Psychology and Religion: An Introduction

by Argyle,Michael

• ISBN13: 9780415189071
• ISBN10: 0415189071
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-02-03
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Should psychology try to explain religion or try to understand it? Pioneers in psychology like Sigmund Freud and William James took opposing views on the matter, and it has been a hotly debated issue ever since. While psychology has been used in the past to attack religion, recent psychological findings have been more sympathetic to matters of faith. How should we understand their relationship today? InPsychology and Religion,Michael Argyle, one of the world's most famous experimental psychologists, provides a comprehensive and accessible survey of what psychologists know about religion--and what they don't. Offering fascinating and surprising insights into people and their religious worlds, Argyle examines the results of psychology's study of religion--including those of his own important experiments--and explores a wide range of topics such as: the importance of religion in the works of Freud, Jung and James; the proven effects of religion on the behavior of individuals and groups; howpsychologists study religious activities like prayer, worship and ritual; and how psychologists have revealed the significance of change in religion, particularly in understanding the impact of new religious movements.

Author Biography

Michael Argyle is Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Oxford Brookes University.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	vi
List of Figures	viii
Preface	ix
Acknowledgements	x
The relation between psychology and religion	1	(14)
Socialisation	15	(15)
The effect of personality	30	(16)
The extent and varieties of religious experience	46	(14)
The causes and effects of religious experience	60	(16)
Religious beliefs	76	(21)
Freud's and Jung's accounts of religious belief	97	(14)
Worship and prayer	111	(15)
Ritual and charisma	126	(15)
Happiness and the other benefits and costs of religion	141	(14)
Physical and mental health	155	(12)
Religious and other origins of morals	167	(17)
The effect of religion on behaviour	184	(16)
Secularisation and the present state of religion	200	(22)
The growth of new religious movements	222	(17)
Conclusions for religion	239	(12)
References	251	(30)
Name Index	281	(2)
Subject Index	283