http://vaw.sagepub.com/content/21/1/87.full.pdf+html
In the article linked above, the role of religiosity in relation to experiences of intimate partner violence is explored. The premise for this interrelationship between religiosity and intimate partner violence is that, after enduring the traumas of domestic violence, the victim’s assumptions that the world is benevolent and meaningful, and that the self is worthy, are called into question. And, when these assumptions are threatened, a person’s feelings of safety and security in the world start to disappear. Therefore, after experiencing violent abuse at the hands of an intimate partner, religiosity and spirituality become all the more important, because they offer emotional support and restore a sense of meaning and control in the lives of survivors of intimate partner violence.
This article sites prior research stating the value of religiosity in reacting to, and recovering from, a domestic violence experience, then the researchers carry out their own research study revolving religiosity and intimate partner violence. The results of their study found that the shattering of world assumptions significantly increased victims of intimate partner violence’s likelihood of developing PTSD following their experience, but–like prior research found–victims of domestic violence were also significantly more likely to turn to religiosity to cope with their PTSD symptoms, because their trust in a higher power instilled within them the emotional support that they needed to recover from their domestic violence experience.