Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

This course examines religious and spiritual experiences, attitudes and behaviours from multiple angles within contemporary Psychology. Themes of the course include: history of empirical inquiry into religion and spirituality; modern research methods; interacting roles of biological and psychosocial factors in the formation of religious commitments and predilection toward spiritual experiences; relationships between religious and spiritual orientations and physical and mental health; and determinants of religious behaviours, from altruism to terrorism.