Optimism has its modern roots in philosophy dating back to the 17th century in the writings of philosophers such as Descartes and Voltaire (Domino & Conway, 2001). Previous to these philosophical writings, the concept of optimism was revealed in the teachings of many of the great spiritual traditions such as Buddhism and Christianity (Miller, Richards, & Keller, 2001). It has been reported that people with spiritual faith tend to have a more optimistic and hopeful outlook on life (Myers, 2000). Th is spiritual connection has provided the basis for research that sought to distinguish the diff erences between the positive psychological constructs of optimism and hope. Optimism has been defi ned as a general expectation for good outcomes in the future (Scheier & Carver, 1985), whereas hope has been defi ned as a set of cognitive processes that were directed at attaining specifi c goals (see the Lopez et al., chapter 6, this volume; Snyder, Sympson, Michael, & Cheavens, 2001). Recent research supports this distinction (Bryant & Cvengros, 2004) .
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