Faith vs. Fear: How to Tell the Difference Between Scrupulosity OCD and Religious Practice
What is Religious Scrupulosity?
Scrupulosity is a theme of OCD focused on moral- and religious-based obsessions and compulsions. For many, religion is a source of comfort and meaning. Since OCD latches onto what we value the most, it makes sense that OCD would target one’s faith. If it were something less important to the person, then it wouldn’t create enough fear to drive the urge to engage in compulsions and engage the OCD cycle.
OCD loves to create false dichotomies (clean vs dirty, responsible vs negligent, safe vs dangerous, and good vs bad). Human brains already tend to look for patterns and create categories. In OCD therapy, we explore how OCD capitalizes on that tendency. Gray areas are uncertain, so OCD tells us to avoid that by dividing the world into two extreme categories. With scrupulosity OCD, those two categories are good vs evil. This false dichotomy creates urgency to do something, makes uncertainty feel wrong and scary, and collapses the complexity of morality into simple but extreme rules.
Why is it Hard to Differentiate Between Piety and Scrupulosity?
When religious scrupulosity is the OCD symptom theme, people with OCD are more likely to view their concerns as reasonable and have more difficulty identifying compulsive behaviors as excessive. From the outside, it can also be difficult to tell if a person is just especially pious or dedicated to religious practice, or if they are experiencing OCD. In fact, many religious people with scrupulous OCD assume it is a spiritual problem rather than a mental health problem. Many seek out help from religious leaders before getting treatment. It’s important to understand that scrupulosity is not caused by a lack of faith. It is not a spiritual failure or moral weakness. It’s a treatable mental illness.
How to tell the difference between healthy spiritual practice and scrupulosity
The core difference between healthy religious practice and scrupulous OCD is related to what is driving the behavior. Are these actions coming from a place of peace/joy, or a place of fear? Sometimes it can be hard to tell. As an online OCD therapist in Wauwatosa, I tend to ask my clients the question:
Are you moving away from something or moving towards something?
This question can help determine if what they are doing is meant to avoid anxiety, guilt, or something catastrophic like going to Hell. If that is the purpose, this is a sign that OCD is involved. When engaging in healthy religious practice, actions are driven by values. Values are a direction we are always trying to move towards. Even if an action involves sacrifice or discipline, it is because we are trying to be better or trying to work towards something. With OCD, it feels forced. There is an internal sense of “I have to do this, or else.”
There are other practical signs that help differentiate between scrupulosity and healthy practice. One sign is when the person’s practices far exceed what is required by the religion they belong to. For example, someone might repeat the Shema again and again because they’re afraid they didn’t mean it enough, even though their tradition does not require perfect concentration. Another key sign is losing sight of the purpose of the practice. In healthy religious practice, prayer is about connection and meaning for many traditions. With scrupulosity, it becomes transactional, like putting prayer coins in a machine to get reassurance back.
Scrupulosity can also interfere with religious life rather than support it. Sometimes this happens because so much time is spent on perfecting one minor part of spiritual practice that more important aspects are overlooked. For example, a Christian might become so focused on memorizing or reading the Bible perfectly due to fear that mispronunciation is sinful, while missing the larger point of understanding and applying the teachings. For other people, scrupulosity interferes because it leads to avoidance of religious services, holy places, and holy symbols, making it difficult to express one’s faith.
When do religious practices pose a problem?
If the problem is not responsive to spiritual interventions, that might be a sign of scrupulosity. Often, individuals will go to religious leaders or scholars first to try to resolve the problem, but relief never lasts. The doubts return, stronger and more urgent, following the same obsessive-compulsive cycle. Other symptoms of OCD might be present as well. Some people experience only one theme, but many people with OCD have concerns in more than one area. If a person is already prone to obsessive-compulsive symptoms and behavior, that can be a clue.
In therapy at Leap Counseling, we focus on questions that can help clarify if behaviors are excessive:
Thinking of someone I look up to in my religious community, do they do all of the same things?
Do most people in my faith tradition believe or practice this in the same way?
Would about 80% of the people in my faith community see this as necessary?
Are other valued parts of my life being neglected due to overemphasis on one part of my religion?
Fear vs Faith: Final Thoughts From an Online OCD Therapist in Wauwatosa, WI
OCD blurs the line between fear and faith, saying that its rules are morally necessary and that refusing them means going against what you believe. In truth, OCD is the antithesis of faith. Scrupulosity demands total control and total certainty, at the cost of peace, joy, and presence. But if we were able to have total certainty, we wouldn’t need faith!
If you’re struggling with scrupulosity, you’re not broken. You’re not faithless. You’re dealing with a very real, very treatable form of OCD. The goal of OCD treatment is not to move away from one’s faith, but to lean back into faith once more. With the right support and evidence-based treatment, it is possible to loosen fear’s grip and return to a healthy, authentic relationship with religion.
Find Clarity With Specialized Online OCD Therapy in Wauwatosa, WI
If religious or moral concerns are causing intense anxiety, doubt, or guilt, it may be hard to know whether your struggles are rooted in faith or driven by OCD. Therapy for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can help you untangle scrupulosity from healthy belief, reducing compulsive behaviors and restoring a sense of peace and trust.
Leap Counseling and Consultation is a Wisconsin-based solo therapy practice led by Dr. Johanna Wood, who specializes in OCD, anxiety disorders, and scrupulosity. Using personalized, evidence-based treatment, Dr. Wood helps clients respond to intrusive religious or moral fears without engaging in compulsions, allowing faith to be guided by values rather than fear. Getting started is simple:
Get in touch to schedule a free 15-minute consultation and explore your therapy options
Meet one-on-one with an experienced OCD therapist in Wauwatosa, WI
Begin learning to face fears and reduce compulsions with compassionate support
Other Services Leap Counseling Provides in Wauwatosa & Throughout Wisconsin
Struggling with OCD, especially when it affects faith or moral values, can leave you feeling confused, anxious, and alone. Through specialized OCD therapy, many people gain clarity, learn to respond differently to intrusive thoughts, and reconnect with their values without fear or compulsive reassurance.
While treatment for OCD and scrupulosity is a central focus of my Wisconsin-based online therapy practice, it’s not the only therapy service I offer. Anxiety often overlaps with other challenges. As a licensed online therapist serving Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Michigan, I also provide therapy for Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and specific Phobias.
Wherever you are in your healing process, compassionate, evidence-based care can help you move forward. I invite you to explore my mental health blog to learn more about OCD, anxiety, and treatment approaches. And when you’re ready, reach out to schedule an appointment and take a meaningful step toward relief and renewed confidence.
About the Author
Dr. Johanna Wood is a clinical psychologist based in Wisconsin who specializes in treating OCD with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), including scrupulosity and other faith- or morality-focused subtypes. Drawing from her own experience with relationship OCD, she understands how intrusive doubts, uncertainty, and the urge to “get it right” can drive anxiety, especially when beliefs or values feel at stake. Her personal ERP work reframed exposures as intentional “leaps of faith,” an approach she now uses to help clients loosen fear-based certainty seeking and practice responding without compulsions. Dr. Wood earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Northern Illinois University, completed her doctoral internship at Rogers Behavioral Health’s OCD and Anxiety Adult Residential Program, has supervised clinical staff in residential treatment settings, is licensed in Wisconsin with PSYPACT authorization, and is actively involved with the International OCD Foundation through education and advocacy.
