Disciplines
• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Psychological Science
• Health Psychology
Psychiatry, psychology and religion all draw
on long-held traditions of human thought and
practice. Scientists, philosophers and theologians
have sought for centuries to understand the
ways in which humans attempt to comprehend
and interact with their world and to give
meaning to their lives.
Mental health and religion:
Before psychology rose as a field of study,
religious inquiry into thought and behavior
tended to center on action and nature. Beliefs
centered on people's choice to be good or
evil, that the Devil guided them toward
bad behavior, or that God made them a particular
way. Some felt, based on religious beliefs,
that those who now might be diagnosed as
mentally ill acted out because of demonic
possession.
In the beginning of psychiatry,
practitioners often dismissed the relation
of religion. Sigmund Freud believed that
faith itself is an irrational and illusory
act, and that its practice becomes a compulsion
neurosis. Still, he and others, such as
William James, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler and
Erich Fromm, were interested in the psychology
of religion, the psychological study of
religious experiences, beliefs and activities.
Research has shown that
those who practice faith tend to report
higher levels of happiness than those who
don't. This offers a large frontier for
researchers to examine why and how this
impacts people's lives. With the established
link between physical health and psychological
well being, the role religion plays in the
latter might help demonstrate how religion
can affect peoples' physical health in positive
ways. Researchers might also be able to
discover the origins of religious delusions
in patients with psychotic or manic episodes,
whether this is linked to religious experience
and how it has impacted religious narratives
and beliefs.
Some research indicates
that people experience faith in different
ways, with different levels of religious
fervor and patterns of religious practice,
possibly with a biological basis. Understanding
better what attracts certain people to religion,
and what attracts them to certain types
of religious experience, can be helpful
in understanding the human mind.
Current research:
Scientists have studied the brains of nuns,
monks and others and noted that their brains
are active in certain areas during intense
religious experiences. Other studies have
noted activity in particular brain areas
while subjects are engaged in the spiritual
practice of speaking in tongues. Though
some religious scholars argue that such
experiments merely record emotions and don't
fully understand religious experience, researchers
say they could raise profound questions
about the nature of God and the human soul.
Geneticist Dean H. Hamer
claims in his book, "The God Gene:
How Faith is Hardwired into our Genes"
(2004) that he identified a set of genes
that indicate higher "self-transcendence"
ratings in people who have them, prompting
him to argue that there is a biological
basis - and genetic predisposition - for
spiritual experience.
Biologist Richard Dawkins
argues in his "The Selfish Gene"
(30th-anniversary edition, 2006), that altruistic
behaviors by humans (often tied in society
to religious association and sense of community)
are more related to genes that seek to help
related organisms reproduce to replicate
copies of themselves than true altruism.
This theory goes on to surmise that genetically
speaking, people develop community not out
of sense of connection with others or a
supreme being, but to survive and pass on
their genes.
The Center's work:
MU's Center on Religion & the Professions is conducting cutting-edge
work in the area of spirituality, mental
health and neuropsychology. Dr. Brick Johnstone,
chair of the MU Department of Health Psychology,
leads a diverse team of professionals and
faculty with expertise in religious studies,
cultural anthropology, social work, medical
sociology, neuropsychology, health psychology,
rehabilitation medicine and oncology. The
pilot project investigates relationships
among spirituality, religion, mental health
and physical health in individuals with
various medical conditions, chronic illnesses
and disabilities.
The Center is also studying
relationships among spirituality/religion
and mental health outcomes among all populations
and spirituality/religion differences between
cognitively impaired and cognitively intact
individuals, as well as the neuropsychology
of spiritual experience. Other Center studies
look at the efficacy of mindfulness-based
stress reduction on persons with chronic
disabilities; transcendence and right hemisphere
functioning; and spirituality as a personality
construct. The Center is applying for grants
to study the relationship between neuroscience
and religion and to fund additional projects
on the neuropsychology of spiritual experience.
Religion and recovery:
For a long time, the role of religious leader
and counselor was the same. People took
for granted that they would seek support
or advice of a clergy person, as well as
spiritual leadership. Taken to a higher
degree, in the Old Testament prophecy, the
messiah (understood as Jesus Christ to Christians)
is described in Isaiah 9:6 as "Wonderful
Counselor" (man of insight and wisdom).
The advent of psychological science gave
people the opportunity to seek counsel from
a non-religious perspective, which continues
to be controversial among some religious
groups.
Today we see a blend of
the traditions in church-based counseling
services as part of regular ministry offerings.
Some counselors work out of religious institutions
or receive referrals from them. Not all
counselors are licensed by state boards;
instead religious organizations and denominations
have the power to grant counseling certification
for church counseling settings. This raises
issues of training and quality of care for
some, but it also offers the researcher
a chance to examine how the counseling is
done differently in these settings.
Counselors of faith working
within religious or secular settings may
face the professional challenge of when
it is appropriate to insert personal faith
into the counseling setting, such as quoting
a biblical passage, praying with a patient,
prescribing prayer or urging a patient to
seek salvation as a therapeutic technique.
Practitioners can be aware of the diversity
of religious belief and perspective in those
who come for psychiatric care and discern
whether a religious approach is appropriate.
Patients also have the opportunity to seek
counseling in a religious or non-religious
setting, based on their preference.
Some practitioners may
explain the value of psychological science
to patients accustomed to tackling psychological
issues from a purely spiritual perspective.
Some argue for the appropriateness of combining
psychological and spiritual elements in
recovery. Religion has played a large role
in the addiction and recovery movement,
from the "higher power" referred
to in the popular 12 Steps programs, to
religiously based recovery programs such
as Celebrate Recovery and Reformers Unanimous,
which are specifically Christian-based.
The Unity School of Christianity, a New
Thought church, incorporates some aspects
of psychology in its emphasis on positive
thinking.
Issues today: Researchers
can examine how types of people experience
different levels of religious fervor and
patterns of religious practice in order
to help understand what attracts certain
people to religion, and what attracts them
to certain types of religious experience.
Researchers and others could pursue whether
research into spiritual experience destroys
the notion of the soul, or whether there
is one core religious experience or many
ways of being religious.
Studies could examine where
biology and psychology begin and end, and
how each impacts or is impacted by religious
experience. What are the key areas of disagreement
between scientists and theologians? Can
a biological basis for the experience of
God be equated with God? What theological
questions need to be addressed in this area?
What impact does practicing religion, or
how it is practiced, have on mental health?
Research is being done that attempts to
combine the two disciplines, in publications
such as the Journal of Theology and Psychology,
and through inter-disciplinary work done
by the Center.
International
Journal for the Psychology of Religion
Journal
of Psychology & Christianity
Journal
of Religion & Abuse
Zygon:
Journal of Religion & Science
Journal
of Religion & Psychical Research
Mental
Health, Religion & Culture
Journal
of Religion & Health
Journal
for the Scientific Study of Religion
American
Academy of Religion Syllabi Search
Cognitive
Psychology of Religion
Dr. Jason Slone
University of Findlay
Psychology
of Religion
Dr. Adam Cohen
Dickinson College
Psychology
of Religion
Israela Silberman
Columbia University
Psychology
of Religion
Hebert Berg
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Psychology
of Religion
Raymond F. Paloutzian
Westmont College
Psychology
of Religion
Dr. Nathaniel Wade
Iowa State University
Psychology
of Religion
Dr. Don E. Peavy
Canyon University
American Association of Christian Counselors
American Scientific Affiliation: A Fellowship of Christians in Science
Association of Professional Chaplains
Australian Association of Buddhist Counsellors and Psychotherapists
Canadian Science and Christian Affiliation
Christian Academics
Christian Association for Psychological Studies
Christian Community Health Fellowship
Christians in Caring Professions
International Association of Christian Chaplains
International Association of Muslim Psychologists
National Association of Catholic Chaplains
National Association of Jewish Chaplains
• See a full list of professional associations and resources here.
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