Psychology of Religion and Spirituality 2500-EN-PS-EAc-21

The aim of the course is to introduce students to the current state of
knowledge in the psychology of religion and spirituality. Several primary
themes will be presented during the classes, including definitional
considerations regarding religiousness and spirituality, historical accounts
of the psychological foundations of religiousness, psychometric and
experimental methods used in the psychology of religion, the
development of belief in god(s) and religiousness, the relationships
between religiousness and personality traits, the links between
religiousness and intelligence, the role of analytic thinking and mind
perception in the development of belief, the associations between self-
transcendent emotions and spirituality, the influence of religiousness on
emotional well-being, and the impact of religiousness on social behavior
in terms of prosociality, prejudice, and morality.
The course will emphasize active discussion of recent findings in the
psychology of religion in order to equip students with a critical
perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of the psychological
approach to the study of human religiousness and spirituality.