Religious Beliefs Evolutionary Psychiatry And Mental Health In America

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Religious Beliefs, Evolutionary Psychiatry, and Mental Health in America

Author : Kevin J. Flannelly
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319524887
Total Pages : 341 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (195 download)

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Book Synopsis Religious Beliefs, Evolutionary Psychiatry, and Mental Health in America by : Kevin J. Flannelly

Download or read book Religious Beliefs, Evolutionary Psychiatry, and Mental Health in America written by Kevin J. Flannelly and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-04-08 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a new perspective on the association between religious beliefs and mental health. The book is divided into five parts, the first of which traces the development of theories of organic evolution in the cultural and religious context before Charles Darwin. Part II describes the major evolutionary theories that Darwin proposed in his three books on evolution, and the religious, sociological, and scientific reactions to his theories. Part III introduces the reader to the concept of evolutionary psychiatry. It discusses how different regions of the brain evolved over time, and explains that certain brain regions evolved to protect us from danger by assessing threats of harm in the environment, including other humans. Specifically, this part describes: how psychiatric symptoms that are commonly experienced by normal individuals during their everyday lives are the product of brain mechanisms that evolved to protect us from harm; the prevalence rate of psychiatric symptoms in the U.S. general population; how religious and other beliefs influence the brain mechanisms that underlie psychiatric symptoms; and the brain regions that are involved in different psychiatric disorders. Part IV presents the findings of U.S. studies demonstrating that positive beliefs about God and life-after-death, and belief in meaning-in-life and divine forgiveness have salutary associations with mental health, whereas negative beliefs about God and life-after-death, belief in the Devil and human evil, and doubts about one’s religious beliefs have pernicious associations with mental health. The last part of the book summarizes each section and recommends research on the brain mechanism underlying psychiatric symptoms, and the relationships among these brain mechanisms, religious beliefs, and mental health in the context of ETAS Theory.

Christianity and Psychiatry

Author : John R. Peteet
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030808548
Total Pages : 313 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (38 download)

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Book Synopsis Christianity and Psychiatry by : John R. Peteet

Download or read book Christianity and Psychiatry written by John R. Peteet and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-09-02 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book aims to help readers appreciate the many-faceted relationship between Christianity, one of the world’s major faith traditions, and the practice of psychiatry. Chapter authors in this book first consider challenges posed by historical antagonisms, church-based mental health stigma, and controversy over phenomena such as hearing voices. Next, others explore both how Christians often experience conditions such as mood and psychotic disorders, disorders in children and adolescents, moral injury and PTSD, and ways that their faith can serve as a resource in their healing. Twelve Step spirituality, originally informed by Christianity, is the subject of a chapter, as are issues raised for Christians by disability, death and dying. A set of chapters then focuses on the state of integration of Christian beliefs and practices into psychotherapy, treatment delivery, educational programming, clergy/clinician collaboration, and treatment by a non-Christian psychiatrist. Finally, there are chapters by a mental health professional who has been a patient, a Jewish psychiatrist, a Muslim psychiatrist knowledgeable about Christianity and psychiatry in the Muslim majority world, and a Christian psychiatrist. These chapters provide context, diversity and personal perspectives. Christianity and Psychiatry is a valuable resource for mental health professionals seeking to understand and address the particular challenges that arise when caring for Christian patients.

Religion and Psychiatry

Author : Peter Verhagen
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 0470694718
Total Pages : 690 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (76 download)

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Book Synopsis Religion and Psychiatry by : Peter Verhagen

Download or read book Religion and Psychiatry written by Peter Verhagen and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2010-01-19 with total page 690 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religion (and spirituality) is very much alive and shapes the cultural values and aspirations of psychiatrist and patient alike, as does the choice of not identifying with a particular faith. Patients bring their beliefs and convictions into the doctor-patient relationship. The challenge for mental health professionals, whatever their own world view, is to develop and refine their vocabularies such that they truly understand what is communicated to them by their patients. Religion and Psychiatry provides psychiatrists with a framework for this understanding and highlights the importance of religion and spirituality in mental well-being. This book aims to inform and explain, as well as to be thought provoking and even controversial. Patiently and thoroughly, the authors consider why and how, when and where religion (and spirituality) are at stake in the life of psychiatric patients. The interface between psychiatry and religion is explored at different levels, varying from daily clinical practice to conceptual fieldwork. The book covers phenomenology, epidemiology, research data, explanatory models and theories. It also reviews the development of DSM V and its awareness of the importance of religion and spirituality in mental health. What can religious traditions learn from each other to assist the patient? Religion and Psychiatry discusses this, as well as the neurological basis of religious experiences. It describes training programmes that successfully incorporate aspects of religion and demonstrates how different religious and spiritual traditions can be brought together to improve psychiatric training and daily practice. Describes the relationship of the main world religions with psychiatry Considers training, policy and service delivery Provides powerful support for more effective partnerships between psychiatry and religion in day to day clinical care This is the first time that so many psychiatrists, psychologists and theologians from all parts of the world and from so many different religious and spiritual backgrounds have worked together to produce a book like this one. In that sense, it truly is a World Psychiatric Association publication. Religion and Psychiatry is recommended reading for residents in psychiatry, postgraduates in theology, psychology and psychology of religion, researchers in psychiatric epidemiology and trans-cultural psychiatry, as well as professionals in theology, psychiatry and psychology of religion

Religion and Mental Health

Author : Harold G. Koenig
Publisher : Academic Press
ISBN 13 : 9780128112823
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (128 download)

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Book Synopsis Religion and Mental Health by : Harold G. Koenig

Download or read book Religion and Mental Health written by Harold G. Koenig and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2018-03-13 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religion and Mental Health: Research and Clinical Applications summarizes research on how religion may help people better cope or exacerbate their stress, covering its relationship to depression, anxiety, suicide, substance abuse, well-being, happiness, life satisfaction, optimism, generosity, gratitude and meaning and purpose in life. The book looks across religions and specific faiths, as well as to spirituality for those who don't ascribe to a specific religion. It integrates research findings with best practices for treating mental health disorders for religious clients, also covering religious beliefs and practices as part of therapy to treat depression and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Religion and Mental Health

Author : John F. Schumaker
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0195361490
Total Pages : 329 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (953 download)

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Book Synopsis Religion and Mental Health by : John F. Schumaker

Download or read book Religion and Mental Health written by John F. Schumaker and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1992-10-15 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an interdisciplinary collection of previously unpublished papers on the controversial relationship between religious behavior and mental health. Schumaker has assembled a distinguished international roster of contributors--sociologists and anthropologists as well as psychiatrists and psychologists of religion--representing a wide range of opinions concerning the mental health implications of religious belief and practice. Taken together, the papers provide a comprehensive overview of theory and research in the field. Included are papers on the interaction of religion and self-esteem, life meaning and well-being, sexual and marital adjustment, anxiety, depression, suicide, psychoticism, rationality, self-actualization, and various patterns of anti-social behavior. Religion is also dealt with in relation to mental health of women, the elderly, and children. Contributions dealing with mental health in non-Western religious groups add an important cross-cultural dimension to the volume.

Is Religion Good for Your Health?

Author : Harold G Koenig
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317971264
Total Pages : 166 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (179 download)

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Book Synopsis Is Religion Good for Your Health? by : Harold G Koenig

Download or read book Is Religion Good for Your Health? written by Harold G Koenig and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-23 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is Religion Good for Your Health? takes you deep into the heart of the ageless debate on the importance of religion and faith to physical and mental health. On the one hand, you will learn about important research findings from cross-sectional, longitudinal, and intervention studies that have demonstrated positive effects of religious belief on both mental and physical health. On the other hand, you will learn how the vast clinical experiences of leading health experts suggest that religion can have negative effects on health. Integral to the book’s exploration of the relationship between health and religion are the trends that have occurred in society over the last century. You will learn about significant demographic changes, changes in health and health care, and shifts in values, attitudes, and religious conviction, all of which have direct implications for health care providers, the clergy, the “baby boomers,” and older adults. From Author Harold Koenig, a leading expert on religion and health who has frequently been interviewed by major broadcasting networks such as ABC, National Public Radio, the British Broadcasting Corporation, NBC, CBS, and “Ivanhoe Broadcast News,” you will also learn about: pathological uses of religion the need for cooperation and collaboration between health and religious professionals studies on the relationship of religious beliefs and practice to physical conditions such as blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and cancer links between religious behavior and depression, anxiety, and drug use the waning of religion’s influence in America first-hand accounts from patients who have faced painful and/or life-threatening illness As Is Religion Good for Your Health? analyzes the pathological aspects of religion, you will begin to understand how religious beliefs have the capacity to strongly influence people’s lives and their health, whether positively or negatively. Health care providers, public policy experts, religious professionals, medical researchers, and medical students will find the book’s overview of the issues at stake, particularly the implications for our public health care system, crucial to the advancement of health care practice into the next century.

Spirituality in Healthcare: Perspectives for Innovative Practice

Author : Fiona Timmins
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3030044203
Total Pages : 223 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (3 download)

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Book Synopsis Spirituality in Healthcare: Perspectives for Innovative Practice by : Fiona Timmins

Download or read book Spirituality in Healthcare: Perspectives for Innovative Practice written by Fiona Timmins and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-05-17 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a condensed but comprehensive up-to-date overview of spirituality and its application to health care. The need for healthcare workers to provide spiritual care or meet patients’ spiritual needs is gaining increasing importance in nursing and midwifery policy at local, national and international level. Internationally, there is a growing belief in spirituality as a valid dimension of care. The book highlights a range of examples and case studies facilitating the practical application of the recommendations discussed. In addition to presenting new psychological perspectives, various activities throughout will encourage readers to form their own opinion on the issues covered. The suggestions for further reading and useful websites will also help readers interested in exploring specific areas in more depth. Combining contributions by authors from various disciplines, the book offers a valuable tool for qualified professional healthcare workers in practice, including nurses, social workers, doctors and chaplains. With its handy format, this practical pocket guide offers a faithful companion for practitioners.

Working with Spiritual Struggles in Psychotherapy

Author : Kenneth I. Pargament
Publisher : Guilford Publications
ISBN 13 : 1462524311
Total Pages : 409 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (625 download)

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Book Synopsis Working with Spiritual Struggles in Psychotherapy by : Kenneth I. Pargament

Download or read book Working with Spiritual Struggles in Psychotherapy written by Kenneth I. Pargament and published by Guilford Publications. This book was released on 2021-11-10 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does my life have any deeper meaning? Does God really care about me? How can I find and follow my moral compass? What do I do when my faith is shaken to the core? Spiritual trials, doubts, or conflicts are often intertwined with mental health concerns, yet many psychotherapists feel ill equipped to discuss questions of faith. From pioneers in the psychology of religion and spirituality, this book combines state-of-the-art research, clinical insights, and vivid case illustrations. It guides clinicians to understand spiritual struggles as critical crossroads in life that can lead to brokenness and decline--or to greater wholeness and growth. Clinicians learn sensitive, culturally responsive ways to assess different types of spiritual struggles and help clients use them as springboards to change.

Religious Studies, Theology, and Human Flourishing

Author : Justin Thomas McDaniel
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0197658342
Total Pages : 225 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (976 download)

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Book Synopsis Religious Studies, Theology, and Human Flourishing by : Justin Thomas McDaniel

Download or read book Religious Studies, Theology, and Human Flourishing written by Justin Thomas McDaniel and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2024 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Religious Studies, Theology, and Human Flourishing contains essays by nine prominent scholars of religious studies and theology on approaches to cultivating human flourishing within the field of positive psychology. Part of The Humanities and Human Flourishing series, this volume represents perspectives from north India to the buckle of the American Bible Belt and explores the implications of religious studies and theology for well-being, illuminating connections between theory, pedagogy, and practice.

Faith, Medicine, and Science

Author : Harold G Koenig
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135422737
Total Pages : 311 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (354 download)

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Book Synopsis Faith, Medicine, and Science by : Harold G Koenig

Download or read book Faith, Medicine, and Science written by Harold G Koenig and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-11 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A perfect introduction to the connection between religious faith and physical and mental health! Faith, Medicine, and Science: A Festschrift in Honor of Dr. David B. Larson is a comprehensive collection of groundbreaking work from one of the principal figures in the establishment, expansion, and acceptance of scientific research at the interface of religion, spirituality, and health. Dr. Jeff Levin and Dr. Harold G. Koenig honor their late colleague with a retrospective of his writings on the impact of religious faith and identity on physical and mental health and on a variety of social issues, including criminal behavior, substance abuse, mental illness, juvenile delinquency, reproductive decisions, marital satisfaction, family functioning, and the quality of life. The book also features a concise history of the religion and health field, a biography of Dr. Larson, and tributes, essays, and remembrances from the leading figures in the field. Faith, Medicine, and Science honors Dr. Larson’s role in raising awareness of the health effects of religious faith and his vision and efforts in establishing coursework on religion and spirituality within undergraduate and graduate medical education programs. His body of theoretical and empirical writings serves as a permanent record of the powerful role played by religion and spirituality, and his work stands as a lasting contribution to science, medicine, and society. These articles combine with the book’s supplemental features to provide social and behavioral scientists, medical researchers, and clinicians with an essential resource for clinical research and education. Topics examined in Faith, Medicine, and Science include: the religious life of alcoholics religion, spirituality, and mortality the impact of religion on men’s blood pressure the systematic analysis of research on religious variables a systematic review of nursing home research religious affiliations in mental health research samples as compared with national samples the associations between dimensions of religious commitment and mental health and much more! Faith, Medicine, and Science: A Festschrift in Honor of Dr. David B. Larson documents the work of one of the most important writers on the interface of the human spirit and the healing arts. His death in 2002 at the age of 54 remains a profound loss, but through this book, his pioneering research will continue to serve as a thorough and accessible introduction to the religion and health field.

Human Interaction with the Divine, the Sacred, and the Deceased

Author : Thomas G. Plante
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000418006
Total Pages : 302 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (4 download)

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Book Synopsis Human Interaction with the Divine, the Sacred, and the Deceased by : Thomas G. Plante

Download or read book Human Interaction with the Divine, the Sacred, and the Deceased written by Thomas G. Plante and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-06-30 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human Interaction with the Divine, the Sacred, and the Deceased brings together cutting-edge empirical and theoretical contributions from scholars in fields including psychology, theology, ethics, neuroscience, medicine, and philosophy, to examine how and why humans engage in, or even seek spiritual experiences and connection with the immaterial world. In this richly interdisciplinary volume, Plante and Schwartz recognize human interaction with the divine and departed as a cross-cultural and historical universal that continues to concern diverse disciplines. Accounting for variances in belief and human perception and use, the book is divided into four major sections: personal experience; theological consideration; medical, technological, and scientific considerations; and psychological considerations with chapters addressing phenomena including prayer, reincarnation, sensed presence, and divine revelations. Featuring scholars specializing in theology, psychology, medicine, neuroscience, and ethics, this book provides a thoughtful, compelling, evidence-based, and contemporary approach to gain a grounded perspective on current understandings of human interaction with the divine, the sacred, and the deceased. Of interest to believers, questioners, and unbelievers alike, this volume will be key reading for researchers, scholars, and academics engaged in the fields of religion and psychology, social psychology, behavioral neuroscience, and health psychology. Readers with a broader interest in spiritualism, religious and non-religious movements will also find the text of interest.

The Psychology of Religion and Place

Author : Victor Counted
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 303028848X
Total Pages : 340 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis The Psychology of Religion and Place by : Victor Counted

Download or read book The Psychology of Religion and Place written by Victor Counted and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-11-01 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the role of religious and spiritual experiences in people’s understanding of their environment. The contributors consider how understandings and experiences of religious and place connections are motivated by the need to seek and maintain contact with perceptual objects, so as to form meaningful relationship experiences. The volume is one of the first scholarly attempts to discuss the psychological links between place and religious experiences.The chapters within provide insights for understanding how people’s experiences with geographical places and the sacred serve as agencies for meaning-making, pro-social behaviour, and psychological adjustment in everyday life.

The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality

Author : Lisa J. Miller
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190905530
Total Pages : 849 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (99 download)

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Book Synopsis The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality by : Lisa J. Miller

Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality written by Lisa J. Miller and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2024-02-06 with total page 849 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This updated edition of The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Spirituality codifies the leading empirical evidence in the support and application of postmaterial psychological science. Lisa J. Miller has gathered together a group of ground-breaking scholars to showcase their work of many decades that has come further to fruition in the past ten years with the collective momentum of a Spiritual Renaissance in Psychological Science. With new and updated chapters from leading scholars in psychology, medicine, physics, and biology, the Handbook is an interdisciplinary reference for a rapidly emerging approach to contemporary science. Highlighting fresh ideas and supporting science, this overarching work provides both a foundation and a roadmap for what is truly a new ideological age.

Hearing Voices and Other Matters of the Mind

Author : Robert N. McCauley
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190091169
Total Pages : 281 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (9 download)

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Book Synopsis Hearing Voices and Other Matters of the Mind by : Robert N. McCauley

Download or read book Hearing Voices and Other Matters of the Mind written by Robert N. McCauley and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-05-04 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A man with schizophrenia believes that God is instructing him through the public address system in a bus station. A nun falls into a decades-long depression because she believes that God refuses to answer her prayers. A neighborhood parishioner is bedeviled with anxiety because he believes that a certain religious ritual must be repeated, repeated, and repeated lest God punish him. To what extent are such manifestations of religious thinking analogous to mental disorder? Does mental dysfunction bring an individual closer to religious experience or thought? Hearing Voices and Other Unusual Experiences explores these questions using the tools of the cognitive science of religion and the philosophy of psychopathology. Robert McCauley and George Graham emphasize underlying cognitive continuities between familiar features of religiosity, of mental disorders, and of everyday thinking and action. They contend that much religious thought and behavior can be explained as the cultural activation of our natural cognitive systems, which address matters that are essential to human survival: hazard precautions, agency detection, language processing, and theory of mind. Those systems produce responses to cultural stimuli that may mimic features of cognition and conduct associated with mental disorders, but which are sometimes coded as "religious" depending on the context. The authors examine hallucinations of the voice of God and of other supernatural agents, spiritual depression often described as a "dark night of the soul," religious scrupulosity and compulsiveness, and challenges to theistic cognition that Autistic Spectrum Disorder poses. Their approach promises to shed light on both mental abnormalities and religiosity.

Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry

Author : Philippe Huguelet
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1139479067
Total Pages : 360 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (394 download)

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Book Synopsis Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry by : Philippe Huguelet

Download or read book Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry written by Philippe Huguelet and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-03-30 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although medicine is practised in a secular setting, religious and spiritual issues have an impact on patient perspectives regarding their health and the management of any disorders that may afflict them. This is especially true in psychiatry, as feelings of spirituality and religiousness are very prevalent among the mentally ill. Clinicians are rarely aware of the importance of religion and understand little of its value as a mediating force for coping with mental illness. This book addresses various issues concerning mental illness in psychiatry: the relation of religious issues to mental health; the tension between a theoretical approach to problems and psychiatric approaches; the importance of addressing these varying approaches in patient care and how to do so; and differing ways to approach Christian, Muslim and Buddhist patients.

The Science of Religion, Spirituality, and Existentialism

Author : Kenneth E. Vail III
Publisher : Academic Press
ISBN 13 : 0128172053
Total Pages : 503 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (281 download)

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Book Synopsis The Science of Religion, Spirituality, and Existentialism by : Kenneth E. Vail III

Download or read book The Science of Religion, Spirituality, and Existentialism written by Kenneth E. Vail III and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2020-04-04 with total page 503 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Science of Religion, Spirituality, and Existentialism presents in-depth analysis of the core issues in existential psychology, their connections to religion and spirituality (e.g., religious concepts, beliefs, identities, and practices), and their diverse outcomes (e.g., psychological, social, cultural, and health). Leading scholars from around the world cover research exploring how fundamental existential issues are both cause and consequence of religion and spirituality, informed by research data spanning multiple levels of analysis, such as: evolution; cognition and neuroscience; emotion and motivation; personality and individual differences; social and cultural forces; physical and mental health; among many others. The Science of Religion, Spirituality, and Existentialism explores known contours and emerging frontiers, addressing the big question of why religious belief remains such a central feature of the human experience. Discusses both abstract concepts of mortality and concrete near-death experiences Covers the struggles and triumphs associated with freedom, self-regulation, and authenticity Examines the roles of social exclusion, experiential isolation, attachment, and the construction of social identity Considers the problems of uncertainty, the effort to discern truth and reality, and the challenge to find meaning in life Discusses how the mind developed to handle existential topics, how the brain and mind implement the relevant processes, and the many variations and individual differences that alter those processes Delves into the psychological functions of religion and science; the influence on pro- and antisocial behavior, politics, and public policy; and looks at the role of spiritual concerns in understanding the human body and maintaining physical health

Where God and Science Meet

Author : Patrick McNamara Ph.D.
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 0313054762
Total Pages : 918 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (13 download)

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Book Synopsis Where God and Science Meet by : Patrick McNamara Ph.D.

Download or read book Where God and Science Meet written by Patrick McNamara Ph.D. and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2006-09-30 with total page 918 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spiritual practices, or awakenings, have an impact on brain, mind and personality. These changes are being scientifically predicted and proven. For example, studies show Buddhist priests and Franciscan nuns at the peak of religious feelings show a functional change in the lobes of their brain. Similar processes have been found in people with epilepsy, which Hippocrates called the sacred disease. New research is showing that not only does a person's brain activity change in particular areas while that person is experiencing religious epiphany, but such events can be created for some people, even self-professed atheists, by stimulating various parts of the brain. In this far-reaching and novel set, experts from across the nation and around the world present evolutionary, neuroscientific, and psychological approaches to explaining and exploring religion, including the newest findings and evidence that have spurred the fledgling field of neurotheology. It is not the goal of neurotheology to prove or disprove the existence of God, but to understand the biology of spiritual experiences. Such experiences seem to exist outside time and space - caused by the brain for some reason losing its perception of a boundary between physical body and outside world - and could help explain other intangible events, such as altered states of consciousness, possessions, alien visitations, near-death experiences and out-of-body events. Understanding them - as well as how and why these abilities evolved in the brain - could also help us understand how religion contributes to survival of the human race. Eminent contributors to this set help us answer questions including: How does religion better our brain function? What is the difference between a religious person and a terrorist who kills in the name of religion? Is there one site or function in the brain necessary for religious experience?