Psychology of Religion 2013
Historical Considerations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/rsth.v31i2.111Keywords:
post-positivist psychology, positivism, psychologism, religious appearances, New Naturalist identityAbstract
Finding one’s bearings in the welter of claims and counter-claims in the history of the psychology of religion is a daunting task; this article attempts to survey the field through a historical analysis of critical phases in the relationship between religion and psychology. From a position of rejection to that of embraced complexity, psychology’s encounter with religion reflects the difficult terrain over which the discipline itself has traversed—indicating not only self-definition issues but also its own ambiguous perspective within a ‘scientific’ model of reality. The modus operandi of today offers the potential of a positive outcome in the future.
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