The Psychology Of Religion

Theory in the psychology of religion is in a state of rapid development, and the present volume demonstrates how various positions in this field may be translated into original foundational work that will in turn encourage exploration in many directions. A number of new contributions are collected with previously published pieces to illustrate the diversity of prominent theoreticians' thinking on topics pertinent to the psychology of religion. These essays span the primary theoretical and research traditions in mainstream psychology: motivational, social, cognitive, clinical, personality, and developmental frameworks. Each section concludes with an extensive commentary. This book is a valuable addition to courses in psychology and religious studies. It also will appeal to those professionals and lay audiences interested in how this field is evolving.

Preface, Part 1 Where We Are and Where We Should Go, An Agenda Item for Psychology of Religion: Getting Respect, Toward Motivational Theories of Intrinsic Religious Commitment, Commentary: Where We Are and Where We Should Go, Part 2 Why Religion? Functions of Religious Beliefs and Behavior, Toward a Theory of Religion: Religious Commitment, In Times of Stress: The Religion-Coping Connection, Proposed Agenda for a Spiritual Strategy in Personality and Psychotherapy, Commentary: Why Religion? Functions of Religious Belief and Behavior, Part 3 Social Concerns, An Integrated Role Theory for the Psychology of Religion: Concepts and Perspectives, Religion and Moral Evaluation Discrepancy Theory, Commentary: Social Concerns, Part 4 Development of Individual Religion, The Origins of Religion in the Child, Integrating Differing Theories: The Case of Religious Development, An Attachment-Theory Approach to the Psychology of Religion, Commentary: Development of Individual Religion, Part 5 Believing Is Seeing: How Religion Shapes Our Worlds, Attribution Theory and the Psychology of Religion, A General Attribution Theory for the Psychology of Religion, Religion-as-Schema, with Implications for the Relation Between Religion and Coping, Toward an Attitude Process Model of Religious Experience, In the Eye of the Beholder: A Social-Cognitive Model of Religious Belief, Commentary: Believing Is Seeing-How Religion Shapes Our World, Part 6 The Experience of Religion, A Taxonomy of Religious Experience, Rodney Stark, The Empirical Study of Mysticism, Commentary: The Experience of Religion, References, About the Book, About the Editors and Contributors, Index