INTRODUCTION:
Anomalous religious experiences may not foster psychotic experiences;
But they can be easily mixed up.
Religious experiences may be mistaken for psychotic experiences;
And psychotic experiences may be mistaken for religious experiences;
Discernment needed. How?
DOWNLOAD LECTURE NOTES: 7 Anamalous Experiences
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the lesson the learner should be able to:
discuss the interaction between religious experience, particularly of the mystical kind, and pathological states;
identify characteristics of “spiritual emergence” in mystical consciousness.
DOWNLOAD MY NOTES: 8 Religious Experience & pathology
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the lesson the learner should be able to:
demonstrate the contribution that religiosity and spirituality – and their components – can make to psychological wellbeing.
DOWNLOAD MY CLASSNOTES: 09 Religion & Wellbeing
RECOMMENDED READINGS:
Selvam, S.G. (2014). Influence of family on youth’s relationship with God: A systematic review of psychology literature. In S. Fernando & J. Pudumai Doss (eds.), Youth and family in today’s India (pp.65-80). Chennai: Don Bosco Publications.
Selvam, S.G., & Mwangi, D. (2014). Meditation and contemplative practice among young adults in Nairobi. In S.G. Selvam, & D. Watt (eds.), African youth today: Challenges and prospects (pp.67-85). Nairobi: Acton Press.
VIDEOS:
There are several videos on TED-YouTube on Mindfulness and its relation to wellbeing. Mindfulness refers to the practice of any form of meditation or contemplation.
Most recommended video: The mindful way through depression
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
By the end of the lesson the learner should be able to:
recognise the complementarity between a counsellor, psychiatrist and a religious chaplain.
discuss also the complementarity in the process of supervision (pastoral supervision).
DOWNLOAD MY NOTES: 10 Conclusion: Complementarity
This research project is situated within the field of psychology of religion. “Why should we study religion psychologically?” Spilka and colleagues (2003) begin their book on the psychology of religion with this question. It is worth studying religion from the perspective of psychology because the majority of the people of the world take religion seriously, and it influences their motivation, cognition, behaviour and wellbeing. Therefore, the psychology of religion uses the theoretical framework and methods of general psychology to study the influence of spiritual and religious phenomena on people. (Emmons & Paloutzian, 2003; Gorsuch, 1988; Hill & Gibson, 2008; Jonte-Pace & Parsons, 2001; Spilka, Hood, Hunsberger & Gorsuch, 2003, pp.1-19; Wulff, 1997, pp.1-19).
There are basically three major strands in studies that relate psychology and religion: (a) Religious Psychology discusses psychological findings within the discourse of religion – Christianity; pastoral psychology as an offshoot of this approach draws insight from psychology […]