Teaching Psychological Approaches to Religion and Spirituality: Implications for Psychological Literacy.

Rosenkranz, PM (Patrick)
Newcastle University, School of Psychology, NE1 7RU, Newcastle

 

Submission type

Oral only

Scheduled

Jacobzaal, 26-09-2019, 11:00 - 12:00

Keywords

Psychological Literacy, Psychology Learning and Teaching, Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, Cognitive Science of Religion

Summary

Religion and spirituality play a significant part in the lives of many. Within academic psychology, religious and spiritual beliefs, experiences and practices have been of interest since the foundation of the discipline, with seminal thinkers such as William James and Gordon Allport contributing significantly to the investigation of these phenomena. Today, the Psychology of Religion and related fields, like the Cognitive Science of Religion, generate vibrant research and valuable insights into human spiritual cognition, emotion and behaviour. However, most of the major psychology textbooks only give cursory coverage of religious and spiritual constructs and only a minority of undergraduate programmes in the UK cover these aspects of human experience in depth. In this talk, I will present reasons for integrating psychological approaches to religion and spirituality within the psychology curriculum. I will discuss different ways of designing lectures and modules as well as addressing tensions that may arise in teaching. Ultimately, I will argue that teaching psychological explanations of religion and spirituality can lead to deeper understanding of psychological theories and enhance students’ development of psychological literacy.

Auteurs