Ominous moods may improve ritual performance
To the uninitiated, religious ritual seems like frivolous play-acting. Priests and acolytes follow obscure rules and manipulate symbolic objects, similar to team sports like soccer, […]
Christian
An ambitious theory of humility, compassion, and divine gratitude
Religiosity is correlated with many different psychological states and behaviors, such as empathy and generosity, or exclusivity and violence. However, the causal connections between belief, […]
BREAKING NEWS: Religious children don’t share stickers
Many people believe that religion teaches children to be just and moral. Even if adherents dispense with the unscientific dogma, there’s a lingering sense that […]
Empty nests and empty pews: Church affiliation declines after high school
Step into any church on Sunday morning and you’ll most likely find a congregation split into two distinct groups: parents with their children and cotton-topped […]
Woe unto the weird: Majorities tend to be spiteful
Bill Moyers once quipped, “Civilization is a thin veneer of agreeable behavior stretched across the passions of the human heart.” Among the most persistent of […]
Working towards a Chinese psychology of religion
Psychology of religion has become a fairly common and well-respected field of study, with a rich history featuring geniuses such as William James and Sigmund […]
Review: Atheist Delusions
Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies has a most unfortunate title, and one not of the author’s making (the subtitle is Hart’s […]
Interview: Michael Ruse on evolution, creationism, and religion
Michael Ruse is a professor of philosophy at Florida State University and a worldwide expert on the relationship between religion and science. His work has […]
Liberal Buddhism: exploring the boundaries
In Europe and North America, most religious people are Christian. This means that debates between theological liberals and conservatives in these countries are often about […]
Religion influences political opinions unconsciously
Should politics and religion mix? Actually, for Americans that might not be the right question to ask. The fact is, religion and politics already do […]