Psychology of religion

Deuteronomy Syndrome

Abraham: rewarded for obedience to God Moses: established Jewish law Definition: The belief that those possessed of true belief must destroy the nonfaithful for fear of contamination. False worship is dangerously evil, therefore such false worship cannot be tolerated; it might cause others to commit false worship.

Effects of religion on physical health

Longevity: provide longer life (approx. 7 more years) Blood pressure/hypertension: lower blood pressure Heart attacks: fewer heart attacks, and recovery is faster General illness: lower illness rates

effects of religion on mental health

General mental illness: those with mental illness tend to not be religious Self esteem is higher Anxiety is lower Psychic Adequacy is higher Worry/guilt is lower Personal Competence/Control: more positive self attitutde

Gnostic Christianity

Gospels according to Thomas, a disciple. God is within the individual shift from ignorance to enlightenment Jesus is the example women allowed to be leaders The revelation is ongoing, anyone can receive it authority transcended by those who achieve full maturity apocalypse: kingdom of god is within yourself

Religious fundamentalism (four characteristics)

Inerrant truth forces of evil always active unchangeable practices special relationship with god

Gordon Allport's revival of psychology of religion

Influenced by James, criticized behaviorists and psychoanalysts His book, The Individual and its Religion, focused on every day believers, not experts Scales of quantification: Study of Values, and Religious orientation scale (extrinsic or intrinsic believer)

Jihad

Inner: holy war against your lower self outer: holy war in defense of Islam dar al Islam: land in islam control dar al Harb: land not in islam control

Jung's theory of the two types of unconscious

Personal: "the shadow self" unique to the person Collective: shared by everyone, genetic memories

differences between Islam and Christianity

Jesus and Caesar: not a political leader Mohammed and Medina: exiled, became a political and spiritual leader. Told by Angel Gabriel that he was God's chosen, forced city to convert to Islam

relationship between fundamentalism and RWA

Religious fundamentalism Fundamentalism applies to any religion, it's an attitude RWA: submission to legitimate authorities. Three attudinal clusters: support legitimate authorities, aggression, and convention RF and RWA covary at .70 RF's raise their children to obey authority

Escaton

a second coming of Jesus Reconstructionists: before Christ can return to earth society has to be reconstructed into a proper Christian society. abortion as example: must be made illegal post millenial: only after society changes will Jesus return

difference between behavioral studies and correlational

behavioral studies provide an accurate measure for behavior because you observe it yourself. In correlational studies, measures are self-reported, not observed. They are also less accurate.

Three attitudinal clusters of RWA

support legitimate authorities, illegal acts by these authorities and police even when they abuse their power Aggression: prejudice, punishment, shocked learner Convention: society should conform to traditional practices

Agenda for peak experience

take mysticism from the priests and give to the scientists, educate people about mysticism and encourage mystical experience

America not founded as a Christian nation

Constitution: no mention of God 1st amendment: no law favoring or prohibiting religion article 6: no religion shall ever be used as qualification to any office or public trust Treaty of Tripoli: US was not founded on the Christian religion

Tracks of religious experience

We can measure the behavior of the individual, and the effects that religion has on the individual. (we measure the tracks that religion leaves on people)

Myths

stories about the archetypal figures

Good Samaritan experiment

(40 seminary participants) asked to speak on religion. One group told to speak right away, another in 1 hour, and the other in 2 hours. They were either told to speak about their time at seminary or about the good Samaritan parable. Actor was placed on pathway pretending to be sick. Independent variable was time DV was how many people helped. Only 16 people actually helped the sick person. The people who helped the most were in the 2 hour group, and the people who helped the least were in the group that was supposed to present right away.

Abraham Maslow's contribution to psychology of religion

-pathology to healthy mindedness -psychology focused on the negative, needed to focus on humanistic pschology -behaviorists left out internal behaviors, psychoanalysts condemned people to their mental problems -Self actualization theory: people can get better, achieve holistic functioning -hierarchy of needs -peak experience and transpersonal psychology -agenda for peak experience

Common origins of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism

Abraham, Confessional religions: exclusive allegiance through your confession of faith, people of the book: obedience to scripture

Religious belief and health

1500+ studies done, 75% in the past 100 years. Originally ignored by the rest of the scientific community, now the positive value of religion in people's lives is being noticed by scientists, redressing the ignorance of the topic

Walter Pahnke's Good Friday Experiment

20 students, double blind procedure. Control subjects were given nicotinic acid, experimental subjects were given magic mushroom pills, psilocybin. Both groups went to a good Friday service. Control group enjoyed the service normally. Experimental group had profound religious experience that impacted their life

people who appeal to mass movements

Family likeness frustrated/bored the sick self results in the true believer Hope: distant hope (not used often), around the corner hope (used to accomplish quick goals) religiofication: practical causes to holy causes

explanations for the positive effects of religion on health

Health behaviors: religion discourages unhealthy behavior and encourages healthy behaviors Religious states of mind: fosters psychic states that benefit our physiological health (lowering stress) Coping: religion allows people to cope with bad things, results in less stress Social support: isolation has negative impacts on a person psychological well-being Psi factors: super empirical factors; maybe prayer has effects

Islam and the Enlightenment

Shariah was the socio-political rules that governed Islam, all institutions must surrender to shariah law In the west, humans through reason could increase knowledge, freedom, and happiness. Human progress began, and the idea of separation of the church and state became more prominent. Muslims were unable to progress due to their strict, conservative laws

Origins of Neurotheology

The study of the neurobiology of religion and spirituality. The goal is to pinpoint which regions of the brain turn on/off when people are having spiritual or religious experiences Tools: only able to study this within the past 20 years once tools were developed to access the brains of individuals First clues: temporal lobe epilepsy, head injuries, neurostimulation, alzheimer's God Helmet: Persinger Reductionists vs Structuralists Questions/Implications

wahhābīya

Ultra conservative, puritanical movement around the same time as the enlightenment (18th century), no innovations permitted. Hanbalite law is the most conservative, literal interpretation of the Koran. Sunna: commentaries by people who recorded what Mohammed did during this time, how they conducted their lives. Cited by muslims as justification for their lifestyles no influence from the outside world (non muslims) example: the girls at a burning school were left to die because they were wearing pajamas Al-Quaeda Final goal: everything Dar al Islam (land under Islam)

Dominionist Agenda in America

believed to be the persecuted minority reclaim america for christ, whatever the cost specific objectives: Rewrite school books (Christian versions), pack the courts with judges who follow old testament law, ten commandments will rule, homosexuality: felony punishable by death, change pledge of allegiance, abortion illegal, censorship Reclaim america politically: "most humble Christian is better than the most educated Pagan"

archetype

collective memories from before we were born

clash of nations to clash of civilizations

culture is too basic to change world is smaller delocalization return to roots culture is more fixed

transpersonal psychology

form of psychotherapy that adds authentic spirituality to the usual goals of healthy functioning

Social influence theory

lack of personal choice in religion Group introduction: what you believe is due to your social background Empirical evidence: Gender, race, socioeconomic status, education, town size, parent's religion

Individuation process

people integrate aspects of their "shadow self" in the unconscious, and gain psychic wholeness

Hierarchy of needs

physiological, safety, sense of belonging and love, esteem, and self actualization

Psychology of Holy War

scriptural warrant/justification beyond ordinary judgement not unstable people not socio-politically driven sacred struggles: good vs evil impose uniformity

Fundamental principles of the empirical approach

to apply the scientific method to the study of religion both individually and institutionally key elements: explanatory theories and rigorous testing ethical concerns research concern: how do we measure God? Tracks of religious experience Correlational studies statistical surveys

Correlational study

used to identify the social, psychological and other correlates of religious behaviors, experiences and attitudes. Major tasks: assess piety (depth and style), religious correlates (attitude and personality)