After a brief introduction to psychology of religion as a scientific discipline, this article reviews psychological theories that propose explanations of religion as an individual and social reality, and provides information from recent empirical literature that, at least partially, confirms these theories. The theoretical and empirical evidence presented here encompasses a variety of psycholog...

Studies concerning the relationship between religion and mental health have provided substantial evidence for the existence of a positive relationship. Nevertheless, it remains largely unclear which aspects of both religion and mental health take part in this relationship. The present study uses multiple measures of religion and of mental health to obtain a more refined view of this relationshi...

The main goal of the workshop is to introduce CSS members to topics that are cutting edge in the cognitive science of religion. The papers draw on a variety of methodologies and disciplines, which is one of the main characteristics of the cognitive science of religion. Even though the focus is on religion, the researchers are involved in broader issues relevant to cognitive science. So the expe...

Four decades ago, A. Reza Arasteh combined Westernized psychology with Sufism to emerge as an important voice in the integration of psychology and religion. Arasteh’s writings have remained largely unnoticed by the psychological community; however, we believe that it is time to reconsider his ideas. This article presents Arasteh’s main ideas about the relationship between human development and ...