The Psychology of Religion and Coping

"The definitive work on religion and coping. Encyclopedic in its breadth and depth, the book provides a clinically relevant discussion of religion as a resource for mental health and an analysis of the processes that encourage the conservation and transformation of significance. Dr. Pargament describes the psychology of coping from the complementary vantages of a scholar and clinician. Of note is the sophisticated presentation of theory and empirical data which leads to an appreciation of the role of religion in sustaining meaning and hope in the face of adversity. For the religion scholar, this book provides scientific support for long held assumptions about an important function of faith. For clinicians, this work opens the door for further inquiry into the nature of psychological treatment concerning the provision of hope and articulation of personal meaning. Rarely does one find a book so equally comprehensive and accessible. Academicians and mental health professionals alike will find this volume a thought-provoking contribution to the field." --Edward P. Shafranske, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Graduate School of Education and Psychology, Pepperdine University and Faculty, Southern California Psychoanalytic Institute; Past President and Fellow of APA Division 36: Psychology of Religion and William Bier Award recipient. "In this fascinating book, Kenneth Pargament links religion and coping using an elegant and articulate conceptual framework. He makes religious coping accessible to the theoretician, the researcher, and the practitioner, and he provides many insights about the multiple functions of religious coping, when it is used, by whom, toward what ends, and with what consequences. "The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, and Practice" is a book that the field of coping has needed for a very long time." --Susan Folkman, Ph.D. Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco "Kenneth Pargament has achieved what