Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion

The psychology of religion.

This chapter discusses progress in the psychology of religion by highlighting its rapid growth during the past 25 years. Recent conceptual and empirical developments are described, with an emphasis on the cognitive and affective basis of religious experience within personality and social psychology. Religion and spirituality as domains of study, as well as being common and important process var...

Psychology of Religion and Culture

After a brief introduction to psychology of religion as a scientific discipline, this article reviews psychological theories that propose explanations of religion as an individual and social reality, and provides information from recent empirical literature that, at least partially, confirms these theories. The theoretical and empirical evidence presented here encompasses a variety of psycholog...

Encyclopedia of Sport and Exercise Psychology

The cognitive and evolutionary psychology of religion

The following reviews recent developments in the cognitive and evolutionary psychology of religion, and argues for an adaptationist stance.

A sample entry from the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature