Psychology of Religion

The intention of this paper is to interpret the ontological conditions of youth identity crisis missionally. This is first done by conceptualising identity crisis as a psychological phenomenon using frameworks of authenticity and attachment to explain the impact of early attachment abuse, abandonment depression, insecure attachment anxiety with God, and self-regulation on the identity formation of the youth. Secondly, the paper introduces a missional hermeneutic that provides an interpretative framework for coping with the crises of identity amongst young people. A missional hermeneutic of care for coping with the crisis of identity formation, therefore, elaborates on the missional basis of biblical interpretation as a powerful framework within which to interpret a skewed, conflicted identity. The author herewith proposes a missional opportunity that can activate the missional consciousness of young people in their time of crisis and identity formation. Furthermore, the author insists that this missional methodology can be a very useful strategy for producing therapeutic change in young people and can help youth ministry workers and pastoral caregivers to reframe the crisis of youth identity from the perspective of 'missio Dei'.

This essay was published in The Bible and Early Trinitarian Theology, edited by Christopher A. Beeley and Mark E. Weedman, for the CUAP Studies in Early Christianity (Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2018); this is the uncorrected proofs. Exploring the humanity and divinity of Jesus, the Son's relation to the Father, and the agency of the Holy Spirit, it is one of five essays suggesting Johannine contributions to trinitarian discussions in the early church.

In order to better cope with the pressures and stresses of the current day, modern psychology is anxiously seeking to find new therapies to address the increasing disorders within the human psyche. In the process new fields of research, such as humanistic and transpersonal psychology, curiously appear to borrow more and more from the wisdom of the ages. This volume, containing eighteen articles by noteworthy expositors of the perennial philosophy such as Huston Smith, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and Frithjof Schuon, presents the spiritual psychology of the wisdom traditions as a much-needed antidote to the current impasse in modern psychology.

Some Endorsements for Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy:

“[Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy] is more than an anthology. It is a wisely crafted collection of classic and contemporary scholarship noting that what many are seeking is what has always been, a perennial philosophy, that remains foundational. As one of the authors, Tage Lindbom, properly notes, ‘Secularization is a fish in troubled waters.’ This book claims the waters and is essential reading for all those who may have forgotten or are simply ignorant of the rich foundation provided by the perennial philosophy.”
—Ralph W. Hood, Professor of Psychology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, past president of the Psychology of Religion division of the American Psychological Association, co-founder of The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion and co-author of The Psychology of Religion

“A necessary and bracing critique of the assumptions and limitations of contemporary Western psychology, this generous volume is also a passionate call and learned guide towards a truer perspective that embraces man's spiritual nature.”
—Gabor Maté, M.D., and author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction

“Knowing the nature of the mind is perhaps the most difficult undertaking, especially in today’s world. To comprehend the nature of mind one needs to turn to the domain of religion and spirituality. Yet the truth of the mind and its complexity cannot explicitly be defined in words. Inner or transcendent wisdom sees the mind’s own nature without the duality of the seer. Suchness (tathatā) of mind is only experiential and not expressible. The words used to describe thought are themselves a product of thought, which is conditioned and limited. Thus, differences and contradictions are unavoidable. Therefore, a comparative study of different viewpoints and commentaries is immensely important to awaken the inner intelligence to see the mind as it is. Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy: Studies in Comparative Religion edited by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos is an outstanding effort in this direction.”
—Samdhong Rinpoche, former Prime Minister (Kalon Tripa) of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, author of Uncompromising Truth for a Compromised World: Tibetan Buddhism and Today’s World

“The rise of psychology has impacted the study and practice of spirituality, the experiences and attitudes relevant to ultimate human values that transcend ordinary behavior. Each chapter of this remarkable book demonstrates this interaction in a unique and provocative way. But rather than using psychology to reduce and ‘psychologize’ spiritual topics, its authors demonstrate how directives from the spiritual traditions can enhance and even illuminate the enduring importance of psychology in the 21st century.”
—Stanley Krippner, Saybrook University, co-author of Spiritual Dimensions of Healing

“The work at hand is a thinking and debating man’s delight. If you have any interest at all in attempting to include an educated and enlightened view of man’s higher functions in your purview of the world, you will learn from and enjoy this collection of essays. If you already have some knowledge in this area, brace yourself: you may see some of your favorites sharply criticized. A thought-provoking work.”
—Bruce W. Scotton, University of California, San Francisco, co-editor of Textbook of Transpersonal Psychiatry and Psychology

“This book, superbly edited by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos, is a masterful critique of the field of psychology and its loss of the sacred ground in which it once was rooted. It offers depth psychologists an opportunity to contemplate timeless truths echoed through the centuries by perennial philosophers who have always claimed psyche is subordinate to Spirit. Although ignored in depth psychology’s early years due to prejudice and lack of understanding, this is a message today’s psychotherapists must take seriously. Human beings need a deeper and wider transpersonal vision of who and what we are, which the saints and sages of the world’s spiritual traditions have always pointed to. In psychotherapy with a therapist committed to such a vision, patients penetrate into their unconscious depths and not infrequently awaken to the Ground of all Being. Their suffering itself occurred because they had turned away from Spirit. Above all, this volume passionately calls upon depth psychology to remember its origin in the perennial wisdom at the core of the great religions. There is something of a polemic in these pages. It deserves to be considered by depth psychologists of all persuasions.”
—Bryan Wittine, Transpersonal psychologist and Jungian psychoanalyst

“This anthology from Samuel Bendeck Sotillos is a must reference for anyone who is interested in psychology and its relationship to spirituality, and in developing an inclusive dialogue between disciplines that favor an integral outlook on the person and his or her potential. Selections in this anthology will inspire us to reexamine the metaphysical underpinnings of psychology, and remind us how important it is to rise above science’s attempt to reduce the human being to an epistemic object.”
—Sangeetha Menon, National Institute of Advanced Studies (Bangalore, India), Board Member of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA), author of The Beyond Experience: Consciousness in Bhagavad Gita

“This anthology has some of the most discerning essays and reviews on spirituality and psychology, which provide much-needed care and caution to all those engaged in bringing them together or who wish to do so in future. Therefore, it is a must-read for all those who teach, research, consult, or study in such frontier areas as transpersonal psychology, states of consciousness, mind-body relation, holistic health, Indian psychology, and so on. It will be an invaluable textbook for courses in these and other related areas. I congratulate the editor of the book.”
—Kiran Kumar K. Salagame, University of Mysore (India), Board Member of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA), author of The Psychology of Meditation: A Contextual Approach

“One of the finest collections of essays on the Perennial Philosophy—a must-read for all psychologists who are engaged with spirituality and transpersonal psychology. The essays which critique modern psychology (including transpersonal psychology, and the framework of Carl Jung), in the light of the Perennial Philosophy are a revelation and make compelling reading. The book serves as a corrective to the excesses of modern psychology, and to this end Sotillos has done a commendable job. I for one will include the book in some of the graduate courses that I teach.”
—Suneet Varma, University of Delhi, co-editor of Foundations of Indian Psychology

“To its credit modern science by-and-large is becoming more cognizant of the essential connection between spirituality and psychological health and well-being and most of all its positive implications within the field of psychology. While there is ample data to document this in a plethora of academic journals and books, this new book Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy adds a novel contribution to the dialogue between psychology and spirituality, which captures many nuances that for the most part go unnoticed within these discussions, and last but not least, it provides a keen eye of discernment to understand this intricate relationship on a deeper level that is crucially needed. This work will be a valuable asset to students and long term mental health practitioners and professors alike who seek to better understand the relationship between psychology and spirituality.”
—Harold G. Koenig, Duke University, Director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, co-author of The Handbook of Religion and Health

Organ donation is below the expected number of cadaver donors (ppm) per million population in the world. The country with the highest number of cadaver donors per million in the world is Spain. In 2019, it was determined the number of cadaver donors per million as 48,9 in Spain. At the same year, in Turkey, the number of cadaver donors per million was determined as 7,54. There are many reasons why number of cadaver donors in Turkey is low. Main reasons are religious ground and insufficient knowledge. A large number of studies, the major factor for determining the attitudes towards organ donation is seem to be religion and religiosity. With the religiosity level of people in Turkey, the attitudes towards organ donation are becoming more important. For this reason, there is a need in literature for new studies that related to the relation between organ donation and religion. Therefore, the aim of this research is to fill the gap on the relation religiosity among organ donation in the literature. Under the guidance of studies dealing with the relationship between individual religion, religious practices and organ donation attitudes, the following hypotheses were tested: 1. The attitudes towards organ donation differentiated by gender. 2. The religious practices and individual religiosity differentiated by gender. 3. There is a positive correlation between the dimension of benevolence & moral values/belief values, and religious practices & individual religiosity. 4. There is a negative correlation between the dimension of benevolence & moral/belief values, and fear of medical neglect & bodily injury. 5. Religious practice predicts the values of benevolence, moral/belief values, fear of medical neglect, and fear of bodily injury. 6. Individual religiosity predicts the values of benevolence, moral/belief values, fear of medical neglect, and fear of bodily injury. 7. The value of benevolence and the dimension of moral/belief values predict both the fear of medical neglect and bodily injury.
In this study, religiosity and the attitudes towards organ donation was examined. Religiosity was examined as religious practices and individual religion. The attitudes towards organ donation have two aspects called as positive and negative. The positive aspect of attitudes towards organ donation consists of the value of charity and moral/belief, at the same time the negative aspect of it consists of the fear of medical neglect and bodily injury.
The sample of research consisted of 205 (M: 26,3%, F: 73,7%) university students. The average age of the participants was determined to be 21.56. In this research, the scale of attitudes towards organ donation, the scale of religiosity
practices and the inventory of individual religiosity were used to measure the variable of religiosity. The scale of attitudes towards organ donation was developed by Parisi and Katz. The scale of religious practices was developed by Ayten and the inventory of individual religiosity was developed by Zagumny et al. The scales used in the study were statistically reliable and validity.
In this study's results, it was seen that a statistically significant level of differentiation was found in the dimension of bodily injury fear, which represents the negative level of attitudes towards organ donation by gender. Moreover, the level of religious worship was also differated by gender.  In the considering the relations, the individual religiosity was correlated with the values of benevolence and moral/belief. Additionally, a significant correlation was also found between the sub-dimensions of attitudes toward organ donation. In study, it was also found that there was a statistical regression relation between individual religiosity and sub-dimension of attitudes towards organ donation which are the value of benevolence and moral/belief. According to the findings of this study, it is possible to say that the dimension of benevolence and moral/belief values that constitute the positive aspect of the attitudes towards organ donation were negatively regression relations with the fear of medical neglect and bodily injury that constitute the negative aspect of attitudes towards organ donation.
Keywords: Psychology of Religion, Organ Donation Attitudes, Religiosity, Religious Practices, Individual Religion.
Dünyada organ bağışı, milyon başına düşen kadavra donör sayısı (pmp) olarak beklenilenin altında seyretmektedir. Dünyada milyon başına düşen kadavra donör sayısı en fazla olan ülke İspanya’dır. 2019 yılında, İspanya’da milyon başına düşen kadavra donör sayısı 48,9 olarak tespit edilmiştir. Türkiye’de ise 2019 yılında milyon başına düşen kadavra donör sayısı 7,54 olarak belirlenmiştir. Ülkemizdeki organ bağışçı sayısının düşük olmasının altında birçok neden yatmaktadır. Dini gerekçelerle organ bağışı yapılmaması ve bu konuda yeteri kadar bilinçli ve bilgili olunmaması en başta gelen nedenlerdendir. Yapılan çalışmalara bakıldığında organ bağışı tutumlarında dindarlık veya din belirleyici ve büyük bir etken olarak görülmektedir. Ülkemizdeki dindarlık oranı değerlendirildiğinde organ bağışı tutumlarına yönelik davranışlar daha da önem kazanmaktadır. Bu nedenle literatürde din ile organ bağışı ilişkisini araştıran çalışmalara ihtiyaç duyulmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın yapılma amacı literatürdeki dindarlık ile organ bağışı arasındaki ilişkiye yönelik ihtiyacı karşılamaktır. Buna bağlı olarak araştırmada şu hipotezler test edilmiştir: 1. Cinsiyete göre organ bağışı tutumlarında farklılaşma vardır. 2. Cinsiyete göre dini ibadet ve bireysel dindarlıkta farklılaşma vardır. 3. Yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerleri boyutu ile dini ibadet ve bireysel dindarlık arasında pozitif yönde korelasyon ilişkisi bulunmaktadır. 4. Yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerleri boyutuyla tıbbi ihmal korkusu ve bedensel yaralanma korkusu arasında negatif yönde ilişki vardır. 5. Dini ibadet, yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerlerini, tıbbi ihmal korkusunu ve bedensel yaralanma korkusunu yordamaktadır. 6. Bireysel dindarlık, yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerlerini, tıbbi ihmal korkusunu ve bedensel yaralanma korkusunu yordamaktadır. 7. Yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerleri boyutu, tıbbi ihmal korkusu ve bedensel yaralanma korkusunu yordamaktadır.
Bu çalışmada dindarlık ile organ bağışı tutumları arasındaki ilişkiler incelenmiştir. Dindarlık, bireysel dindarlık ve dini ibadetler olarak iki ayrı değişken olarak ele alınmıştır. Organ bağışı tutumlarının ise pozitif ve negatif olmak üzere iki yönü bulunmaktadır. Organ bağışı tutumunun pozitif yönünü; yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerleri, negatif yönünü ise tıbbi ihmal korkusu ve bedensel yaralanma korkusu temsil etmektedir.
Çalışmanın örneklemi 205 (E: 26,3%, K: 73,7%) üniversite öğrencisinden oluşmaktadır. Örneklemin yaş ortalaması 21.56’dır. Çalışmada organ bağışı tutum ölçeği, dini ibadet ölçeği ve bireysel dindarlık ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Organ Bağışı Tutum Ölçeği, Parisi ve Katz (1986) tarafından geliştirilmiş, Kent ve Owens (1995) tarafından tekrar revize edilmiştir. Sayın (2016) ise organ bağışı tutum ölçeğini Türkçe’ye uyarlamıştır. Dini İbadet ölçeği Ayten (2012) tarafından geliştirilmiştir. Bireysel Dindarlık Ölçeği ise Zagumny vd. (2012) tarafından geliştirilmiş, Ayten (2012) tarafından Türkçe’ye uyarlanmıştır. Çalışmada kullanılan ölçeklerin tümü istatistiki olarak güvenilir ve geçerlilik testlerinden geçmiştir.
Çalışmanın sonuçlarına bakıldığında; cinsiyet farklılaşmasına göre organ bağışı tutum ölçeğinin olumsuz alt boyutu olan bedensel yaralanma korkusu boyutunda istatistiki olarak anlamlı düzeyde farklılaşma bulunmuştur. Ayrıca cinsiyete göre dini ibadet konusunda da gruplar arasında farklılaşma tespit edilmiştir. Bireysel dindarlık ile yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerleri arasında korelasyon ilişkisi bulgulanmıştır. Dahası organ bağışı tutum ölçeğinin kendi alt boyutları arasında da anlamlı düzeyde korelasyon ilişkisi saptanmıştır. Bireysel dindarlık ile organ bağışının olumlu alt boyutu olan yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerleri boyutu arasında regresyon ilişkisi olduğu ortaya koyulmuştur. Organ bağışı tutumu ölçeğinin ahlaki, dini ve pro-sosyal boyutunu oluşturulan yardımseverlik ve ahlak/inanç değerleri boyutu ile organ bağışı tutumu ölçeğinin olumsuz alt boyutları olan tıbbi ihmal korkusu boyutu ve bedensel yaralanma korkusu boyutu arasında ise negatif yönde regresyon ilişkisi olduğu tespit edilmiştir.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Din Psikolojisi, Organ Bağışı Tutumları, Dindarlık, Dini İbadetler, Bireysel Dindarlık.

Given the prominence of Muslim veils—in particular the hijab and full-face veil—in public discourse concerning the place of Muslims in Western society, we examined their impact on non-Muslims’ responses at both explicit and implicit levels. Results revealed that responses were more negative toward any veil compared with no veil, and more negative toward the full-face veil relative to the hijab: for emotions felt toward veiled women (Study 1), for non-affective attitudinal responses (Study 2), and for implicit negative attitudes revealed through response latency measures (Studies 3a and 3b). Finally, we manipulated the perceived reasons for wearing a veil, finding that exposure to positive reasons for wearing a veil led to better predicted and imagined contact (Study 4). Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

In this essay we will explore how contemporary models of grief and continuing bonds with the dead help us understand the emergence of new religious traditions. Our thesis is that what we have learned about grief and continuing bonds with the dead fills in a missing dimension in Max Weber’s description of the institutionalization of the founder’s charisma into a new religious tradition. After an introduction with a brief overview of Weber’s thesis and then a summary of contemporary models of grief, we will examine three cases, one contemporary and two well developed religious traditions. We begin on a small scale by examining the grief of American converts to Tibetan Buddhism and the continuing bonds they maintain with their dead teacher. Then we will move to the largest scale by looking how the disciples’ continuing bonds with Gautama and Jesus were institutionalized in the doctrine and rituals of Buddhism and Christianity.

Bu eserde, Pakistanlı general Abdurrahim’in tüm dünyaya yaydığı Barnaba İncil’inin çarpıcı bölümlerin Türkçesini diğer İncillerle karşılaştırmalı olarak ilk defa masaya yatırıyoruz.
Pakistan’daki Begüm Aisha Bawany Vakfı tarafından kitap haline getirilerek İslâm dünyasına kazandırılan bu eserin derinlemesine tahlilini yapıyoruz. Tevhid eri olan Barnaba ile bugunkü Hristiyanlığın kurucusu Pavlus ve kilise sistemini kuran ilk papa Simon Petrus’un Hıristiyanlığını kıyaslıyoruz.
Son bulunan üç ayrı nüsha Barnaba İncil’lerinin etrafında son yıllarda büyük bir fırtına koparıldı. “Barnabas İncili” nüshalarının içeriği ve bunların tam olarak ortaya çıkarılamaması için yurt dışı ve dışı fesat şebekesi elinden geleni ardına koymadı.
Ne yazık ki henüz bu nüshaların tam metni henüz gün yüzüne çıkarılamadı. Tercüme edilen 19 sayfada da tevhitten başka bir şey yoktur. Zikrullah vardır. İbadet etmenin önemi, Allah’a eş koşmama vardır. Elbette piyasada ulaşılabilen ile arşivlerde saklanan arasında tam karşılaştırma şansına sahip değiliz.
Hristiyan literatüründe Barnaba İncili'nin adı nerede geçmişse, oraya bir muhalefet şerhi konmuş,
bu İncil'in, sahte ve uydurma olduğu, dolayısıyla reddedilmesi gerektiği ileri sürülmüştür. Hattâ
bu İncil'in, bir müslümanın hayal gücünün bir eseri olduğu iddia edilmiştir.
Barnaba İncili'nin Müslümanlar tarafından uydurulduğunu iddia eden Hıristiyanlık dünyası, esas
itibariyle bu tavırlarıyla havarisi oldukları ilim ve araştırma rûhuyla zıtlaşma içindedir.
Barnaba İncilinin sırrı er geç çözülecek ve Hristiyan dünyasında büyük bir çatlak, kırılma veya
yırtılma oluşturacak ve hakiki İsevileri İslam dünyasına yakınlaştıracaktır.
Ne var ki, İncil gökten yeniden inse ve bu orijinal nüshada Efendimizi müjdeleyen ayetler
halihazırda elimizdeki Barnaba İncilinde bulunan ayetler gibi apaçık görülse de, onlar, bu eski
inatları yüzünden inkarlarında ısrar edeceklerdir.
Tabii, bir gün bulunan bu İncil nüshası gün yüzüne çıktığında, tarihin yeniden yazılması da
kaçınılmaz olacaktır. Ve o gün bazıları şimdiye kadar yazdıklarından, söylediklerinden utanarak
saklanacak birer delik arayacaklardır.
Çünkü Barnaba bu incili Pavlus’la ayrılmasından sonra Kutsal kitabı değiştirmiş oldukları için
Nikolaycıların komplosuna karşı yazmıştı. Bugünkü Hıristiyan kilisesi, Nikolaycıların izindeydi,
bu nedenle Barnaba İncili’ni reddediyordu.Asıl geçerli “İbrahimi” inancın mirasçısı değildi.
Grek-Roma kültürü Yahudi dinsel iman içeriğini senkretizme (dinleri birbirine karıştırma) ile
şekillenmişti. Sezar'ın yaptığı gibi bir insanı Tanrı olarak onurlandırma çabası, Kutsal Üçlübirlik
doğması gibi putperest kaynaklara dayanıyordu.
Hristiyanlık ve Müslümanlık, ortak noktada tevhid esasında buluşacaksa Barnaba İncil’inin bu
sürece katkısı olacaktır. Asırlarca haçlı seferleri ile dinsizliği temsil eden savaş grubu tarafından
savaştırılan iki din mensuplarına muhtemel Barnaba açılımını sunuyoruz.

Global ve yerli  İlluminati, ülkemizde taktik değiştirdi ve ilk defa muhafazakar insanları ve Kürtleri de bünyeye aldı ve ülkenin gerçek sahiplerine karşı savaşımı sürdürüyor. Ergenekon soruşturmasında, örgütün dış istihbarat örgütleriyle ve masonlarla bağlantısı olduğuna polis ulaştı ama üzerine gidilemedi. Çarklar tersine dönüyordu, masonların çöküşü, Ergenekon'u ve içimize yerleştirdikleri baronlara ve askeri vesayete dayalı derin gücü bitirebilirdi. Bu nedenle ahtapotun bir parçası kesilerek yeni  bir yapı kuruldu, adına da Göktürk denildi. Ve Ergenekon ile savaş sona erdi. Bundan sonra AK Parti derin devletin üzerine gitmeyecekti, ittifak kurarak Türkiye'yi yıkacaktı. Başörtülü AKP ve Erdoğan ile ezilecekti. Bu Herc ü Merc'i kim durduracaktı? Şeytan mı kazanacaktı, yoksa Hz. İsa yeniden gelip hakem olacak ve adaleti mi sağlayacaktı. Şeytanları bilmeden, melekleri tanıyamazsınız.

The objective of the present study was to examine how Atheist, Christian, and Muslim elite athletes motivate themselves before competitions. Using a semi-structured format qualitative design, seventeen elite male volleyball players were interviewed. For Muslim athletes, the focus was on "Praying" with the highest frequency, while for Christian athletes the "Visualization" had the highest frequency. For Atheist athletes, "Winning the Game" was the highest frequency. Muslim, Christian, and Atheist athletes had similar motivation focus point as; "Want to Do the Best". When we compared the Muslim and Christian athletes, "Stay Alone" and "Want to Do the Best" were common motivation styles for them. They prefered to stay alone because of some reasons such as; suppress excitement, imagine, and relaxing. There was no similar expression between Muslim and Atheist athletes. "Desire to Win" and "Listen to Music" were common expressions for Christian and Atheist athletes.

The Vedic literature constitutes the fulcrum of Sanskrit literature and is repositories of some fundamental concepts of human rights. This manuscript endeavors to decode the tenets of human rights concealed in the Vedic texts. It further endeavors to view a connection between archaic Vedic literature and human rights and approaches the subject of human rights from the perspectives of Vedic texts. As an articulated concept, human rights have distinct western inception though the elements that constitute the concept postulate different cultural forms and are found in sundry civilizations of which one is Vedic civilization. The Vedic rights are certainly not akin to modern-day human rights but then it would not be feasible to expect much from the texts that are approximately 3500 to 4000 years old. Though the Vedic literature vividly resonates with some rudimentary conceptions of human rights, the relationship between Vedic literature and human rights is not entirely smooth and tension free. This manuscript withal fixates on the incongruities subsisting between Vedic literature and human rights.

When looking back on the spiritual experiences of women in the Middle Ages, often times we seek to understand the experiences through a pathological contextualization - ultimately assigning a diagnosis to explain their encounters. Women such as Joan of Arc and Hildegard of Bingen both experienced spiritual revelations where in which they appeared to have been communicating with a higher power through auditory, visual, and sensory incidences, which could easily be understood as hallucinations. However, while their experiences may fit into a diagnostic model and possibly the criteria for mental illness such as schizophrenia, it is important to understand and contextualize their experiences from a myriad of perspectives. Therefore, this paper examines the spiritual experiences of these women from psychological, spiritual, and cognitive directions, while exploring their unique and individual experiences. Additionally, their childhood experiences and idiosyncratic personal histories are explored as an illustrative framework for the way in which these women’s experiences occurred, emerged, and manifested.

简要回顾独特的美国神秘阿迪达(弗兰克林·琼斯)的生活和精神自传。一些版本封面上的贴纸上写着"有史以来最深刻的精神自传",这很可能是真的。我70多岁,读过许多由精神导师和灵性的书,这是最伟大的之一。当然,这是迄今为止我所见过的启蒙过程最全面、最清晰的描述。即使你对人类最迷人的心理过程毫无兴趣,它还是一个惊人的文件,揭示了很多关于宗教、瑜伽和人类心理学的信息,并探讨了人类可能性的深度和局限性。我详细地描述了它,并将他的教学与当代印度神秘奥修的教导进行比较。
那些希望从现代两个系统的观点来看为人类行为建立一个全面的最新框架的人,可以查阅我的书《路德维希的哲学、心理学、Min d和语言的逻辑结构》维特根斯坦和约翰·西尔的《第二部》(2019年)。那些对我更多的作品感兴趣的人可能会看到《会说话的猴子——一个末日星球上的哲学、心理学、科学、宗教和政治——文章和评论2006-2019年第3次(2019年)和自杀乌托邦幻想21篇世纪4日 (2019)

Socio-Historical Examination of Religion and Ministry (SHERM) is a biannual, not-for-profit, peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes the latest social scientific, historiographic, and ecclesiastic research on religious institutions and their practices. SHERM is dedicated to the critical and scholarly inquiry of historical and contemporary religious phenomena, both from within particular religious traditions and across cultural boundaries, so as to inform the broader socio-historical analysis of religion and its related fields of study.

In partnership with the FaithX Project, SHERM is a full, no-fee, open access academic journal, which means it publishes and publicly makes available your research without charging subscription dues or publishing fees. Whereas other open access journals still require authors to pay for making their publications available, SHERM believes in making high-quality scholarship accessible to the public while promoting the wide dissemination and visibility of your published article. Our goal is to increase the opportunity for erudite academicians to publish their work, gain a larger readership outside the confines of conventional journals, and receive citations from future researchers.

There is an increasing interest in the scientific study of the association between spirituality and recovery from addiction. While most of these studies have provided evidence for a possible relationship, others have explored the underlying mechanisms and meditators in the relationship. However, generally, many studies and reviews have not approached the issue within a specific theoretical framework of mainstream psychology. In an attempt to fill this gap, the review being reported here undertook a Qualitative Systematic Literature Review (QSLR) of addiction-spirituality literature. QSLR is an orderly manner of searching for academic literature, selecting relevant literature following a set of inclusion/exclusion criteria, qualitatively analysing the selected literature, and reporting the findings in such a way as to generate a set of hypotheses. QSLR focusses on literary data, rather than on numerical data as the tradition Systematic Literature Review and Meta-analysis do. Working ...

How do images, idols and pictorial representations of the supernatural define our ability to decipher God? How does language communicate what is seen into what is audible or written? This is a humble attempt to look at religion from a different perspective, this piece was inspired by reading the first work of Ludwig Wittgenstein.

The article examines the associations between spiritual transformation and leadership styles. Spirituality and spiritual transformation are defined and literature on authentic, servant, spiritual and transformational leadership theories are presented. The article looks at outcomes and the effects of a spiritual transformation by aligning them with the traits adopted from the leadership theories mentioned. Consideration is given to application of a spiritually transformed leader and his/her/their relationship with the team and organization.

Keywords: spirituality, spiritual transformation, leadership theory, leadership style.

Öz: Ülkemizde köklü bir geçmişe ve geniş bir gruba hitap eden tasavvuf, din psikolojisi açısından oldukça zengin verilerin bulunduğu bir alandır. Ancak tasavvufi yaşam içerisindeki dinamiklerin din psikolojisi bağlamında hangi yöntem ve teknikler aracılığı ile incelenip araştırılacağı henüz net olarak belirgin değildir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, din psikolojisinde merkezi bir kavram olarak kabul edilen dindarlığın tecrübi boyutunun, tasavvuf psikolojisi çalışmaları için bir hareket noktası olarak alınıp alınamayacağını tartışmaktır. Bu amaçla özellikle dini tecrübe, mistik tecrübe ve tasavvufi tecrübe kavramları aktarılmıştır. Ardından tasavvuf psikolojisinin dindarlığın tecrübi boyutu içerisinde çalışılmasını gerektirecek argümanlar tartışılmıştır. Son olarak ise tasavvuf psikolojisinin din psikolojisinin bir alt alanı olarak kabul edilmesinin gerekliliği vurgulanarak alanda çalışan araştırmacı ve akademisyenler için tasavvuf psikolojisi kavramının yeni bir tanımı yapılmıştır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Din psikolojisi, tasavvuf psikolojisi, dindarlığın tecrübî boyutu, dinî tecrübe, dindarlık.

Abstract: Sufism with a long and deep-root history targets a large group in Turkey today. Sufism is an area providing rich data for psychology of religion studies. Although its importance, it is not clear on what kind of methods and techniques should be used in order to analyse and explore the dynamics of mystical life for the psychology of religion studies. The aim of this study is to discuss whether the experiential dimension, accepted as
a key concept in the psychology of religion, can be taken as a starting point for the studies of Sufi Psychology in the future. To achieve this goal, firstly, the frame work and the concept of religious, mystical and Sufi experience are explained. Then, the argument that the study of Sufi psychology should be studied within scope of experiential dimension of religiousness is discussed. Finally, by emphasizing the necessity of accepting psychology of Sufism as a subarea of the psychology of religion, a new definition for the Sufi psychology is proposed for the researchers and academics working in the field.

The aim of this article is to reveal with an overall approach, how the psycho-social background, starting from woman image in first periods and reach modern day, is embraced by outstanding theorists of modern psychology, and also how these collected works are reflected in their definitions of woman. If it is considered that woman has been discussed with reflections against and not from primary sources throughout history, it can be seen that the most essential roots of woman narrations can be found in oral culture and the parts of written texts are made over symbol, metaphor, proposition and story. However myths (stories) that take place in oral and partly written culture about primitive man, are sacred tales, they will also present data regarding human image. Therefore with a limited effort of human being to understand the infinite, it can be understood what human being think, feel and how they interpret rather than gods/goddesses ontology. From this point of view, this article that consists of two parts, first of all will mention especially about perception of Goddess in those reflected to image of God, maintaining its efficiency in conscious or unconscious as a system of symbols intrinsic to human nature and cultural code background and then the woman image will be roughly discussed with a descriptive style over the world of mythology, psychology and faith. In the second part, it will be examined in detail how all the written and oral information about understanding woman by modern anthropologists are interpreted with the perspective of modern psychology specific to theorists such as Freud, Jung and Fromm. Eventually, it will be emphasized that past and future are integrated with information, experience and feelings with an active relationship; perception and approach of woman have stayed up to date in time continually; mythology, psychology and religion are important factors within this matter.

Summary: Human being has also used historical, temporal and spatial attributions for God. Infinite human being has expressed their  thoughts about the finite God by analogy. Despite the dominance of male gender in the images of God in these analogies which are the products of human experience, female Gods that is to say Goddesses are not few. The matter of how the image of goddess come to the fore in a distinctly male-dominant society is a noteworthy matter. The narration of Earth Mother over female symbol in myths in which the harmony is constantly secured within the inner and exterior world  and mention about living in harmony with the universe is an important data in order to understand female characteristics attributed to God. Human being has also used historical, temporal and spatial attributions for God. Infinite human being has expressed their  thoughts about the finite God by analogy.

The woman subject is influenced by transferred life experience within the historical process, and it is an undeniable fact that ancient “woman perception” has reflections to the present day. Within the history of humanity, striking definitions about woman can be seen in sacred statements in symbol language. Therefore, it is proper to examine primarily the image of sacred and then examine female meaning that is charged on that image. The aim of this study can be summed up with two themes: a) try to understand the general framework of reflections of the present image of woman, style of narration and comprehension in psychological, sociological, and religious terms by getting help from myths which mention about ancient image of God, although there is centuries old difference between those stories and us, b) reveal the image of woman in Freud, Jung, and Fromm’s approach which establishes a bond between mythology that is a system of symbols special to human nature and human psychology and discuss this subject by using psychology of religion.

When reviewed ancient Far East and Middle East myths and also Ancient Greek mythology, it can be seen that gods are not cloistered supernatural beings who do not have abstract personalities and also do not lead a wholly metaphysic life. The crucial issue here is; the reality that Gods and Goddesses are shown as a model to both man and woman. Psychologists who examine religion in terms of psychology state that first outcomes about the image of God come up not with behavior but with emotion. The attributions of gender, related to the emotion in question are cited during the transfer of those emotions as well. Therefore; philosophers, culture and religion historians, theologians, anthropologists, archaeologists, psychologists, and sociologists have contributed to this transfer when they discuss the cult of God or Goddess throughout the history. It is interesting that the usage of the term of God maintains while the usage of the term of Goddess decreases.

Civilization historians claim that the appearance of divine religions particularly quickens the course of transition from goddess to god. According to them, during this period in which there is a transfer from polytheist image of God to monotheist image of God, the quantitative change in the perception of God comes with a qualitative change. According to Fromm, during this power gathering period, there has been a transfer from mother and feminine (woman) centered religion to father and masculine (man) centered religious experience/ God image. According to him, in the second stage of humanity development, “the children of Earth Mother turn into the children of divine father”, there is a transition from unconditional love of mother to authoritarian sympathy of father, from an image of supplemental and surrounding Goddess to authoritarian image of God who makes requests by his nature, lays down principles and laws, and supports the power and search for a successor to deliver the power.

The perception of women who led to Prophet Adam deviated from the truth and expelled from heaven is spread around especially the regions of one-God religions. This has strengthened the idea that divine religions have a negative view towards women. Including Islam, the reason of all divine religions’ encountering with claims that they have a negative approach against woman stem from applying to that religions’ human resources rather than essential religious sources which are existing or lost earliest forms.

Oedipus complex is an important thesis of Freud which explains the development of religion and morals; establish the base of his psychology, and in fact, important in terms of his making connection with difference of kinds and flow or non-flow of request and needs while explaining human behaviors. According to Freud who points to sexuality and aggression which are the most powerful two instinct in the biology of male or female; the first three or five years of a newly born human- this is the period in which the basic part of personality is formed- the definition of self is extremely influenced by his/her gender (in both biological and sociocultural terms). Freud who put forward father-son conflict in the struggle to survive between Zeus and his sons in Moses and Monotheism (1998c) and Totem and Taboo (1998a), makes an explanation about the origin of religion and humanity over two male characters. Jung pays attention to goddess image as much as the image of god and do not approach this situation only as a polytheism or sociocultural explanation or childish appearances of a primitive mind. He accepts goddesses as a reflection of archetypes in human. Male has a feminine side, female has a masculine side, and a unity occurs when both complete each other. According to Fromm, a taxonomy referring to woman and man is primarily a sociology-based approach rather than a biology-based one. Fromm (1995) thinks that the whole depiction shows individuals’ own desire and needs, that is to say, their psychology rather than a theology. Transition from mother (woman) centered religion to father (man) centered religious experience and God image is essentially one of the most important breaking/inversion points of human being, not humanity.


As a result, it can be said that it is an important point to clearly understand the story of mankind to examine that intense freshness at hand and centeredness of quantitative and qualitative changes of divine or God image of ancient societies come down after psychological, sociological, religious, economic, political, and cultural changes.

Most clinicians are familiar with the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which has been adapted for Christian clients (see e.g., Jennings, Davis, Hook, & Worthington, 2013). Michelle Pearce offers clinicians a primer integrating CBT with Christian spirituality (CCBT) applied by using seven specific interventions, which she calls treatment tools. Following three introductory chapters, seven chapters explain the treatment tools.

Islamophobic sentiments in the Western world have gained scientific attention, particularly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. However, the effects of religious stigma on Muslim minorities’ identity formation have rarely been studied. Using structural equation modeling, this cross-sectional study examined direct and indirect effects of different forms of religious stigma on the national affiliation of 210 Norwegian-Pakistani and 216 German-Turkish Muslims. Furthermore, the study examined the mediator role of religious identity. Our results suggest that being a Muslim in Norway is more reconcilable with affiliating with the nation than being a Muslim in Germany. However, across the samples, the results indicated that various forms of religious stigma affected Muslims’ national identity and engagement in the public and private sphere in distinct ways. These effects were both positive and negative, differed between the two samples, and in Germany, were mediated by the participants’ religious identity. The findings indicated that the ways in which religious stigma influences Muslims’ national affiliation is context and culture bound.

“Only the thought-wave which emanates from the spiritual plane will save humanity from the devastating influence of dogma, which separates humans from humans, which creates hindrances in the remolding of human society into a single existence. This process of rationalization should be developed through the intrinsic human potential of remodeling every aspect of mind. We must do this in the near future. The problem is a peculiar one, but we must solve it, because it has created so many troubles, so many divisions in human society – so many sanguinary battles, so much warfare,” explains Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar. “So we will have to solve this problem and create a new world in all the three emanations of life – physical, psychic and spiritual. I hope you boys and girls, by your collective effort, will do something concrete in this respect. You are not insignificant beings; you are the glorified expressions of the Supreme Lord. So you will have to do something concrete immediately. The problem brooks no delay.” This is the fourth of several discourses (the first is “Dogma and Human Intellect”, the second is “Dogma—No More” and the third is “The Liberation of Intellect”) for all intellectuals about dogma, mental expansion and the liberation of intellect.  P. R. Sarkar, (1921-1990), was a spiritual guru (also known as Shrii Shrii Anandamurti) in the tradition of Shiva and Krishna, who founded Renaissance Universal to promote a new global renaissance, and who founded the socio-spiritual movement Ananda Marga (“the Path of Bliss”).  –  Richard Gauthier, Department of Chemistry and Physics, Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California, USA, May 7, 2021.

你可以在第135或326页快速获得这本书的摘要。如果你对进化心理学没有跟上速度,你应该先阅读标题中这个术语的最近许多文本之一。其中最好的是《进化心理学手册》第二部,由Buss出版。直到大约15年前,对行为的解释还不是对心理过程的真正解释,而是对人们做了什么和说什么的模糊和基本上无用的描述,而对原因却一无所知。我们可以说,人们聚集纪念一个事件,赞美上帝,接受他(或她或他们)的祝福,等等。,但这一切都没有描述相关的心理过程,因此,我们可以说,他们是解释的方式,它解释了为什么一个苹果下降到地面,如果我们说它,因为我们释放它,而且它很重,没有机制,也没有解释或预测能力。这本书继续阐明人类行为的遗传基础,学术界、宗教界、政界和公众几乎普遍忽视和否认(见平克的优秀书《空白斯莱特》)。他的陈述(p3)认为,问宗教是否遗传是没有意义的,因为任何行为因基因和环境而发生变异的百分比都可以被研究,就像所有其他行为一样(见Pinker)。标题应该是"初步尝试解释原始宗教的某些方面",因为他根本不对待更高的意识(例如,萨托里,启蒙等),这是迄今为止最有趣的现象,也是唯一的21世纪对聪明、受过教育的人个人感兴趣的宗教的一部分。读整本书,你永远不会猜到这样的事情存在。同样,对于毒品和宗教的巨大领域。它缺乏一个理性的框架,没有提及思想观的双重体系,这种观念现在如此富有成效。因为我建议我最近的一些论文。然而,这本书有很多的兴趣,尽管日期仍然值得一读。

那些希望从现代两个系统的观点来看为人类行为建立一个全面的最新框架的人,可以查阅我的书《路德维希的哲学、心理学、Mind 和语言的逻辑结构》维特根斯坦和约翰·西尔的《第二部》(2019年)。那些对我更多的作品感兴趣的人可能会看到《会说话的猴子——一个末日星球上的哲学、心理学、科学、宗教和政治——文章和评论2006-2019年第3次(2019年)和自杀乌托邦幻想21篇世纪4日(2019年)。

The objective of this study was to employ the theory of planned behavior in examining the inclusion of Islamic religiosity in predicting Islamic ethical work behavior. Islamic religiosity was included as Islam plays a dominant role in Brunei's society. Participants consisted of 370 Malay Muslim teachers. Structural equation modeling was used to test three proposed models. While Model 1 was based on the theory of planned behavior, it does not take into consideration the distinctive Islamic context of the Bruneian society. Hence, Model 2 was proposed to include Islamic religiosity. To better reflect the population, a model with Islamic religiosity was further augmented leading to Model 3. Results showed support for only two models: Model 1 and Model 3. Model 3 was revised by removing non-significant paths. Model comparison indicated that the revised Model 3 (AIC = 100.82; BIC = 103.55) is a better model than Model 1 (AIC = 141.88; BIC = 143.98). This suggests that the predictive power of the theory of planned behavior can be improved by including dominant cultural factors, such as religiosity, that affect a person's belief. In conclusion, it can be said that religion is indispensable in exploring and understanding how the people in Brunei think and behave in their workplace and society.

Anomalous experiences (AE) (uncommon experiences or one that is believed to deviate from the usually accepted explanations of reality: hallucinations, synesthesia, experiences interpreted as telepathic …) and altered states of consciousness (ASC) have been described in all societies of all ages. Even so, scientists have long neglected the studies on this theme. To study AE and ASC is not necessary to share the beliefs we explore, they can be investigated as subjective experiences and correlated with other data, like any other human experience. This article presents some methodological guidelines to investigate these experiences, among them: to avoid dogmatic prejudice and to 'pathologize' the unusual; the value of a theory and a comprehensive literature review; to utilize a variety of criteria for pathology and normality; the investigation of clinical and non-clinical populations; development of new appropriate research instruments; to be careful to choose the wording to describe the AE; to distinguished the lived experience from its interpretations; to take into account the role of culture; to evaluate the validity and reliability of reports and, last but not least, creativity and diversity in choosing methods.

What lies at the heart of humanity's capacity for evil? Any tenable answer to this age-old question must include an explanation of our penchant for objectifying and dehumanizing our fellow human beings. The Objectification Spectrum: Understanding and Transcending Our Diminishment and Dehumanization of Others draws upon timeless wisdom and gripping historical accounts to propose a new model of objectification. Rather than offering a narrow definition of the term, the author explores objectification as a spectrum of misapprehension running from its mildest form, casual indifference, to its most extreme manifestation, dehumanization. Using vivid examples to clearly demarcate three primary levels of objectification, the author engages in a thoughtful exploration of various dispositional and situational factors contributing to this uniquely human phenomenon. These include narcissism, the ego, death denial, toxic situations, and our perceived boundaries of self, among others.  Rector then gives us reason to hope by orienting his model of objectification into a broader continuum of human capability--one that includes a countervailing enlightenment spectrum. Gleaning insights from classic philosophy, the world's five most prominent religious traditions, and current social science research, he examines the best antidotes humankind has devised thus far to move us from casual concern for our fellow human beings toward interconnectedness and, ultimately, unity consciousness. Broad in scope and deeply penetrating, The Objectification Spectrum advances the conversation about the nature of human evil into personally relevant, potentially transformative territory.

Spirituality has remained a controversial subject matter of psychological research. In spite of this fact, the volume of research grows alongside the development of civilization processes in the Western world. Mostly, these are analyses of spirituality in the substantial approach, particularly that recognizing spirituality as what the research subjects consider it to be. The views of psychologists of interest in the present analysis can be divided into: overt and hidden ones. The first kind includes concepts of philosophical, psychoanalytic, and humanistic origins (usually not subjected to operationalization); the second kind are those whose authors were not in need of recognizing them as theories of spirituality; nevertheless, they seem to have much in common with spirituality. The proposed solution is spirituality as the process of a unique transformation whose outcome is a more or less successful coping with an existential situation. Since it is possible to distinguish provisiona...

"Dying is a spiritual event with medical implications,"
opined Gwen London, the former
director of the Institute on Care at the End of
Life at Duke University (xv). Living Well and
Dying Faithjully contains 12 chapters by 12 different
authors organized into three sections:
Practices of Living to Die Well, Practices of Faithful
Suffering, and Practices of Healing and Hope.
The editors' purpose may be found in their introduction:
"By encouraging a reflective dialogue
between the practices of medicine and Christian
practices, this book, we hope, will provide a
unique space within which the movement
toward faithful dying can be encouraged, nurtured,
and actualized" (xxiv).

Since December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused serious mental health challenges and consequently the Turkish population has been adversely affected by the virus. The present study examined how meaning in life related to loneliness and the degree to which religious coping strategies mediated these relations. Participants were a sample of 872 adults (242 males and 360 females) drawn from general public in Turkey. Data were collected using Meaning in Life Questionnaire, UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the Religious Coping Measure. Meaning in life was associated with more positive religious coping and less negative religious coping and loneliness. Positive religious coping was associated with less loneliness, while negative religious coping was associated with more loneliness. Religious coping strategies mediated the impact of meaning in life on loneliness. These findings suggest that greater meaning in life may link with lesser loneliness due to, in part, an increased level of positi...

Three documents connected with popular religiosity in Russian province are published and commented. They have been found in the archive among the data on ideological work in the Kirov region in 1972. The first document is a letter, which was sent to the editorial board of the regional party newspaper. The author naively asks where he can get the Gospel. He wants to study the Apostle John’s Apocalypse, because John, according to his statement, had predicted a «catastrophic collapse of the world capitalist system». The second document is a copy of an anonymous leaflet compiled of cut out printed letters. It has to be read with the help of a mirror. The authorities were criticized in the leaflet, the Russian people were called for repentance and were appealed to read the Apocalypse. The distribution of the leaflet was like of a «holy letter». The third document is a statement addressed to the chairman of the executive committee by a woman who was alarmed at the heat and fires in summer 1972. She offers to gather clergy and conduct a religious procession (krestny khod). Weather anomalies and social discontent caused apocalyptic forebodings. These forebodings were manifested in the spread of rumors and «holy letters». Публикуются и комментируются три документа о народной религиозности в русской провинции. Они выявлены в архивном деле с материалами по идеологической работе в Кировской области за 1972 год. Первый документ — письмо в редакцию областной партийной газеты, автор которого наивно спрашивал, где можно раздобыть Евангелие. Он хотел изучить Апокалипсис апостола Иоанна, предсказавшего «катастрофическую гибель мировой системы капитализма». Второй документ — копия листовки, которая не была подписана, состояла из вырезанных печатных букв и которую нужно было прочитывать в зеркальном отражении. Листовка критиковала власть, призывала русский народ к покаянию за грехи, призывала читать Апокалипсис. Распространять её нужно было наподобие «святого письма». Третий документ — заявление председателю исполкома от гражданки, обеспокоенной случившимися летом 1972 года жарой и пожарами. Она предлагала собрать духовенство и провести крестный ход. Погодные аномалии и социальная неудовлетворенность вызывали апокалипсические предчувствия. Они проявлялись в распространении слухов и «святых писем».