The Bible as a Source Text for Spiritual Resilience in Peace Officers

Law enforcement is one of the most stressful occupations. Peace officers are continuously exposed to a tremendous amount of stress and trauma throughout the course of their careers, physiologically, psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. As it relates to law enforcement, spiritual resilience is a peace officer’s capacity to personally endure and cope with stress through the officer’s personal convictions and beliefs regarding existence, a higher power (e.g., God), and his or her purpose for being. A large population of peace officers, especially in the United States, view the Bible, the world’s foremost best-selling book, either as spiritually authoritative or as an ancient text containing spiritual insights. Unsurprisingly, then, many peace officers engage in spiritual activities, including prayer and Bible study, which tend to positively influence the officers’ spiritual resilience. Furthermore, the Bible specifically addresses and validates the law enforcement profession. Therefore, law enforcement agencies should permit the Bible as a source text for spiritual resilience in peace officers. Though not all peace officers are Christian nor share the same opinion of the Bible, the goal for every law enforcement agency should be to create a faith-friendly, non-exclusive environment for all peace officers. Doing so will better prepare and allow all officers to deal with the toxic stressors faced during their law enforcement careers, and, in turn, strengthen the overall readiness and effectiveness of the law enforcement agency.