Exploring Cultural Psychology: Introduction to a Book Forum on Towards Cultural Psychology of Religion: Principles, Approaches, Applications by Jacob A. Belzen (original) (raw)

Review Essay: Towards Cultural Psychology of Religion by J. E. Belzen

Pastoral Psychology, 2012

Jacob Belzen spends the first two-thirds of his 2010 book doing two things: (1) developing a cogent critique of the presuppositions that underlie mainstream psychology, especially as regards the study of religion, and (2) promoting greater use of what he calls a "cultural psychology." The last third presents a number of religious case studies, all from the Netherlands, that demonstrate the value of cultural psychology. Although Belzen emphasizes "embodiment" in these studies, his results suggest that religion is often a "performance" for particular audiences. Finally, the applicability of Belzen's approach to religions outside the Western tradition is discussed.

Cultural Psychology and Theology: Partners in Dialogue

Cultural psychology stresses the importance of the historical and socio-cultural in the formation of the self, and, in its more sophisticated versions, acknowledges the importance of embodiment, emotions and intra-psychic factors too, making it a promising dialogue partner for theology. Following a brief summary of bridging issues between psychology and theology, Benson's recent cultural psychology framework is outlined. Its relevance for theology is considered under three headings: incarnational categories, self-knowing and God-knowing, and theological method. The essay concludes with a short reflection on the self in Eucharistic space, and the limits of cultural psychological accounts.

Which psychology(ies) serves us best? Research perspectives on the psycho-cultural interface in the psychology of religion(s)

Archive for the Psychology of Religion , 2020

The article concentrates on answering the main question to be addressed, as stated in its title: which psychology(ies) serves us best? In order to achieve this goal, we pursue possible answers in history of psychology of religion and its interdisciplinary relationships with its sister disciplines, anthropology of religion and religious studies, resulting with sketching a typology of the main attitudes towards conceptualising psycho-cultural interface, prevalent among psychologists: the Universalist, the Absolutist and the Relativist stances. Next chosen examples from the field of applied psychology are presented, as the role of the cultural factor within the history of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders' (DSM) development is discussed alongside presenting research on the phenomenon of 'hearing voices', in order to show the marked way for the future-the importance of including the cultural factor in psychological research on religion.

Never the Twain…Introduction to the Special Issue Psychology of Religion: Dialogues Between Sociocultural and Cognitive Perspectives

Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 2019

Bringing together perspectives is rarely an easy task. By assembling researchers from cognitive and cultural traditions to discuss their reciprocal research in the field of psychology of religion, we thought that we will end up with an ecumenical conclusion, everyone being convinced that the other perspective will enrich her or his approach in the future. In this introduction, our objective is to show that it was not exactly the case and, by writing a two-voices introduction, to understand why we were eventually not so sure that we were all studying the same object.

Psychology of religion(s) and religious studies: into the future

Religion, 2020

This article focuses on three ‘liminal’ issues at the confluence of the study of religions and the psychology of religion. These are cross-disciplinary interconnections, responses to societal challenges and research methodology. This article advocates a cultural approach to build new bridges between both disciplines.

Visuri, I. & Ståhle G. (2023) The psychology of religion: experiential dimensions (in press).

Bloomsbury Religion in North America , 2022

In this article, we will look into some commonly used methods and theories in the psychology of religion. This research field dates back to the early 20th century, when scholars such as Stanley Hall and William James directed attention towards the role of religious experiences and their relation to human nature. Such experiences are focused here, and as we will see, there are various ways of approaching the interaction between psychology, religion, culture, embodiment, and cognition. This article provides examples of both qualitative and quantitative methods commonly used in the field, and the pros and cons these bring about. We will also examine some prominent schools of thought that differ in their approach to religion and psychology: cultural psychology, clinical psychology, and the cognitive science of religion. While some of these scholars premiere the role of culture, others center the role of internal, psychological processes. In some cases, the role of embodied practices and collective emotions are seen as crucial for the understanding of religiosity, and in other cases, individual traits are highlighted. This variety of approaches makes up a kaleidoscope of perspectives on the complex and fascinating ways in which religion and psychology interact, and how the outcome of such processes differs between various cultures and contexts.

Religion revisited – anthropological and psychological standpoints

Estudios de Psicología, 2011

Religion was and is no topic in psychology; rather it was a topic of psychology in its very beginning. The contemporary academic psychology ignores religion. Instead of a wide range of studies in religion neither a psychology of religion nor a subject that is commonly shared can be found. In a first step I ask for that commonly shared subject and discuss a couple of candidates and their potentials in regard to their psychological and anthropological dimensions. In a second step I briefly review the three developmental models of religion under the same perspective: What is the subject they deal with and is this subject religion or not. Like I show, it is not. In sum, we have to start a new search to gain a subject for psychology that could be identified as religion. This needs in first place the courage to think systematically and theoretically independent from theology as well as psychology itself.

A Sociocultural Psychological Approach to Religion

Integrative psychological & behavioral science, 2018

Sociocultural psychology can contribute to the understanding of religion, as it examines the dynamics by which the social and cultural world creates the conditions for the lives of unique people. This approach focuses especially on semiotic dynamics, by which religion can both guide practices and sense-making, but also become an object of shared representations. Drawing on a series of past studies, I first adopt an ontogenetic perspective, to explore early development into a sociocultural environment in which religion is present, and then to address young adults' religious bricolage. I especially show people's creativity in using various symbolic resources, linked to religious elements or not. Second, I consider more sociogenetic dynamics: boundary making processes taking place in intergroup dynamics. This leads me, third, to consider the resonances between social discourses on religion and more subjective experiences: I especially show how public discourses may create confu...