Psychology of Religion

The psychology of religion applies psychological methods and interpretive frameworks to the contents of religious traditions and to religious and irreligious individuals, using both natural-scientific approaches that are objective, quantitative and experimental and human-scientific approaches that are qualitative, phenomenological and interpretive. Practitioners in the field pursue three major projects: a systematic description of religious contents, attitudes, experiences and expressions; an explanation of the origins of religion across human history and in individual lives, considering diverse influences; and a mapping of the consequences of religious attitudes and conduct for individuals and society. The field became self-consciously established in the late nineteenth century, though the tasks it pursues predate it by centuries.