Psychology of religion

elementary

PS_W01,PS_W012, PS_U01

Course level: elementary

Aims of the course: presenting the problems of psychic contexts of religious life; achievements of contemporary psychologists of religion and research results concerning religiousness; showing research methods for the discipline

Goals: competence in psychological interpretation of religious experiences, differentiating climactic religious experiences and pathological phenomena in individual and collective religiousness; competence in employing research strategies in the psychology of religion.

Assumptions and goals:

Lectures in psychology of religion help students to acquire the knowledge of the relation of man toward transcendental reality, including genesis, structure, and function of religious experiences.

Special attention is put on the specificity of religious experiences connected with prayer, meditation, asceticism, and contemplation. Social context of experiences and religious behavior is stressed together with their distortions in sects. Majority of lectures is devoted to religious development, criteria of mature religious attitudes, surfacing religious crises, conversion and apostasy. The course has cognitive and educational aims. There is room for discussing religious attitudes, in particular religious experiences and behaviors. There is an opportunity to get to know the literature on the subject and enhance discussion on religiousness of individuals and social groups.

Program content:

1. Anthropological and methodological non-systemary assumptions, (reductionistic and non-reductionist trends) in the study of the psychology of religion:

2. Religious experience.

3. Religious manifestations: asceticism,

4. Religious manifestations, prayer, meditation.

5. Religious development: periodization of development, criteria of religious maturity.

6. Religiosity in difficult situations: religious crises, conversions, apostasy and atheism.

7. Movements and small religious groups: psychosocial functioning of religious groups and movements, psychological characteristics of the main religious movements in Poland,

8. Opportunities and risks related to belonging to religious movements.

9. Pseudo-religious groups, sects: definition and division of sects,

10. Destructive functioning of sects, prevention and therapy.

11.New Age.

12. Psychopathology and religious life: disorders of religious life, religious life of people with mental disorders.

13.Typologization of religiosity.

14. Methods of religious studies.

15. Intercultural and interfaith research on religiosity.

Obligatory reading list:

Wulff, D.The Psychology of Religion. Copyright 1997 bu John Wiley& Sons.

Knowledge:

K_W02 - students know and understand differences in interpretations of man's religious behavior from various eprspectives (evolutionistic, psychoanalytical, behavioral, cornitive- social, humanistic).

K_w17 - know basic dimensions used to describe individual differences concerning living through religious experiences

Skills:

K-U01 - cna voice opinions and judgements concerning the value of various approaches and psychologicakl inteprretations concerning man's religious behaviors

K_U04 - can choose sluitable techniques to diagnose personality, fitness of other psychic functions (cognitive processes, emotional, motivational, prefered values, religious attitudes, etc.), adaptive abilities, functioning in various social relations, especially religious groups.

Competence:

K_K03 - can individually supplement knowledge and skills depending on the actua; needs and changes in psychology

ECTS [1 ECTS = 30(25)hours.]:

lecture attendance: 15 hours

reading for the exam: 45 hours

Total: 60 [60/30(25)=2]

ECTS points: 2

Evaluation method:

written exam in the form of a structured statement on several given topics.