Religiosity and subjective well-being in the Arab context (original) (raw)

2019, Mental Health, Religion & Culture

Within contemporary psychology of religion, there is increasing critical reflection on the history of the discipline and recognition of the inherent limitations of previous research. For example, the focus on Christian contexts and samples (Pargament, Exline, & Jones, 2013; Pargament, Mahoney, & Shafranske, 2013). Within psychology, one widely acknowledged limitation is that of the over-reliance on samples drawn entirely from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic ("WEIRD") societies (Henrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, 2010). In contrast, there has been comparatively little research on the psychology of other world faiths, as well as the non-religious. Gradually, this position is beginning to change with the employment of non-WEIRD samples. Within the psychology of religion, at the forefront of this change within the Islamic context has been work undertaken by Professor Ahmed M. Abdel-Khalek. The present volume, Religiosity and Subjective Well-being in the Arab Context is a themed collection that brings together a selection of some of the recently published work (from 2006 to 2018) of Abdel-Khalek. At this point it is worth noting a conflict of interest of this reviewer. As an author I have published one co-authored paper with Abdel-Khalek (Corry, Mallett, Lewis, & Abdel-Khalek, 2013). As a peer-reviewer, I have reviewed a large number of manuscript submissions by Abdel-Khalek. As Co-Editor of the journal Mental Health, Religion & Culture, I have made a number of editorial decisions related to manuscript submissions to the journal by Abdel-Khalek. Moreover, I was also involved in the discussions surrounding the appointment of Abdel-Khalek as Guest-Editor of a Special Issue of Mental Health, Religion & Culture (Abdel-Khalek, 2011). In detail, the book comprises of 31 chapters, of these, 26 chapters were previously published in a diverse range of peer-reviewed scientific periodicals, three were published as chapters in edited books, one chapter was an editorial for Mental Health, Religion & Culture, and one chapter was specifically written for the present book. In total, 29 of the chapters are based on empirical studies. The 31 chapters are classified into six-sections: Islam and Mental Health (two chapters); Psychometric Measures (nine chapters); Religiosity, Health, and Happiness (nine Chapters); Religiosity, Quality of Life, and Subjective Well-Being (two Chapters); Religiosity and Personality (three Chapters); and Religiosity, Subjective Well-being, and Psychopathology (six Chapters). The samples employed in the various studies are diverse and drawn from across the lifespan, and are comprised of children, adolescents, college students, middle-aged adults, elderly people, governmental employees, and retired workers. Moreover, these samples come from a variety of different Arab nationalities including Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Qatar. This timely collection provides a fitting celebration of Abdel-Khalek's significant and sustained contribution to the psychology of Islam within the Arabian context. For this reader, the opportunity provided by (re-)reading and subsequently reviewing a significant part of Abdel-Khalek's work, provided the opportunity to engage in some reflection on the main contributions of this body of work. Three points are worthy of note. First, the collection reaffirmed the importance of Abdel-Khalek's pioneering work has had within the empirical psychology of religion, and in particular, with a significance and sustained MENTAL HEALTH, RELIGION & CULTURE