be positively associated with both scrupulosity and anxiety about God (6). People who believed they must always meet impossible standards were also more likely to fear divine punishment and doubt their spiritual adequacy.
Perfectionism becomes especially painful when combined with religious ideals. Many faith traditions value humility, purity, and repentance — all good qualities — but when filtered through perfectionism, these values can become distorted. Repentance becomes a never-ending cycle. Prayer becomes a test of worthiness. “Faith” becomes fear wearing holy clothes.
Therapeutically, these patterns can be explored through approaches such as schema therapy, a model that helps people understand the deep emotional themes or “schemas” that shape how they see themselves, others, and even God. Schema therapy integrates elements of cognitive-behavioural, attachment, and emotion-focused therapies and is particularly useful for people who intellectually know their fears are irrational, yet feel emotionally powerless to stop them.
In schema terms, perfectionism and scrupulosity often arise from patterns such as Unrelenting Standards (“I must always do better”) and Punitiveness (“Mistakes deserve punishment”). These schemas may have roots in early environments where love or approval felt conditional — on being good, obedient, or pleasing others. Later, those same emotional rules are internalised and spiritualised: If I’m perfect, God will accept me.
Over time, that inner critic becomes fused with one’s image of God. The voice of anxiety begins to sound like the voice of conscience.
The Quest for Certainty
Scrupulosity thrives on one central problem — intolerance of uncertainty (7). In ordinary life, people learn to live with shades of grey: “I think I locked the door,” “I probably said the right thing.” But in scrupulosity, uncertainty feels morally dangerous.
Cognitive-behavioural theories describe a process called thought–action fusion — the belief that thinking something bad is as sinful or dangerous as actually doing it (8). Someone might think an irreverent thought during prayer and immediately feel consumed by guilt: Just having that thought means I’ve offended God.
This sets up a self-perpetuating cycle. The more someone tries to control their thoughts, the stronger they become. The more they seek reassurance — by confessing, checking, or replaying actions — the less confident they feel.
Therapies such as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) work by gently helping people face these fears without performing the rituals that temporarily relieve them. Over time, the brain learns that uncertainty does not equal danger. This is not a loss of faith, but a retraining of fear.
The Role of Avoidance
Avoidance is one of the most subtle and powerful forces in scrupulosity. People often assume compulsions are only visible rituals — excessive prayer, confessing, or checking. But avoidance itself becomes a compulsion.
Someone might skip communion for fear of receiving it “unworthily,” avoid reading Scripture lest they misunderstand it, or stop praying entirely because the anxiety feels unbearable. These behaviours bring temporary relief, but they also strengthen the underlying fear.
As the Religions study by Moroń et al. (3) found, scrupulosity often acts as a “bridge symptom” between obsessive-compulsive tendencies and religious struggle. Avoidance temporarily silences the tension but reinforces the idea that certain spiritual experiences are unsafe.
Therapeutic work therefore often involves gradual re-engagement — learning to approach faith practices without the old pressure for perfection or certainty. This might mean praying once instead of repeating, tolerating an intrusive thought without confession, or staying present in worship despite doubt.
Attachment, Faith, and Fear
To understand why scrupulosity feels so powerful, it helps to look at attachment — our basic style of relating to others, developed early in life.
Those with anxious attachment often fear rejection and may over-seek reassurance. Spiritually, this can translate into feeling that God’s love must be constantly re-earned. Every moral slip feels like abandonment. In contrast, those with avoidant attachment may distance themselves emotionally from both people and God, relying on control and self-sufficiency to feel safe.
Research suggests that scrupulosity is linked to anxious attachment to God, characterised by fear of divine punishment and difficulty trusting grace (6). Schema therapy provides a bridge between these attachment patterns and cognitive processes. The punitive inner voice often reflects an internalised attachment figure — a parent, teacher, or spiritual leader whose approval once felt essential.
In healing work, therapy helps to differentiate God from that punitive voice. Many people discover that their perception of God has been shaped by human relationships rather than divine reality. The journey is not about losing faith but reclaiming it from fear.
The Religious Context: When Faith and Fear Collide
It is important to recognise that faith itself does not cause scrupulosity. Many people practise their religion devoutly without distress. What matters is how beliefs are interpreted and held within the mind of someone vulnerable to anxiety and perfectionism.
As the Polish cognitive-behavioural review (9) highlights, scrupulosity often appears where religious doctrines about sin, confession, or moral purity interact with cognitive distortions — especially catastrophising, dichotomous thinking, and over-responsibility.
For example, someone might internalise a rule such as “If I’m not completely pure, I’m sinful.” Over time, that black-and-white thinking overrides compassion, humility, and grace — values that most faith traditions actually emphasise.
Clinically, both the Polish and Turkish systematic reviews (9,10) emphasise that faith-sensitive therapy — where the clinician respects and integrates the person’s belief system — is crucial. Working collaboratively with pastors, priests, or other trusted spiritual figures can help clients discern what belongs to faith, and what belongs to anxiety.
The Paradox of Control
Scrupulosity often gives the illusion of control: “If I check enough, pray enough, or confess enough, I can prevent something bad from happening.” Yet beneath these efforts lies a deep sense of fear and powerlessness - a desperate attempt to manage uncertainty by doing more, even when it never truly bring peace.
In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) teaches that unwanted thoughts cannot be eliminated — only related to differently. The goal shifts from eradicating doubt to acting in accordance with values despite doubt.
This acceptance can sound counter-intuitive to religious individuals taught to resist sin or temptation. But as clinical research shows, learning to sit with uncertainty — even spiritual uncertainty — reduces distress and restores genuine engagement with one’s faith (10).
Practical Ways Forward
Healing from scrupulosity is not about losing reverence or lowering moral standards. It is about reclaiming freedom, trust, and compassion within faith.
Some small steps that can help include:
Notice the pattern — When you feel the urge to repeat a prayer, confess again, or seek reassurance, pause and name the fear driving it.
Practise “good enough” devotion — Pray or read Scripture once, then gently resist the urge to start again. Remind yourself that faith is a relationship, not a performance.
Externalise the inner critic — Write down the harsh thoughts (“God must be disappointed in me”) and ask: Whose voice does this really sound like?
Cultivate self-compassion — Research shows that lower self-compassion is associated with higher scrupulosity (3). Small acts of kindness toward yourself are not indulgent; they are corrective.
Work with a psychologist — Therapy with a faith-sensitive psychologist that honours both your beliefs, and your mental health can help disentangle spiritual conviction from compulsive fear.
Recovery takes time, but every act of courage — every moment of sitting with uncertainty — is a quiet act of faith.
Moving Toward Freedom
When perfectionism drives your spirituality, peace always feels one prayer away — but that prayer is never quite enough. Scrupulosity whispers that safety lies in certainty, yet healing begins when you allow yourself to be human, uncertain, and loved anyway.
Faith was never meant to be a prison. Sometimes the bravest act of devotion is to stop striving and rest in grace.
An Invitation
Living with scrupulosity can feel lonely, frightening, and exhausting. But you are not alone, and help is available. If you recognise yourself or a loved one in this description, I encourage you to reach out.
I work with individuals across Australia through online psychology sessions, offering evidence-based psychological support, including CBT/ERP, in a faith-sensitive and compassionate way. Together, we can explore new ways of relating to your thoughts, your faith, and yourself — moving from fear back towards freedom.
Immediate Support
If you are experiencing distress and need immediate support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 for 24/7 crisis support in Australia.
Disclaimer
Any stories or examples provided are an example only and do not describe a specific client, person or event. Some of the information we provide on our website may be information related to health and medical issues, but it's not meant to be health and medical "advice". We provide this information for your general use only. While we try to provide accurate information, it may be historical, incomplete information or based on opinions that aren't widely held. Your personal situation has not been considered when providing the information, so any reliance on this information is at your sole risk. We recommend seeking independent professional advice before relying on the information we provide.
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References
1. Abramowitz, J. & Buchholz, J. (2020). Scrupulosity: Religious and moral obsessions in OCD.
2. Siev, J., & Huppert, J. (2017). Religious vs. moral scrupulosity: Conceptual distinctions and clinical overlap.
3. Moroń, M., Biolik-Moroń, M., & Matuszewski, K. (2022). Scrupulosity in the network of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, religious struggles, and self-compassion. Religions, 13(10), 879.
4. Huppert, J. D., & Fradkin, I. (2016). Dimensions of scrupulosity and obsessive-compulsive phenomena.
5. Nason-Clark, N. (2004). Faith communities and intimate partner violence: A multi-country analysis.
6. Allen, G. E. K., Norton, A., Pulsipher, S., Johnson, D., & Bunker, B. (2015). I Worry That I am Almost Perfect! Examining relationships among perfectionism, scrupulosity, intrinsic spirituality, and psychological well-being among Latter-day Saints.
7. Tolin, D., et al. (2001). Intolerance of uncertainty and obsessive-compulsive phenomena.
8. Shafran, R., et al. (1996). Thought–action fusion and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
9. Albińska, P. (2022). Scrupulosity – Cognitive-behavioural understanding of religious/moral OCD. Psychiatria i Psychologia Kliniczna, 22(1), 25–39.
10. Toprak, T. B. & Özçelik, H. N. (2024). Psychotherapies for the treatment of scrupulosity: A systematic review. Current Psychology, 43, 22361–22375.
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