“Letting Go”: From Ancient to Modern Perspectives on Relinquishing Personal Control—A Theoretical Perspective on Religion and Coping with Cancer

The concept of “letting go” or relinquishing control has a long intellectual history, including the earliest Taoist writings, long-standing religious traditions, modern conceptualizations of religious coping, and current psychological control theory. This paper briefly traces the ancient roots of “letting go,” with an emphasis on Stoic philosophers, and plants it firmly in current control theory and religious coping research, with a focus on its more modern conceptualization, that of secondary control. Presenting the theoretical perspective, which is grounded in religious conceptions of control of outcomes integrated with modern control theory in psychology, is the main goal of this paper. However, the theoretical integration is bolstered by some initial descriptive findings based on cancer patients and survivors. This integration of religious coping and psychological theory has important implications for testing the utility of personal control and God-referenced control as ways to cope with the uncertainties of a serious illness such as cancer. Finally, the theory and descriptive findings lay the groundwork for future empirical studies and the development of counseling interventions.