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Psychology of
Religion:
What are we talking about?
I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.
I open them it all comes back again.
I think I made you up inside my head.
Let us begin with some definitions:
Psychology
The study of behavior, particularly human behavior. Its
root comes from the Greek word, psyche, for soul.
Religion
We often use the word religion where we actually refer
to a specific religious tradition, such as Christianity, Buddhism, or
Judaism. The worldviews which underlie these traditions are very
different. Religion comes from the root words
religio, the feeling and experience of coming in touch with
a greater-than-human power, and religare, to bind together
again.
Not all religions share a belief in a personal god or divine manifestation.
Paul
Tillich describes it this way:
If we abstract the concept of religion from the great commandment, we can
say that religion is being ultimately concerned about that which is and should be
our ultimate concern. This means that faith is the state of being grasped by an
ultimate concern. Such a concept of religion has little in common with the
description of a highest being called, God, and the theoretical and practical
consequences of such a belief. Instead, we are pointing to an existential, not
a theoretic, understanding of religion(Theology of Culture).
Psychology of Religion
While acknowledging that religion is far more than the sum of its
components, we can examine the psychological factors of religious
experience:
 Religious Feelings and states
Religious Behaviors, such as rites, and
rituals
Religious Cognition and Faith Events,
such as Crises of Faith
Physiological Conditions coincident
with Religious Feelings and Behaviors
Web Design by Christine Norstrand
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