Encyclopedia of Psychology & Religion (7 updated)

Charity

How has charity been seen in religious tradition? How has it been understood by psychologists? What are the relations between religious affiliation and charitable activity, and how well do we understand the psychological processes involved?

Religion and Charity

The practice of charity is demanded in all religions (Argyle 2000): all major religions have clear requirements – Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and others. Charity is generally seen in two ways in religious tradition. First, donating a fixed proportion of one’s income and agricultural produce to appropriate beneficiaries is a religious duty. Religious traditions also endorse providing assistance – financial, food, and whatever else is required – to the needy. These two practices overlap, but there are distinct religious duties: taking and donating a fixed proportion of property, even if there is no desperately needy recipient and assisting the needy – even if one has already given away ones tithes, one is still obliged to help. Charity is considered as enhancing the spirituality of the donor and is regarded by many commentators as the highest religious virtue (e.g., Porter 1993; Shneur Zalman of Liadi 1796/1973).

Psychology and Charity

In psychology, the term “charity” is seldom indexed in social psychology and psychology of religion textbooks. This does not mean that the topic is seldom studied: charity has come under the heading of altruistic behavior in general (Macaulay and Berkowitz 1970). Altruism has been defined as “behavior that aims at a termination or reduction of an emergency, a neediness, or disadvantage of others and that primarily does not aim at the fulfillment of own interests” (Montada and Bierhoff 1991), the behavior being carried out voluntarily.

There was an early debate about whether altruism, helpfulness, and charity can be truly selfless or whether they result from innate own group and kin helpfulness or other motivations which are not selfless. These include increased status, social desirability or social approval, and the assuaging of guilt (Carlsmith and Gross 1968), and the closeness of the relationship between donor and the person requesting or needing the help (Maple 2012). There has been focus on positive psychology and the benefits and importance of practicing psychological strengths. Seligman ( 2002) has argued that the practice of charity and kindness results in greater psychological health. For example, Thoits and Hewitt ( 2001) examined the positive consequences for well-being flowing from volunteer work. Park et al. ( 2004) showed that love and kindness were among the character strengths consistently and robustly associated with life satisfaction. Loewenthal ( 2007) cited the case of a depressed holocaust survivor who reported a steady gain in psychological well-being after being advised by a rabbi to give charity regularly.

How Does Religion Affect Charity?

Does religion promote altruism in general and charitable behavior in particular? Most recent work has supported the view that this is the case (Inaba and Loewenthal 2009). For example, in the UK, in 1993, those for whom religion was said to be very important gave about $50 monthly, compared to $15 monthly from those who said religion was not important (Argyle 2000). In the USA (Myers 1992), weekly church attenders gave away 3.8 % of their income and non-attenders, 0.8 %. Regnerus et al. ( 1998) reported that charitable giving was affected mainly by whether a person professed a religion, regardless of what that religion was. The relations between socioeconomic status and charitable giving are slightly complex, but on the whole, the better-off give away more. The straightforward explanation of these findings is that religiously active people are likely to behave according to religious injunctions. The relations between religion and charity apply not only to financial giving but also to voluntary work (Lynn and Smith 1991) and to humanitarian compassion (Perkins 1992). Religiosity is a much better predictor of charitable giving and activity than is economic status, and religion predicts giving to nonreligious causes as well as to religious causes (Brooks 2003).

Conclusion

We can conclude that there is growing evidence that religious activity and identity correlate very reliably with the practice of charity, and some suggest that charitable activity may promote psychological health. There is great scope for more detailed investigation of the cognitive and motivational factors that underlie these effects.

See also: Religiosity

Bibliography

Argyle, M. (2000). Psychology and religion. London: Routledge.

Brooks, A. C. (2003). Religious faith and charitable giving. Policy Review, 121, 39–50.

Carlsmith, J., & Gross, A. (1968). Some effects of guilt on compliance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 11, 232–239.

Inaba, K., & Loewenthal, K. M. (2009). Religion and altruism. In P. Clarke & P. Beyer (Eds.), Oxford handbook of the sociology of religion (pp. 876–889). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Loewenthal, K. M. (2007). Religion, culture and mental health. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Lynn, P., & Smith, H. (1991). Voluntary action research. London: The Volunteer Centre.

Macaulay, J. R., & Berkowitz, L. (Eds.). (1970). Altruism and helping behavior: Social psychological studies of some antecedents and consequences. New York: Academic.

Maple,P. (2012). The real motivation for giving to charity. The Guardian, May 1 2012. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/may/01/claire-squires-charitable-giving-motivation

Montada, L., & Bierhoff, H. W. (1991). Studying prosocial behavior in social systems. In Altruism in social systems (pp. 1–26). New York: Hogrefe & Huber.

Myers, D. G. (1992). The pursuit of happiness. New York: William Morrow.

Park, N., Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Strengths of character and well-being. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, 603–619.

Perkins, H. W. (1992). Student religiosity and social justice concerns in England and the United States: Are they still related? Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 31, 353–360.

Porter, R. (1993). Religion and medicine. In W. F. Bynum & R. Porter (Eds.), Companion encyclopedia of the history of medicine (pp. 1449–1459). New York: Routledge/Chapman & Hall.

Regnerus, M., Smith, C., & Sikkink, D. (1998). Who gives to the poor? The influence of religious tradition and political location on the personal generosity of Americans toward the poor. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 37, 481–493.

Seligman, M. (2002). Authentic happiness. New York: Free Press.

Shneur Zalman of Liadi. (1796/1973). Likutei Amarim – Tanya (Bilingual edition) (trans: Mindel, N., Mandel, N., Posner, Z., & Shochet, J. I.). London: Kehot.

Thoits, P. A., & Hewitt, L. N. (2001). Volunteer work and well-being. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 42, 115–131.

Conscience

How has conscience been seen in religious traditions? How has it been understood by psychologists? What do we know about the psychological processes involved in the links between religion and conscience?

Religious Views of Conscience

The divine “still, small voice” (I Kings 19, 12) has often been used to depict conscience, the spiritual inner voice offering and urging the morally and spiritually correct path for the individual. Conscience in traditional Western religion is a given part of human constitution, but one that may be drowned by bad habits, temptations, poor upbringing, bad examples, and lack of moral education, and direction. Conscience is sometimes depicted the “good inclination,” arguing with the “evil inclination,” both striving for the attention and obedience of their owner (Shneur Zalman of Liadi 1973/1796). Current writings on religious education are often informed and made complex by current psychological understandings of the nature of conscience, of moral growth, and of philosophical issues (e.g., Astley and Francis 1994).

Psychological Views of Conscience

There have been important psychological contributions to the understanding of conscience. This selective overview will mention the contributions of Freud, Erikson, Frankl, Kohlberg, Gilligan, and Hare. A more detailed discussion of conscience from the perspective of the psychology of religion may be found in Meadow and Kahoe ( 1984); recent textbooks and research in this area have given rather limited attention to conscience.

The controversy surrounding Freud’s views has masked the force and accuracy of some of his observations. He was one of few twentieth-century psychological writers to give attention to conscience, an important topic otherwise widely overlooked. Freud ( 1924, 1940) suggested that young children experience specifically sexual feelings towards their opposite-sex parent. The wish to possess the parent is foiled by the knowledge that the parent is already owned, and by fear that the same-sex parent will seek jealous retribution on the child. This so-called Oedipal situation is resolved by the child’s identification with the same-sex parent. This gains the approval of both parents and enables the child to gain vicarious possession of the opposite-sex parent. Aspects of this theory remain controversial, although few would argue with young children can experience intense need for control, intense attachment to their parents, or that intense positive and negative feelings can be experienced by young children and their parents. Freud’s account of girls’ development is particularly fraught with difficulty. The key point however is that, however identification with the same-sex parent comes about, there is an internalization of the parent figure which becomes the foundation of the G-d image. Parental attitudes are introjected, forming the basis of the superego, experienced as the conscience. This may have a strongly punitive character, and a distinction is sometimes made between the harsh, introjected superego and the inspiring, internalized ego ideal.

Frankl ( 1975) trained in Freudian psychoanalysis but developed a very distinctive variety of psychotherapy, sometimes known as existential therapy. In Frankl’s view, the overriding motive is the will to meaning. The guide in the search for meaning and purpose is the conscience, of transcendent origin, and the therapist’s role is to support the client in their search for meaning, a search which is fundamentally spiritual (Wulff 1997).

Like Frankl, Erikson ( 1950) was a European-trained psychoanalyst, who moved to the USA and developed very distinctive ideas about the nature of psychological health and growth. Erikson was probably the most influential twentieth-century psychologist to give attention to virtue. He put forward an elaborate – and plausible – account of psychosocial development as continuing throughout the life-span, with virtues resulting from the successful negotiation of the challenges at different life stages. Potential psychopathology occurs if emerging capacities are not nurtured and supported. Erikson described eight stages in all, and it is during the third stage – from approximately ages 2–5 – that conscience and guilt make their appearance. As the understanding and use of language develop, along with the capability of independent action, the child may experience guilt as a consequence of adult reactions to aggressive and uncontrolled actions. Guilt may become destructive, resulting in inhibition and self-righteousness, or it may impel the child towards worthy ideals, constructive initiative, and purposeful action.

We have seen that both Erikson and Frankl emphasized sense of purpose and focus on ideals as important functions of the healthy conscience. Both Freud and Erikson indicated the psychopathological functioning of the conscience whose development has been instilled too coercively or punitively. Finally, we have seen that Freud and Frankel see a close relationship (or identity) between the conscience and G-d.

We turn now to developmental theories of morality, first considering Kohlberg ( 1976). Kohlberg traced the development of moral thinking from the stage at which morality is bound by utilitarian considerations (what is good for the self), and then by prescribed rules, then through stages in which social welfare and social justice are the highest considerations, to a stage (probably not widely attained) in which an autonomous, individualized morality is concerned with universal ethical principles. In this developmental scheme, an intrinsic conscience is a feature of the stage involving autonomous morality. Kohlberg suggested that women were less likely than men to attain the higher stages of moral development, being more bound by social welfare considerations. This view attracted a strong response from Gilligan ( 1982), who suggested that while men are concerned with justice, which is inflexible and abstract, women’s primary ethical standard is care for others, which is flexible and context sensitive. Belensky et al. ( 1986) emphasized the importance for women of connected knowing, which is nonevaluative, whose motive is to understand another person in order to live together in harmony in spite of differences. It is worth mentioning the view of Hare ( 1999) who among others held that psychopaths – charming, exploitative, and remorseless – lack conscience. Criminal psychopathy may respond to therapeutic interventions, for example, designed to improve empathy for victims (e.g., Friendship et al. 2003). There are variations in the ways in which conscience and morality are governed, indicating the importance of gender, social factors, and cognitive development.

What, empirically, is known about the relations between conscience, religion, and psychological factors?

It is generally found that religiously identified and religiously affiliated people behave “better” than do others. This is consistent with the possibility that religious identification and affiliation promote knowledge of moral rules and the self-monitoring of behavior in accordance with these rules. Bloom (2012) offers an evolutionary perspective. Religious people are less likely than other to engage in criminal behavior (Baier and Wright 2001) and extramarital sexual behavior and recreational drug use (Mattila et al. 2001; Rostosky et al. 2004). Religious people are more likely than others to engage in charitable activity (Inaba and Loewenthal 2009) and in deliberate moral practice and moral expertise (Rossano 2008). The effects of religion are not always straightforward, for example, the effects of religion may vary with gender (Rostosky et al. 2004) or with style of religiosity (Batson 1976).

The effects of religion on moral behavior are broadly consistent, and we might ask whether this is because religious people have greater knowledge of moral rules, because religious people feel greater shame at the thought of wrongdoing or religious people feel greater guilt.

Shame is normally defined as the result of social anxiety, the experience of others’ knowledge that one has done wrong and/or is bad. Guilt is individualized moral anxiety, the experience of one’s own knowledge that one has done wrong and/or is bad (Freud 1926; Meadow and Kahoe 1984). Work on religion in relation to guilt and shame suggests that guilt may often be higher among the religiously active (Hood 1992). Shame is not higher among the religiously active compared to others (Luyten et al. 1998). Maltby ( 2005) has shown a complex pattern of relationships between different styles of religiosity and different types of guilt, for example, intrinsic (“sincere”) religiosity may be linked to healthy guilt. These findings have been produced in Western, generally Christian, cultures, and we know little as yet about guilt, shame, and religion in other cultural and religious contexts.

This entry has suggested three broad conclusions. One is that we may distinguish between two aspects of conscience: a harsh, introjected superego and an internalized, encouraging and inspiring ego ideal. Second, empirical work broadly supports the view that religion is generally associated with “better”, more moral behavior. Third, religion may generally promote guilt but not shame. The psychological processes involved in understanding the relations between religion and conscience deserve closer study, for example, effects in different genders, cultures, and religious groups; the influence of religious role models; and the development of different styles of religiosity and their relations to conscience.

See also: Erikson, Erik, Existential Psychotherapy, Frankl, Viktor, Freud, Sigmund

Bibliography

Astley, J., & Francis, L. J. (1994). Critical perspectives on Christian education: A reader on the aims, principles and philosophy of Christian education. Leominster: Gracewing.

Baier, C. J., & Wright, B. R. E. (2001). If you love me, keep my commandments: A meta-analysis of the effect of religion on crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38, 3–21.

Batson, C. D. (1976). Religion as prosocial: Agent or double agent. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 15, 29–45.

Belensky, M. F., Clinchy, B. M., Goldberger, N. C., & Tarule, J. M. (1986). Women’s ways of knowing: The development of self, voice and mind. New York: Basic Books.

Bloom, P. (2012) Religion, Morality, Evolution. Annual Review of Psychology, 63, 179-199.

Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.

Frankl, V. (1975). The unconscious G-d: Psychotherapy and theology. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Freud, S. (1924). The dissolution of the Oedipus complex. In J. Strachey (Ed.), The standard edition of the complete works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 19). London: Hogarth Press.

Freud, S. (1926). Inhibitions, symptoms and anxiety. In J. Strachey (Ed.), The standard edition of the complete works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 20). London: Hogarth Press.

Freud, S. (1940). An outline of psycho-analysis. In J. Strachey (Ed.), The standard edition of the complete works of Sigmund Freud (Vol. 23). London: Hogarth Press.

Friendship, C., Mann, R. E., & Bach, A. (2003). Evaluation of a national prison-based treatment programme for sexual offenders in England and Wales. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18, 744–759.

Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Hare, R. D. (1999). Without conscience: The disturbing world of the psychopaths among us. New York: Guilford Press.

Hood, R. W., Jr. (1992). Sin and guilt in faith traditions: Issues for self-esteem. In J. Schumaker (Ed.), Religion and mental health. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Inaba, K., & Loewenthal, K. M. (2009). Religion and altruism. In P. Clarke & P. Beyer (Eds.), Oxford handbook of the sociology of religion. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Kohlberg, L. (1976). Moral stages and moralization: The cognitive-developmental approach. In T. Lickona (Ed.), Moral development and behaviour. New York: Holt, Rhinehart and Winston.

Luyten, P., Corveleyn, J., & Fontaine, J. R. J. (1998). The relationship between religiosity and mental health: Distinguishing between shame and guilt. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 1, 165–184.

Maltby, J. (2005). Protecting the sacred and expressions of rituality: Examining the relationship between extrinsic dimensions of religiosity and unhealthy guilt. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 78, 77–94.

Mattila, A., Apostolopoulos, Y., Sonmez, S., Yu, L., & Sasidharan, V. (2001). The impact of gender and religion on college students’ spring break behavior. Journal of Travel Research, 40(2), 193–200.

Meadow, M. J., & Kahoe, R. D. (1984). Guilt, shame and conscience. Psychology of religion: Religion in individual lives (Chap. 14). New York: Harper & Row.

Rossano, M. J. (2008). The moral faculty: Does religion promote “moral expertise”? The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 18, 169–194.

Rostosky, S. S., Wilcox, B. L., Wright, M. L. C., & Randall, B. A. (2004). The impact of religiosity on adolescent sexual behavior: A review of the evidence. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19, 677–697.

Shneur Zalman of Liadi. (1973). Likkutei Amarim – Tanya (Bilingual Ed.) (trans: Mindel, N., Mandel, N., Posner, Z., & Shochet, J. I.). London: Kehot. (Original work published 1796).

Wulff, D. M. (1997). Psychology of religion: Classic and contemporary (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.

Depression

What is depression? How is it seen by psychological, psychiatric, and religious authors? How is it related to religion and religious factors?

What Is Depression?

Depression is a term referring to a disabling and prevalent psychiatric illness: major depressive disorder (unipolar depression). But the term also refers to a number of other related states. Unipolar depression must be distinguished from (1) depressed mood, which is a normal emotional response to adversity, especially involving loss, which if transient is not considered a clinical problem; (2) bipolar disorder, a relatively uncommon psychiatric condition involving uncontrollable swings from elated manic phases to low, depressive phases; and (3) dysthymic disorder, a milder disorder involving the symptoms of clinical depression, but as few as two such symptoms (plus depressed mood) qualify the sufferer for the label dysthymic. There are a number of varieties of major depressive disorder and dysthymia, for example, seasonal disorder. Further, in clinical research, the term depression is sometimes used to refer to a measured dimension, varying in the number and sometimes intensity of the symptoms of depression.

Returning to the commonest meaning of the term depression, major depressive disorder is considered present (American Psychiatric Association 2014) if at least five of the following have persisted for at least 2 weeks, of which at least one is depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure:

1.

Depressed mood most of the day, every or nearly every day

2.

Diminished interest or pleasure in all or nearly all activities

3.

Significant weight loss or gain

4.

Insomnia or hypersomnia

5.

Psychomotor agitation or retardation

6.

Fatigue or loss of energy

7.

Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt

8.

Difficulty in thinking or concentration or indecisiveness

9.

Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide or suicide attempt

Although there may be some biological predisposition, the most popular view of the causes of depression involves a diathesis model, in which a causal event or difficulty involving loss precipitates depressed mood, which can become a clinical condition in individuals who are vulnerable. Vulnerability factors may include early experience of loss (such as death of a parent), inadequate social support, low self-esteem, and heavy caring responsibilities, and there is some evidence of cultural variation in the factors that make people vulnerable to or protect them from depression (Brown and Harris 1978; Butcher et al. 2012; Loewenthal 2007). Widely used treatments include medication and psychotherapy, for example, cognitive behavioral therapy. It is worth noting that of all psychiatric conditions, depression has perhaps excited the most controversy. It has been a prime target for the anti-psychiatry movement, led by Szasz ( 1974), arguing that it cannot be regarded as an illness, though it involves great suffering. Szasz argues that the illness model of mental illness leads to medication, custodial care, and other treatments being wrongfully and coercively applied. In spite of Szasz, the view of (clinical) depression as illness remains significant.

This entry will look at views of depression in religious sources and some of the effects of these views. This entry will consider the widely cited claim that religious people are less prone to suffer from depression and will consider the factors which may be involved in this effect. Finally, we will consider recent attempts to deploy religious and spiritual factors in the therapeutic process.

How Has Depression Been Viewed in Religious Sources? What Are the Effects of These Views?

In religious writings, it has been suggested that melancholy may be a spiritually valued, possibly chosen state (see Frost 1992), and even if not chosen, depression and melancholy may be viewed as opportunities for spiritual growth, increasing religious trust (Loewenthal 1992). Dura Vila (2017) has argued that certainly among the religious professions, the dark night of the soul is regarded as a springboard for growth and is not appropriately seen as an illness in need of therapy and medication. Much recent work in positive psychology has offered evidence in support of these pious hopes: posttraumatic spiritual growth has now been empirically affirmed as a possibility. Thus, Shaw et al. ( 2005) concluded that religion and spirituality are usually, although not always, beneficial to people in dealing with the aftermath of trauma. Traumatic experiences can lead to a deepening of religion or spirituality, and positive religious coping, religious openness, readiness to face existential questions, religious participation, and intrinsic religiousness are typically associated with posttraumatic growth. Positive psychology in general has been advanced as effective in the treatment of depression and as harmonious with a number of core religious teachings and spiritual values, such as the practices of helping and of forgiveness (Joseph et al. 2006; Seligman 2002). Such religiously encouraged practices are reported to have beneficial mental health effects.

Although in religious writings melancholy and depression have been generally viewed as normal responses to adversity and loss and as foundations for a deeper faith, lay religious persons may regard depression as a failure of religious faith (Cinnirella and Loewenthal 1999). For example, Sometimes we assume that depression can always be overcome through prayer – that good Christians don’ t suffer from depression (quoted in Schroedel 2008). Webb et al. ( 2008) report that views of depression as a personal religious failure can be found in some Christian self-help books. Greenberg and Witztum ( 2001) quote several rabbinic leaders who suggest that prayer, religious song, and other religious coping methods may be sufficient. Indeed they may be in some cases, but where they are not, the cloud of depression thickens. In spite of the frequent helpfulness of religious ideas in coping with the miserable psychological consequences of adversity, religious coping may not always do the trick, and there is an ongoing concern that when religious coping fails, this may be seen as a personal failure, inadequacy of the individual, leading to deeper depression.

It is also important to note that clergy are often trusted as resources for mental health care, generally more so (by their congregations) than the mental health professions. Thus, religious teachings about depression and coping, as delivered by the clergyperson, may be an important resource. A minority of clergy may actively mistrust the mental health professions and warn their congregants against the use of professional help (Leavey et al. 2007). A further barrier to professional help seeking is the stigmatization of depression and other mental illnesses, said to be marked in religious communities (e.g., Crosby and Bossley 2012; Rosen et al. 2008).

Religious teachings on depression have been mixed and have had mixed effects – depression itself may have some spiritual value as a springboard for spiritual growth, religious faith, and religious practices – and religious leadership may be helpful in coping with depression. However, the failure of religious coping can have a damaging effect on a person who is already depressed, and the advice of the minority of religious leaders to avoid professional mental health practitioners may not always be in the best interests of those suffering from depression.

The Association Between Religiosity and Low Levels of Depression

It has been widely concluded that there is an overall, consistent relationship between indices of religiousness and lower levels of depression (Koenig et al. 2012; Loewenthal 2007; Worthington et al. 1996). In spite of inconsistencies in the assessment of religiosity and of depression, the relationship is fairly reliable, though not strong and not always consistent. What are the factors involved? Three kinds of effects have been identified:

1.

Social support: religious groups endorse and encourage helping in times of adversity. This includes in-group as well as out-group helping (Inaba and Loewenthal 2008). Additionally, the existence of a social circle of friends and sympathetic listeners can be an important protective factor. Thus, Shams and Jackson ( 1993) found that unemployed Muslim men in the north of England were less likely to become depressed if they were religiously active, meeting regularly in the mosque for friendship and support, as well as prayer and religious study. Brown et al. ( 2005) concluded that social support is an important factor enabling the improved adjustment associated with spirituality and religion.

2.

Religious coping: religiously active people are likely to engage in religious worship, study, and prayer, and this will develop a repertoire of religiously based coping beliefs which are drawn on in adversity, such as “this is all for the best,” “I feel that G-d is supporting me,” and “there must be a reason for this even if I can’t see it now” (Loewenthal et al. 2000). The study of religious coping has been effectively established by Pargament ( 1997), who has reported a number of robust effects. Particularly important is the effect that good psychiatric outcomes (in adversity) are associated with positive religious coping beliefs, such as those listed above. Poor psychiatric outcomes are associated with negative coping beliefs, such as “G-d is punishing me (because I am bad),” “There is no purpose in this,” and “G-d has abandoned me” (Pargament et al. 2003).

3.

Lifestyle factors: religions endorse and encourage aspects of lifestyle which can have an important impact on well-being. Thus, for instance, religious Jews and Christians have been shown to report fewer disruptive life events – particularly, they report fewer family-related disruptions, less arguments, family violence, and divorces. Disruptive life events are strongly associated with the onset of depression, and thus, the lower prevalence of depression in the religious groups studied may be (at least partly) traced back to the religiously supported value placed on harmonious family life and marital stability (Loewenthal et al. 1997; Prudo et al. 1984).

The finding that religious coping can have an impact on clinical outcome – sometimes positive and sometimes negative – has led to the development of exciting attempts to bring spiritual and religious factors into stronger focus in the course of psychotherapy. After many years in which religion and spirituality have been excluded from the psychological therapies, Pargament and his colleagues (among others) have introduced a wide range of suggestions about how religious and spiritual factors may be included (Cook et al. 2009;Pargament 2007, 2013 ). Spirituality – defined as the search for the sacred – is central for many clients in psychotherapy, and therapists need the tools and the sensitivity to address the spiritual dimension in a systematic way. Spiritual coping may be used to conserve, protect, and develop the sacred; it may lead to growth, it may lead to decline, it may be part of the solution, and it may be part of the problem. For example, one woman was in despair because she felt she had committed an unforgivable sin. The therapist was able to liaise with the client’s priest, and the priest, therapist, and client were able to develop a successful reconciliation. A strong merit of the work led by Pargament is the emphasis on an evidence base for findings, which may do much to enhance the scientific acceptability of clinical work involving spiritual and religious factors.

This entry has defined depression, considering how it has been viewed in religious writings, and considering some of the ways in which it may be affected by religious factors and, finally, the ways in which religious and spiritual factors have been brought to bear in therapeutic work.

See also: Psychotherapy and Religion, Religious Coping

Bibliography

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Brown, G. W., & Harris, T. O. (1978). The social origins of depression. London: Tavistock.

Brown, T. L., Brechting, E. H., & Carlson, C. R. (2005). The link between religion and spirituality and psychological adjustment: The mediating role of optimism and social support. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 522–535.

Butcher, J. N., Mineka, S., & Hooley, J. M. (2012). Abnormal psychology (14th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Cinnirella, M., & Loewenthal, K. M. (1999). Religious and ethnic group influences on beliefs about mental illness: A qualitative interview study. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 72, 505–524.

Cook, C., Powell, A., & Sims, A. (2009). Spirituality and psychiatry. London: Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Crosby, J. W., & Bossley, N. (2012). The religiosity gap: Preferences for seeking help from religious advisors. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 15, 141–159.

Dura Vila, G. (2017) Sadness, depression and the dark night of the soul. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Frost, C. (1992). Melancholy as an alternative to the psychological label of depression. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 2, 71–86.

Greenberg, D., & Witztum, E. (2001). Sanity and sanctity: Mental health work among the Ultra-Orthodox in Jerusalem. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Inaba, K., & Loewenthal, K. M. (2008). Religion and altruism. In P. B. Clarke (Ed.), Oxford handbook of the sociology of religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Joseph, S., Linley, P. A., & Maltby, J. (2006). Positive psychology, religion and spirituality. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 9(Special Issue), 209–306.

Koenig, H. G., King, D. E., & Carson, V. B. (2012). Handbook of religion and health (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Leavey, G., Loewenthal, K. M., & King, M. (2007). Challenges to sanctuary: The clergy as a resource for mental health care in the community. Social Science and Medicine, 65, 548–559.

Loewenthal, K. M. (1992). Melancholy, depression and Judaism. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 2, 101–108.

Loewenthal, K. M. (2007). Religion, culture and mental health. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Loewenthal, K. M., Goldblatt, V., Gorton, T., Lubitsh, G., Bicknell, H., Fellowes, D., et al. (1997). The costs and benefits of boundary maintenance: Stress, religion and culture among Jews in Britain. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 32, 200–207.

Loewenthal, K. M., MacLeod, A. K., Goldblatt, V., Lubitsh, G., & Valentine, J. D. (2000). Comfort and joy: Religion, cognition and mood in individuals under stress. Cognition and Emotion, 14, 355–374.

Pargament, K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping. New York: Guilford Press.

Pargament, K. I. (2007). Spiritually integrated psychotherapy. New York: Guilford Press.

Pargament, K. I. (Ed.). (2013). APA handbook of psychology, religion and spirituality. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Pargament, K. I., Zinnbauer, B. J., Scott, A. B., Butter, E. M., Zerowin, J., & Stanik, P. (2003). Red flags and religious coping: Identifying some religious warning signs among people in crisis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 59, 1335–1348.

Prudo, R., Harris, T. O., & Brown, G. (1984). Psychiatric disorder in an urban and a rural population. 3: Social integration and the morphology of affective disorder. Psychological Medicine, 14, 327–345.

Rosen, D. D., Greenberg, D., Schmeidler, J., & Shefler, G. (2008). Stigma of mental illness, religious change, and explanatory models of mental illness among Jewish patients at mental health clinic in North Jerusalem. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 11, 193–209.

Schroedel, J. (2008). A fresh view of blue: Thoughts on depression. http://​www.​boundless.​org/​2005/​articles/​a0001231.​cfm. Accessed 15 Mar 2008.

Seligman, M. (2002). Authentic happiness. New York: Free Press.

Shams, M., & Jackson, P. R. (1993). Religiosity as a predictor of well-being and moderator of the psychological impact of unemployment. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 66, 341–352.

Shaw, A., Joseph, S., & Linley, P. A. (2005). Religion, spirituality, and posttraumatic growth: A systematic review. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 8, 1–11.

Szasz, T. (1974). The myth of mental illness. New York: Harper & Row.

Webb, M., Stetz, K., & Hedden, K. (2008). Representation of mental illness in Christian self-help best-sellers. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 11, 697–717.

Worthington, E. L., Kurusu, T. A., McCullough, M. E., & Sandage, S. J. (1996). Empirical research on religion and psychotherapeutic processes and outcomes: A 10-year review and research prospectus. Psychological Review, 119, 448–487.

Psychology

What is psychology? There is little dispute about the broad definition of psychology as the study and understanding of human behavior, cognitive processes, experience, and emotion. However the history of psychology has been colorful, peppered with disputes about how such understanding and study should be done. The different views on the “how” of psychology have impacted on the psychological study of religion.

This entry will highlight some important features of the history of psychology and suggest how these features may have impacted on the psychological understanding of religion.

Psychology and the Early Study of Religion

In its early days, in the nineteenth and very early twentieth centuries, psychologists had no problems with asking people to introspect or report on their “inner” experiences. Two often-cited examples are (1) the Wurzburg school (Wundt 1902), who asked for detailed introspective reports on what went through people’s minds when they saw a picture, for example, or solved a problem, and (2) psychoanalysis (e.g., Freud 1964) in which people were asked to free-associate, to talk about the first things that came to mind. In this climate, the work of William James, described in The Varieties of Religious Experience ( 1902), was perfectly at home. James was able to use descriptive, experiential material and described pioneering uses of the psychological questionnaire method in which people were asked to describe their religious development. But as the twentieth century grew older, scientific psychology was dominated by positivism, in which it was held that the objects of scientific investigation should be publicly observable and measurable. This entailed a shift from a focus on experience to a focus on behavior, epitomized in Watson’s Psychology from the Standpoint of a Behaviorist ( 1919). The psychological study of religion was seen to be incompatible with behaviorism – since the object of religious activity and feeling cannot be observed and measured, this was thought to make the study of religious activity and feeling unworthy of scientific attention. The psychological study of religion fell into a decline, and this decline was assisted by the influential and rather derogatory views of Freud on religion (e.g., Freud 1927). Religion was seldom indexed in psychology textbooks, and where it was indexed, the explanations of religious behavior and feeling were almost always pejorative (Loewenthal 2000).

Within psychology, there remained considerable interest in personality and in the psychometric assessment of personality and social attitudes, using psychological tests and measures. This was reflected in the psychological study of religion, particularly the seminal work of Gordon Allport on religious orientation and prejudice ( 1966), followed by pioneering works on the psychology and social psychology of religion involving extensive use of psychological and social attitude measures (e.g., Argyle and Beit-Hallahmi 1975; Francis et al. 1981; Islam and Hewstone 1993).

Recent Shifts in Psychology and the Study of Religion

Toward the end of the twentieth century and the early twenty-first century, there were important shifts in psychological methodologies and perspectives, reflecting a general postmodern tolerance of different perspectives. This resulted in a growth of the range of methods used to study religious behavior and experience (Belzen 2010). Religion was indexed more frequently in psychology textbooks and explained and studied in non-pejorative ways. The most important shifts were:

1.

The development of qualitative research methodologies, alongside the acceptance of experiential and phenomenological perspectives, which enabled the development of valuable work on the experiential aspects of the psychology of religion and the emergence of interest in spirituality (Hay and Morisy 1978; Nelson 2009; Paloutzian and Park 2005; Tacey 2004).

2.

The development of experimental methodologies, in particular their applications to areas of psychology other than the cognitive domains to which experimental methodology had traditionally been applied. Experimental work on social cognition and attachment theory, for example, is being usefully extended to the understanding of religion in relation to social cognition and religious feelings (e.g., Granqvist and Kirkpatrick 2008).

3.

The development of cognitive science has included the study of cognitive universals in religion (e.g., Andresen 2001; Pyssiainen and Anttonen 2002; McNamara 2014).

4.

The development of neuroimaging techniques in the study of psychological processes has included the use of neuroimaging in the study of religious thinking and experience (e.g., Azari et al. 2005; McNamara 2014).

5.

The growth of interest and experience in the applications of the psychology of religion, particularly in clinical practice (see Pargament et al. 2013).

Conclusion

In brief, the early twentieth-century development of psychology as a positivist discipline stultified the psychological study of religion. However from the mid-twentieth century onward, psychology developed into a discipline involving a broad range of approaches and methodologies, with major and beneficial impact on the way the psychological processes involved in religion have been studied.

See also: Freud, Sigmund, James, William, Psychoanalysis

Bibliography

Allport, G. W. (1966). The religious context of prejudice. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 5, 448–451.

Andresen, J. (Ed.). (2001). Religion in mind: Cognitive perspectives on religious ritual, belief and experience. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Argyle, M. (2000). Psychology and religion. London: Routledge.

Argyle, M., & Beit-Hallahmi, B. (1975). The social psychology of religion. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Azari, N. P., Missimer, J., & Seitz, R. J. (2005). Religious experience and emotion: Evidence for distinctive cognitive neural patterns. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 15, 263–282.

Belzen, J. A. (2010). Towards cultural psychology of religion: Principles, approaches, applications. New York: Springer.

Francis, L., Pearson, O. R., Carter, M., & Kay, W. K. (1981). Are introverts more religious? The British Journal of Social Psychology, 20, 101–104.

Freud, S. (1927). The future of an illusion. London: Hogarth Press.

Freud, S. (1964). New introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. London: Hogarth Press.

Granqvist, P., & Kirkpatrick, L. A. (2008). Attachment and religious representations and behaviour. In J. Cassidy & P. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research and clinical applications (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

Hay, D., & Morisy, A. (1978). Reports of ecstatic, paranormal, or religious experience in Great Britain and the United States: A comparison of trends. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 17, 255–268.

Islam, M. R., & Hewstone, M. (1993). Intergroup attributions and affective consequences in majority and minority groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 936–950.

James, W. (1902). The varieties of religious experience. New York: Collier.

Loewenthal, K. M. (2000). A short introduction to the psychology of religion. Oxford: Oneworld.

McNamar, P. (2014) The neuroscience of religious experience. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Nelson, J. M. (2009). Psychology, religion and spirituality. New York: Springer.

Paloutzian, R. F., & Park, C. (2005). Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality. New York: Guilford.

Pargament, K. I., Exline, J., Jones, J., Mahoney, A., & Shafranske, E. (2013). APA handbook of psychology, religion and spirituality. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Pyssiainen, I., & Anttonen, V. (Eds.). (2002). Current approaches in the cognitive science of religion. London: Continuum.

Tacey, D. T. (2004). The spirituality revolution: The emergence of contemporary spirituality. Hove: Brunner-Routledge.

Watson, J. B. (1919). Psychology from the standpoint of a behaviorist. Philadelphia: Lippincott.

Wundt, W. (1902). Outlines of psychology (trans: Judd, W. H.). Leipzig: Engelman.

Psychosis

What is psychosis? How is it related to religion and religious factors?

Psychoses are psychiatric illnesses normally distinguished from neuroses, the other main group of psychiatric disorders. In psychosis the degree of impairment and lack of insight are said to be more severe than in neurosis. Psychotic illnesses have been categorized into two broad groups: the schizophrenic disorders and the bipolar disorders. There are significant concerns about the use of these diagnostic categories, but they are likely to remain in use for the foreseeable future. In schizophrenia, the individual normally shows a marked deterioration in self-care, work functioning, and/or social relations, and moods may be inappropriate. There may be genetic susceptibility to stress and cannabis use, making the appearance of schizophrenia more likely. Symptoms normally include two or more of delusions, hallucinations, incoherent speech, catatonic behavior (rigid, frozen posture), and flat or very inappropriate mood (Butcher et al. 2010, pp. 458–489). The DSM-IV-TR classification lists a large number of related disorders in the schizophrenia group, such as the paranoid or catatonic types, but here we will consider schizophrenia as an overall diagnostic category as in DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association 2014). The other general form of psychosis is considered to be bipolar (manic-depressive, cyclothymic) mood disorder, swinging from high to low moods, sometimes with intervening periods of “normal” mood. The most striking feature of bipolar disorders is mania, euphoric joy out of proportion to circumstances, plus at least some of the following: irritability and anger especially if plans are frustrated, hyperactivity, going without sleep, poor judgment, following one’s own grandiose ideas and plans and feeling others are too slow, self-esteem approaching grandiosity, flamboyance, delusions, or hallucinations (Butcher et al. 2010, pp. 247–255). About one person in a hundred may be affected by a psychotic disorder at some time in their lives. It may pass, or respond to medication or other treatment, or the person may continue significantly disturbed.

How do psychoses relate to religion? There are several important questions for discussion.

Do Religious Factors Correlate with or Cause Psychosis?

The short answer is that there are no clear associations between schizophrenia – or possibly predisposing personality traits – and religious factors. There is some tentative evidence that psychotic episodes may be precipitated in those already prone to disturbance, by some religious practices such as meditation, but this evidence is currently very thin.

The associations between religious factors and psychotic illness have been difficult to disentangle. This is partly because some religious behaviors and beliefs – especially if they stem from a tradition alien to clinicians – may be seen as symptoms of illness, and a misdiagnosis may be made. For example, a devout woman who had been sexually abused began to pray and bible study frequently and eat moderately in an attempt to purify herself. This was interpreted as symptomatic of schizophrenia (Loewenthal 2007, p. 37). Beliefs that the evil eye, spells, or spirits are causing somatic symptoms may be seen as delusory, even though in contemporary transcultural psychiatry, good clinical outcomes have been reported when clinicians treat these beliefs respectfully. A further set of factors complicating the picture is that stress may well induce mood disturbances and other psychiatric symptoms, and in an attempt to cope, individuals may resort to prayer and other religious practices (Bhugra 2002; Siddle et al. 2002) - which may be seen as signs of psychosis. Indeed, there is considerable evidence that prayer and other religious practices may relieve distress (Loewenthal 2007, pp. 59–67; Maltby et al. 1999; Pargament 1997). Thus, there may be the appearance of an association between mental illness and religiosity, but religiosity is an effect, not a cause. Furthermore, if and when stress is reduced and symptoms alleviate, religious coping is reduced – again, giving the appearance of an association between better mental health and lower religiosity. Only longitudinal studies, in which individuals are followed up over time, can tell us more about whether religion plays a causal role in psychosis and other mental illnesses. At the moment, this does not seem likely for schizophrenia.

There are a number of personality traits which have been suggested to relate to the tendency to schizophrenia and psychotic illness. The most heavily researched of these is the so-called Psychoticism (P) measure in the Eysenck Personality Inventory. This is negatively associated with religiosity (Eysenck 1998). A more complex set of traits fall under the head of schizotypy, which involves personality traits which might indicate prodromal schizophrenia, including discomfort in close relationships, and odd forms of thinking and perceiving. The different aspects of schizotypy relate in complex ways to different styles of religiosity (Joseph et al. 2002), with no substantial evidence to support the idea that religious factors are related to schizophrenia or to possible predisposing personality factors.

It has been suggested that meditation and possibly other religious practices and experiences may precede episodes of manic disorder in individuals who are susceptible (Kalian and Witztum 2002; Wilson 1998; Yorston 2001). However, this suggestion is based on clinical case histories, and there is insufficient quantitative evidence in further support of this suggestion.

Can We Distinguish Between Pathological and Benign Visions and Voices?

This has been a long-standing problem for well-intentioned and culturally sensitive psychiatrists, given that visions and voices are supposed to be symptoms of schizophrenia. Littlewood and Lipsedge ( 1997) and Greenberg and Witztum ( 2001) offer fascinating and often tragic examples of diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties. It has now been well documented that visions and voices are commonly experienced by healthy individuals and cannot be regarded in themselves as symptoms of psychosis (see Loewenthal 2007, pp. 17–21). Some religious groups encourage or praise the experiencing of visions, or the hearing of voices, and these can be valued aspects of spirituality. Work examining and comparing the experiences of members of religious groups and of others without psychiatric illness with experiences of psychotic individuals indicates that the visions and voices experienced by the psychotically ill are significantly more unpleasant and uncontrollable than those experienced by others (Davies et al. 2001; Peters et al. 1999). This work does give clues as to how psychotic visions and voices might be identified. Hustoft et al. (2013) report that significant coping beliefs in schizophrenic are linked to hallucinations, and the total package is seen by the patient as beneficial. Importantly, we can conclude that the experiencing of visions and voices should no longer in itself be treated as symptomatic of psychosis. Dein ( 2010) offers further discussion of these and related issues.

What Is the Significance of Belief in Demons, Evil Spirits, and the Like in Relation to Psychotic Illness?

Belief in evil spirits, demons, and other malignant spiritual forces is surprisingly widespread, including highly developed, urbanized countries. A striking example involves sleep paralysis, which is as often reported in highly developed countries in which belief in evil spirits is not well supported, as in less developed countries. The individual feels wakeful but unable to move and is conscious of a shadowy presence (Hufford 2005). The experience is usually unpleasant, interpreted as involving evil forces, and seldom mentioned for fear of being thought insane. In fact this condition is not a psychiatric problem at all, in spite of the fears and beliefs of those who have experienced it. This example highlights the existence of a widespread and popular idea that the experience of malign spiritual forces is closely related to insanity. Lipsedge ( 1996) and Kroll et al. ( 2002) have shown that in medieval times demons and other malign spiritual forces were only occasionally seen as possible causes of psychiatric illness. Contemporary studies have examined beliefs that malign spiritual forces can be causes of insanity. Such beliefs have been reported in many countries, for example, Egypt (Coker 2004), Israel (Heilman and Witztum 2000), South Africa (Ensink and Robertson 1999), and Switzerland (Pfeifer 1994), and there has been some success reported in deploying healing methods which are believed by patients to dispel evil spiritual forces. It has been suggested that the experience of demons and the like may be regarded as an “idiom of distress” (Heilman and Witztum 2000). Contemporary clinical practitioners with experience in different cultural settings would advocate incorporating beliefs about spiritual forces as causes of disturbance into treatment plans, where appropriate.

What Is the Current Status of the Concept of Religious Mania?

Religious monomania is a now-discarded diagnostic category. At one time it was popular and used to denote intense religious excitement and enthusiasm, to the extent that the individual had gone beyond the bounds of the acceptable and containable. For example, Jonathan Martin, a fundamentalist preacher, thought the clergy of his time (early nineteenth century) were too lax. He had some dreams which seemed to him significant, for example, in one he saw a black cloud over York Minster. These dreams inspired him to set fire to York Minster (Lipsedge 2003). At the time this act was a capital offence, but the diagnosis of monomania helped to get the death sentence commuted to imprisonment. With religious and other monomanias, there were difficulties in distinguishing between acceptable and pathological levels of behavior – one group’s terrorist is another group’s martyr, for example.

Conclusions

There is little to support the idea that religious factors play a role in causing psychotic illnesses. It is likely that religious coping may be helpful in relieving the distress associated with psychotic illness, and the appearance of “religious symptoms” may indicate attempts to cope with distress, rather than as symptoms as such. However, as with other psychiatric illnesses, the religious context may shape the occurrence of stress, often a factor in psychiatric breakdown. The religious context may also shape expressions of distress.

See also: Demons, Psychiatry, Religious Coping, Visions

Bibliography

American Psychiatric Association. (2014). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: Fifth edition DSM-5. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

Bhugra, D. (Ed.). (1996). Psychiatry and religion: Context, consensus, and controversies. London: Routledge.

Bhugra, D. (2002). Self-concept: Psychosis and attraction of new religious movements. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 5, 239–252.

Butcher, J. N., Mineka, S., & Hooley, J. M. (2010). Abnormal psychology (14th ed.). Boston: Pearson. 2007.

Coker, E. M. (2004). The construction of religious and cultural meaning in Egyptian psychiatric patient charts. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 7, 323–348.

Davies, M. F., Griffiths, M., & Vice, S. (2001). Affective reactions to auditory hallucinations in psychotic, evangelical and control groups. The British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 40, 361–370.

Dein, S. (2010). Judeo-Christian religious experience and psychopathology: The legacy of William James. Transcultural Psychiatry, 47, 523–547.

Ensink, K., & Robertson, B. (1999). Patient and family experiences of psychiatric services and African indigenous healers. Transcultural Psychiatry, 36, 23–44.

Eysenck, M. W. (1998). Personality and the psychology of religion. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 1, 11–19.

Greenberg, D., & Witztum, E. (2001). Sanity and sanctity: Mental health work among the ultra-orthodox in Jerusalem. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Heilman, S. C., & Witztum, E. (2000). All in faith: Religion as the idiom and means of coping with distress. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 3, 115–124.

Hufford, D. J. (2005). Sleep paralysis as spiritual experience. Transcultural Psychiatry, 42, 11–45.

Hustoft, H., Hestat, K.A., Lars, L. et al (2013) “If I didn’t have my faith I would have killed myself!” Spiritual coping in patients suffering from schizophrenia. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 23, 126-144

Joseph, S., Smith, D., & Diduca, D. (2002). Religious orientation and its association with personality, schizotypal traits and manic-depressive experiences. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 5, 73–81.

Kalian, M., & Witztum, E. (2002). Jerusalem syndrome as reflected in the pilgrimage and biographies of four extraordinary women from the 14th century to the end of the second millennium. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 5, 1–16.

Koenig, H. (Ed.). (1998). Religion and mental health. San Diego: Academic.

Kroll, J., Bachrach, B., & Carey, K. (2002). A reappraisal of medieval mysticism and hysteria. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 5, 83–98.

Lipsedge, M. (1996). Religion and madness in history. In D. Bhugra (Ed.), Psychiatry and religion: Context, consensus, controversies. London: Routledge.

Lipsedge, M. (2003). Jonathan Martin: Prophet and incendiary. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 6, 59–78.

Littlewood, R., & Lipsedge, M. (1997). Aliens and alienists: Ethnic minorities and psychiatry (3rd ed.). London: Oxford University Press.

Loewenthal, K. M. (2007). Religion, culture and mental health. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Maltby, J., Lewis, C. A., & Day, L. (1999). Religious orientation and psychological well-being: The role of the frequency of personal prayer. British Journal of Health Psychology, 4, 363–378.

Pargament, K. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping. New York: Guilford Press.

Peters, E., Day, S., McKenna, J., & Orbach, G. (1999). Delusional ideas in religious and psychiatric populations. The British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 38, 83–96.

Pfeifer, S. (1994). Belief in demons and exorcism in psychiatric patients in Switzerland. The British Journal of Medical Psychology, 67, 247–258.

Siddle, R., Haddock, G., Tarrier, N., & Faragher, E. B. (2002). Religious delusions in patients admitted to hospital with schizophrenia. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 37, 130–138.

Wilson, W. P. (1998). Religion and psychoses. In H. Koenig (Ed.), Religion and mental health (pp. 161–172). San Diego: Academic.

Yorston, G. (2001). Mania precipitated by meditation: A case report and literature review. Mental Health, Religion and Culture, 4, 209–214.

Psychotherapy and Religion

This entry briefly outlines some of the varieties of psychotherapy practiced today and looks at the development of the relationship between psychotherapy and religion under two broad headings: independence and integration.

The Varieties of Psychotherapy

Freud (e.g., 1933) is usually credited with the discovery of the “talking cure” for psychiatric illness: psychoanalysis. Although in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries psychiatric illness was dealt with by medical practitioners, the chief disturbances are those of behavior, thinking, and feeling, often with no clear organic cause. The era of humane treatments had dawned, and pioneers such as Tuke, Pinel, and Dix had established humane institutions for the care of the insane, in England, France, and the USA, respectively. But effective medical treatments were lacking. Psychoanalysis, the talking cure developed by Freud, was not always totally effective in producing improvements, but it was sufficiently effective to survive, expand, and develop enormously during the twentieth century. Its development still continues and its clinical efficacy has been placed on a firm footing (e.g., Sandell et al. 2000; Leichsenring and Leibing 2007; Schedler 2010). The theories, aims, and methods of psychoanalysis can only be summarized briefly here. Psychoanalysis aims to enable the client to develop a conscious awareness of the feelings and ideas that underlie his or her habitual style of living and relating to others. These feelings and ideas have ruled his/her life in a powerful way. The origins of these feelings and ideas are unconscious. Awareness allows the possibility of assuming a level of control. One view of psychoanalysis, therefore, is that it helps make the unconscious conscious. One route by which this is often achieved is via the “transference relationship,” in which the client displays powerful feelings towards the analyst – anger, dependency, or idealization – feelings which are not realistically related to the current context. The analysis of transference – the examination of these feelings and their earlier occurrences and origins – is an important route towards therapeutic improvement.

From its earliest days, psychoanalysis has engendered new theories and methods. Some are regarded as recognizably psychoanalytic – for example, the neo- and post-Freudians (e.g., Horney 1963) and Klein ( 1955) and her followers. Others, for example, Rogers ( 1961), have developed schools of counseling in which a primary vehicle of improvement has been the therapist’s support and regard for the client. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) (e.g., Beck 2005) has begun to exert a very important influence in clinical practice, since it has been able to demonstrate effective outcomes in relatively few sessions. CBT functions by enabling the client to examine and evaluate his/her habitual thoughts, behaviors, and feelings in a manner which is focused on the client’s immediate problems and agreed-upon areas of improvement and is therefore less wide-ranging than psychoanalytic therapy. There are many other varieties of psychological therapies, but this brief account has hinted at the range and approach of some of the dominant influences in this very active field.

Independence

A starting point is to note Freud’s apparent distaste for religion, for instance his view of religion as a universal obsessional neurosis (e.g., Freud 1907). Spilka ( 1986), Loewenthal ( 1995), and others have described as the enormous range of ways in psychotherapists have seen and described the role of religion: religion may be a socializing and suppressing force, a source of guilt, a haven, a source of abuse, a therapy, and a hazard. Many of the views of religion expressed in the early days of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy were detrimental: religion was seen as damaging to mental health. One response to these views is to attempt to leave religion out of the picture in any attempt to work with mental health issues.

During the twentieth century, the mental health and religious leadership professions were often seen as parallel and largely independent, each offering solutions to human misery that were alternative rather than complementary. There was some antagonism. Some psychotherapeutic writers perceived only damaging effects of religion. Some religious leaders saw psychotherapy as a spiritually damaging venture (Loewenthal 1995).

One reasonable justification for the independence of the psychotherapy and religious professions was advanced by Neeleman and Persaud ( 1995). While decrying the fact that mental health professionals overlook the often important religious concerns of their patients, they observe that mental health and religion are two largely independent areas of professional expertise. The mental health professional may feel – wisely – that she/he does not have the expertise to tackle religious issues. These, it might be felt, should be left to the chaplaincy. Similarly the religious leader may feel that she/he does not have the expertise to tackle mental health problems.

These concerns gave rise to the development of pastoral counseling among the ministry and to transcultural psychiatry and spiritual counseling among mental health professionals. Both developments aim to give professionals awareness of and training in issues in mental health and religion, including sufficient knowledge of when to cross-refer. Many mental health practitioners and religious leaders/chaplains work now harmoniously with each other, and earlier mistrust and antagonism have generally been laid to rest.

Integration

The history of peace between psychotherapy and religion is almost as old as the history of war. Carl Gustav Jung was the prominent early exponent of harmony, with his view of spirituality as intrinsic to human nature, suggesting that spiritual growth and psychological growth involved the same processes – an inner journey involving the healing of fragmented aspects of the self and the development of individuation (e.g., Jung 1958). The Jungian influence was almost certainly the strongest in the early development of pastoral psychology.

Other prominent exponents of harmony include Rizzutto ( 1974) and Spero ( 1992). Both these authors use objects-relations theory (a development of Kleinian thinking), which deals with how from infancy onwards, the individual internalizes, splits, and harmonizes “objects” from his/her social world. G-d is an internal “object” and the relationship with G-d may be examined, developed, and healed in the course of psychotherapy.

There has been a strong growth of interest in psychotherapy and religion, as seen for instance in the psychoanalytic explorations in Stein’s ( 1999) Beyond Belief: Psychotherapy and Religion. David Black ( 2000, p. 25) explores recent thinking involving a neuroscientific model. In Black’s view, some of the values of psychotherapy and religion are remarkably similar, for example, love, mourning, and reparation. Nevertheless, their goals are different – psychoanalytic therapy proceeds by the analysis of transference to allow the ego to achieve optimal functioning in the individual’s social world. The goal of religion is to achieve “a true view of the universe and our relations to it.” Black believes that mature religions aim to give access to positions which differ from what can be established and worked through in psychoanalysis. “A religious vision opens up the possibility of other sorts of development which go beyond the world of human object relations” ( 2000, p. 22). Thus, interestingly, Black appears to suggest that in object-relations terms, the potential for spiritual and personal development may differ in the religious life, from what can be achieved in psychoanalysis.

In a different vein, Viktor Frankl ( 1986) has explored the importance of the will to meaning and the role of purpose in life in psychological health. His introduction of these concepts into the practice of psychotherapy has enabled a positive approach in working with troubled individuals.

Attending to the client’s spiritual problems has become a strong focus of attention in the twenty-first century (Cook et al. 2009; Pargament 2007; Pargament and Tarakeshwar 2005). One noteworthy point is that the term spirituality has become increasingly popular as an alternative and substitute for the term religion – the implications of this shift are reviewed by Pargament, also Loewenthal ( 2007) and others. In Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy, Pargament defines spirituality as the search for the sacred. He argues that spiritual concerns are often salient for many clients and therapists need to be equipped to deal with them. Therapists need to be able to recognize spirituality which can lead to growth, spirituality which can lead to a decline, also spirituality which is part of the problem, and spirituality which is part of the solution. The American Psychological Association’s APA Handbook of the Psychology, Religion and Spirituality (Pargament 2013) offers in-depth study of further aspects of the integration of spirituality into psychotherapeutic practice.

Another development has been the question of examining different cultural-religious traditions. In what ways do different traditions differ in the extent and manner of their integration into psychotherapeutic practice? Such issues are explored in Richards and Bergin ( 2000), in their Handbook of Psychotherapy and Religious Diversity, and Dowd and Nielsen ( 2006), in their Exploration of the Psychologies in Religion.

Conclusion

The early development of psychotherapy featured some mistrust as the proponents of psychotherapy and religion viewed each others’ ideas. Nevertheless, from the early stages there were noteworthy attempts to integrate the practice of psychotherapy with the religious and spiritual concerns of clients and such attempts are now flourishing. On the whole, it is the psychoanalytic and counseling schools of psychotherapy, rather than the cognitive-behavioral school, that have been responsible for these developments.

See also: Depth Psychology and Spirituality, Freud, Sigmund, Jung, Carl Gustav, Psychoanalysis, Psychology as Religion, Psychology of Religion, Psychotherapy

Bibliography

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Cook, C., Powell, A., & Sims, A. (2009). Spirituality and psychiatry. London: Royal College of Psychiatrists.

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Frankl, V. E. (1986). The doctor and the soul. New York: Basic Books.

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Loewenthal, K. M. (2007). Religion culture and mental health. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Neeleman, J., & Persaud, R. (1995). Why do psychiatrists neglect religion? The British Journal of Medical Psychology, 68, 169–178.

Pargament, K. I. (2007). Spiritually integrated psychotherapy. New York: Guilford.

Pargament, K. I. (Ed.). (2013). APA handbook of psychology, religion and spirituality. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

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Zionism

What is Zionism? Does psychology of religion have anything to offer to the understanding of Zionism?

What Is Zionism?

The term Zion has traditionally been viewed as synonymous with Jerusalem (Roth and Wigoder 1971). The most commonly understood use of the term Zionism is the belief that the land of Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people, and every effort is to be made to return Jewish people to the land. There is a detailed biblical definition of the territory in Numbers 34: 1–15, and the territory was then expanded in the time of David and Solomon.

The historical precursors of Zionist ideology are to be found in Jewish history from biblical times, including promises that the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel) will inherit the land of Canaan, the process of Jewish settlement of the land, and various persecutions and forced movements of population. Despite the destruction of the second Temple in 70 CE and the creation of diaspora Jewish communities in the former Roman Empire, there continued to be Jewish communities in Israel (called Palestine by the Romans) until the present. This included the retention of important Jewish intellectual centers.

Thousands of Jews in Jerusalem were killed by the Crusaders in 1099, who accused them of helping the Arabs. During the later Middle Ages, the holy sites in the land and particularly Jerusalem were the focus of pilgrimages, and the Jews who lived in Palestine were supported by charitable donations from diaspora communities. References to Israel, Jerusalem, and Zion, and the hoped for return, occur prolifically throughout Jewish liturgy and sacred texts, and the direction of prayer has been towards Jerusalem following a verse in Daniel 6: 11.

In the sixteenth century the northern city of Safed became an important intellectual center, with leading scholars of all traditionalist aspects of Jewish thought among its inhabitants, and this became a significant model for later Cultural Zionism. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, the pace of Jewish return to Israel speeded up with the expansion of the settlements of pious Jews (Hasidim and also followers of the Vilna Gaon), particularly in Safed, Tiberias, and Jerusalem. The Hibbat Zion (Love of Zion) movement was prominent in supporting such settlements philanthropically. Later in the nineteenth century, in the face of persistent pogroms and other persecution in the European diaspora, Zionist passion assumed a new, politicized form, sometimes known as “synthetic” Zionism, with active attempts to achieve a political solution and to develop and support Jewish agricultural settlements. “Cultural” Zionism developed Jewish national awareness and support for the Jewish homeland among diaspora Jews. Landmarks in the history of modern Zionism include the first Zionist congress in 1897 in Switzerland; the Balfour Declaration (1917), asserting the support of the British government for a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine; the founding of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1925; the UN vote to partition the land between Arabs and Jews (1947), followed by war since the Arabs did not accept the partition; and the declaration of the state of Israel (1948). This beleaguered state remains the focus of Jewish immigration from all parts of the diaspora and also of hostility and repeated attacks from surrounding Arab neighbors. Zionist philosophy has continued to develop pragmatically in response to these developments (Seliktar 1983).

Secular forms of Zionism, sometimes with a socialist flavor, sometimes purely nationalist, proposed that Jewish religious observance was needed to preserve Jewish identity and longing for Zion only while in the diaspora. But once in the Jewish state, Jews were said to no longer need religious observance in order to maintain their identity as Jews. Some observers of the contemporary Israeli scene believe that secular Zionism is no longer the force that it once was, and love of the land is tempered by the complex political difficulties with Arab neighbors, particularly the urgent need to keep peace and survive. Thus, modern secular Zionism may entail a willingness to make territorial concessions for the sake of peace. Religious Zionism is based on the philosophy of Rabbi Kook (e.g. 2005) and involves settlements in territories that fall within the biblically defined boundaries of Israel. Religious Zionism is associated with the view that national security is best served by preserving the biblical boundaries.

Zionist Attitudes

Anti-Zionist attitudes have been noted among Jews. Some strictly orthodox Jews, mainly associated with the Satmar group of Hasidim, believe that the time for the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel is premature and can only happen after the coming of the Messiah. At another point on the religious spectrum, early Reform Judaism eliminated references to Jerusalem, Israel, and Zionism from its liturgy in an attempt to produce truly acculturated citizens of Germany. However, the founding of the State induced a contrary trend. Attitudes which are generally consistent with Zionism have been reported among the majority of Jews. In Seliktar’s ( 1980) study, 75–81 % of the 700 young Israelis surveyed were committed to each of the five aspects of Zionist ideology (enumerated below). The majority of American Jews in Cohen and Kelman’s ( 2007) survey considered that “attachment to Israel is an important part of being Jewish,” though the percentages agreeing with this statement varied with age, being higher among older Jews: 80 % of the over-65s and 60 % of the under-35s agreed.

The themes and concepts of Zionism have had a strong impact outside Judaism. In the United States, Zionism is an important feature of fundamentalist Christianity, in which it is held that the settlement of Jews in Israel is foretold by biblical prophecy and is a precursor to the coming of the Messiah. This in turn has impacted on foreign policy attitudes (Cummergen 2000). In sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Swaziland, Zionism is widely practiced as a religion. African Zionism was based originally on Christianity but incorporates many indigenous practices and beliefs including animism (Guth et al. 2000).

Recently it has been argued that anti-Zionism is a form of anti-semitism: Wistrich (2004), for example, has argued that the delegitimization and defamation of Israel in the Muslim world, and among sections of both the political Left and radical Right, has promoted a revival of anti-semitism worldwide, leading to a rise in anti-semitic attacks. Loewenthal (2017) reviews support for this view

Zionism and Psychology

What light can the psychology of religion throw on Zionism? There has been negligible study of Zionism as such by psychologists of religion. Nevertheless, there are psychological perspectives which may be brought to bear on Zionism among Jews.

Territorial claims are often strongly bound up with national and religious identity: social identity theory offers important discussions on this theme (e.g. Hewstone and Stroebe 2001).

Band ( 2005) has discussed the dilemmas faced by religious Zionists in relation to their identities, amid the political complexities of twenty-first-century Israel. For example, their pragmatic and religiously founded wish for peace conflicts with their pragmatic and religiously founded need to maintain the boundaries of Israel.

The frequent Jewish liturgical and textual references to Israel and Zion reinforce the package of Jewish identity, spirituality, and love of the land. In Jewish sacred texts, the land of Israel is given to the Jews and said to be imbued with a special level of holiness (e.g. Genesis 15:18; 2 Chronicles 6:5–6; Shneur Zalman of Liadi, 1796– 1973) and given by God to the Jewish people. There are many specific religious commandments associated with the land, for example, relating to its agricultural produce, such as observance of the sabbatical year, specific blessings to be pronounced on fruits for which Israel is renowned, and the priestly blessing, recited daily in Israel, and only on festivals in the diaspora. The quantity and spiritual force of biblical and other references to the sacredness of Israel deserve closer study, perhaps using discourse or other linguistic analysis, particularly with the view to the question of the uniqueness of Zionism as a form of nationalist philosophy.

The possible impact of liturgical and religious textual references was supported in a careful study in political psychology examining the socialization of Zionist ideology among young Israelis: Seliktar ( 1980) studied the cognitive and affective aspects of five features of Zionist ideology – loyalty to the state of Israel, continuity (of Israel) across time, unity of the Jewish people, Israel as a Jewish national center, and the integrative role of the State of Israel (in absorbing new immigrants). Respondents indicated extent of agreement and of emotional commitment to statements relating to these five features (e.g. “We should always think of Israel as a continuation of the ancient kingdom of Judea”). There were significant effects of family religious observance, and of religiosity of the school attended, on strength of commitment to Zionist ideology.

Conclusions

In conclusion, it can be seen that Zionism in all its forms contains powerful ideas about the sacred status of the land of Israel. Although the psychological and spiritual impact of Zionism has not been studied by psychologists of religion, there are conceptual frameworks – for example, in social identity theory, attitude theory, and forms of linguistic analysis – which may facilitate closer study.

See also: Judaism and Psychology, Psychology of Religion

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