The Psychology of Religion ― An Empirical Approach

Keeping up with the rapidly growing research base, the leading graduate-level psychology of religion text is now in a fully updated fifth edition. It takes a balanced, empirically driven approach to understanding the role of religion in individual functioning and social behavior. Integrating research on numerous different faith traditions, the book addresses the quest for meaning; links between religion and biology; religious thought, belief, and behavior across the lifespan; experiential dimensions of religion and spirituality; the social psychology of religious organizations; and connections to coping, adjustment, and mental disorder. Chapter-opening quotations and topical research boxes enhance the readability of this highly instructive text.

New to This Edition
*New topics: cognitive science of religion; religion and violence; and groups that advocate terrorist tactics.
*The latest empirical findings, including hundreds of new references.
*Expanded discussion of atheism and varieties of nonbelief.
*More research on religions outside the Judeo-Christian tradition, particularly Islam.
*State-of-the-art research methods, including techniques for assessing neurological states.

Ralph W. Hood, Jr., PhD, is Professor of Psychology and Leroy A. Martin Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He is past president of the Psychology of Religion division of the American Psychological Association and a recipient of its William James Award, Virginia Sexton Mentoring Award, and Distinguished Service Award. He is cofounder of The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, for which he has served as coeditor and book review editor. Dr. Hood has also been editor of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion and is currently coeditor of Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion.

Peter C. Hill, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at Biola University’s Rosemead School of Psychology in La Mirada, California. He is past president of the Psychology of Religion division of the American Psychological Association and a recipient of its William C. Bier Award and Distinguished Service Award. He is editor of the Journal of Psychology and Christianity.

Bernard Spilka, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Denver. He is past president of the Psychology of Religion division of the American Psychological Association and a recipient of its William James Award and Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Spilka has also been vice-president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and president of the Colorado Psychological Association and the Rocky Mountain Psychological Association. Now retired, he continues to write on the psychology of prayer and on religion, evolution, and genetics.