PSYCHOLOGY of RELIGION Spring 2000

CAT. NO. 414 Sr. Gail Cabral, IHM, Ph.D.

REQUIRED READING:

Paloutzian, R. F. (1996). Invitation to the Psychology of Religion. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Wulff, David M. (1991). Psychology of Religion: Classic and Contemporary Views. NY: John Wiley & Sons.

In addition to these texts, there may be articles or excerpts that will be made available to the students.

OFFICE HOURS:

Sister Gail's office is Room 1026 in the McGowan Center. Regular office hours are Tuesday, 2:00-4:00 PM, Wednesday, 2:00 &endash; 4:00 PM, and Friday, 2:00 to 3:00 PM. Appointments may be scheduled at other times by leaving a message with the Psychology Department secretary, 348-6270, or on Sr. Gail’s AUDIX, 348-6211, ext. 2346. In any case be sure to leave a phone number by which you can be reached. From a Marywood phone, Sr. Gail's number is Ext. 2346. Sr. Gail’s e-mail address is Cabral@ac.marywood.edu.

GOALS OF THE COURSE:

The purpose of this course is to introduce the student to the wide range of psychological perspectives on the issue of human religious experience. This will include major theories and empirical methods in the psychology of religion, a history of the development of this field, and the major controversies and dilemmas it contains.

Coverage of special topics such as prayer, conversion and mysticism will be treated within the various theoretical and empirical approaches. In addition, brief experiences of prayer and meditation techniques will be suggested.

It is an assumption of this course (and one which is in keeping with the goals of Marywood and of any truly Catholic university) that reflection on religion must be commensurate with the depth and scope of the person’s level of education and maturity. Thus, although the psychological study of religion may be deemed by some as dangerous to faith, it also appears to be a study of particular value for the student being educated in psychology, promising a measure of self-understanding in keeping with other developments in self-knowledge.

This course will provide a context for "responsible living in an interdependent world" with its combination (and hopefully, integration) of concerns from Category I, "The Human Condition in Its Ultimate Relationships, and Category III, "The Human Condition in Relation to Self and Society." Curriculum goals #1, #2, and #3 are particularly relevant to this course. ("Students should be able to (1) explore the religious dimension of life, respectful of its multiple manifestations, (2) think critically and creatively in both the theoretical and practical aspects of life, and (3) demonstrate appreciation of the value and dignity they share with others as human beings...")

OBJECTIVES:

The student who successfully completes this course will be able to:

1. summarize the varying historical approaches in the psychology of religion, including the Anglo- American, the German, and the French traditions.

2. discuss and evaluate the objections to a psychology of religion, including those from psychology and those from religion.

3. analyze the relative contributions of objective and subjective approaches to the study of religious experience.

4. summarize and critique experimental and correlational studies of religion.

5. summarize and evaluate the psychoanalytic perspectives of religion including those of Freud and Jung.

6. summarize the work of object-relations theorists such as Winnicott and Kohut.

7. evaluate Erikson's epigenetic theory and his use of psychohistory on religious leaders.

8. summarize the contributions of the classic works of William James, James Pratt, Rudolf Otto and Friedrick Heiler.

10. explain and react to the American humanistic synthesis.

REQUIREMENTS

Reaction papers and discussion of assigned readings: Students will hand in a reaction paper on the readings assigned for each class on the day before each class. The reaction paper will be two to four typed pages of reaction to the readings including the following:

1.) Things that were not clear in the readings.

2.) Questions that occurred to you because of the reading.

3.) What you did to answer your questions. What sources did you go to?

4.) What answers did you find?

Tests:

There will be three (3) tests, each including objective and essay questions on specified chapters. They will be cumulative. Each test will be worth 25 points toward the total grade for the course.

Scholarly Term Paper/Research Project:

The student will choose one of two formats to fulfill this requirement.

A. The student will write an academic "term paper" on a question relevant to the course. Examples of general questions follow: What are the pros and cons of a psychology of religion, what methodologies are appropriate for the psychology of religion, what and how a particular content of religion should be studied in the psychology of religion, evidence of age-related changes in religion, examination of the ways people ordinarily make decisions about religiousness, examination of the ways people make decisions about their own religiousness, examination of the idea of extremism in the convert, relationship between religion and mental illness, effects of culture on religious belief, etc.

A scholarly term paper is not a collection of reports of cited literature. It is an investigation of a specific, well thought out question which is related to a body of literature. The topic, or question of interest, needs to have sufficient depth and breadth. It will not have a simple answer. The paper should be well-written and organized, with summaries at the end of each section indicating, in the student’s own words, the major findings of that part of the literature review.

B. The student will formulate an empirical research question, propose a design to investigate that question, and will carry out the study and summarize the findings.

For either selection, the student will hand in a draft of the question or topic, with a detailed explanation of the importance of the question, the references related to the question, and the method which will be used to answer the question.

Week of

January 26	Introduction to field. Discussion of student and professor expectations.
February 2	Religion in Psychological Perspective Paloutzian, Ch. 1 Wulff, Ch. 1
February 9	Historical and Theoretical Developments, Paloutzian, Ch. 2
February 16	Research in the Study of Religion, Paloutzian, Ch. 3
Feb. 21.	Test on Unit I February 23 Religious Orientation, Attitudes and Behavior Paloutzian, Ch. 8 Draft of proposed paper/project due.
March 1	Religion, Health and Well-being, Paloutzian, Ch. 9
March 7	No class, Spring break
March 15	Religion through the life cycle Paloutzian, Ch. 4 and 5
March 22	Erikson: Religion in the Human Life Cycle, Wulff, Ch. 8
March 29	Religion and Experience, Paloutzian, Ch. 7
April 5	No class. Test
April 12	William James Wulff, Ch. 10
April 19	Selections from the German descriptive tradition The American Humanistic Synthesis, Wulff, Ch. 12
April 26	Readings from the Psychology of Religion division of APA Paloutzian, Ch. Evaluation and New Directions. Project due
May 1.	Test