Psychology of Religion

God Cares About What I Care About

Valerie Tarico | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Religious Evolution, Nontheist, Cultural Evolution, Post-Religious, Fred Phelps, Psychology of Belief, Affective Science, Narcissism, Psychology of Religion, God Hates Fags, Christian Fundamentalism, Christian Compassion, Psychology of Faith, Religion News
Valerie Tarico

At the heart of humanity is a sometimes sweet, sometimes not-so-sweet narcissism that makes it almost impossible for us to get outside ourselves. In a similar vein, we tend to assume that God shares our perspective and priorities.

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God's Emotions: What Does 'Jesus Loves Me' Actually Mean?

Valerie Tarico | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Jesus, Psychology of Belief, Christian Fundamentalism, Psychology of Religion, Christianity, Stepford Jesus, God's Emotions, God's Love, The Smiths, The Stepford Wives, Jesus Loves Me, Religion News
Valerie Tarico

What is at the very heart of human desires? To be loved. And isn't it interesting that according to Christian teachings, love for us is the emotional core of the risen Jesus, the one who dwells in human hearts and hears the prayers of little children?

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God's Emotions: Does God Get Angry?

Valerie Tarico | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Psychology of Religion, Christian Fundamentalism, God's Emotions, Christianity, Fire and Brimstone, God's Anger, Book of Job, Revelation, Rick Warren, John Edwards, Angry God, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Joel Osteen, Religion News
Valerie Tarico

You might think that if someone is powerful enough, say ... omnipotent, then anger would be unnecessary. And yet it makes a lot of sense that we humans would expect God to get angry.

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God's Emotions: What Are Emotions Anyway? (Part 4)

Valerie Tarico | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Religion and Science, Psychology of Belief, Affective Science, Is God Emotional, Psychology of God, God's Emotions, Christian Anthropomorphism, Emotions of God, Emotion God, Anthropomorphic God, Emotional God, Psychology of Religion, Science of Emotion, Religion News
Valerie Tarico

The Bible writers spoke as if God has emotions, and most Christians through history have spoken and behaved as if this were true. But to understand what that means you have to understand what emotions are.

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Do Christians Really Believe God Has Emotions?

Valerie Tarico | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Anthropomorphic God, Psychology of Religion, Psychology of Belief, Emotions of God, Christian Anthropomorphism, God's Emotions, Is God Emotional, Emotion God, Psychology of God, Emotional God, Religion News
Valerie Tarico

Christian apologists argue for the possibility of the existence of a God that exists beyond the realm of human reason. But what they usually want is to create intellectual space for their belief in the person-god of the Bible.

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The Psychology of Religion: Why Are Some of Us Attracted to It?

Roya R. Rad, MA, PsyD | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Islamophobia, Islam, Religion, Political Psychology, Islamic Radicalism, Psychology of Belief, Religious Right, Religion and Politics, Islamic Extremists, Psychology of Religion, Healthy Living News
Roya R. Rad, MA, PsyD

The psychology of religion is a much needed area of research and study. Why? And if we need it, why do some feel anxiously attached to it while others completely detach and avoid it?

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What An Inquiry Into God's Emotions Can (And Can't) Offer Us

Valerie Tarico | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Anthropomorphic God, Christianity, Psychology of Religion, Religion Science, Spong, Evangelicalism, Psychology of Belief, Affective Science, Religion News
Valerie Tarico

Many believers never outgrow their childhood concept of God as a kind or mean daddy in the sky, one who needs our admiration, can be cajoled for special favors, and covers or beats our backs when we get ourselves into trouble.

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God's Emotions: Why the Biblical God Is So Human

Valerie Tarico | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Religion Science, God Emotions, God's Emotions, Anthropomorphic God, Christianity, Psychology of Religion, Biblical Literalism, Anthropomorphic Deity, Religion News
Valerie Tarico

The idea that God has emotions seems so natural that most people who believe in gods never question it. The God of the Bible gets angry, has regrets, gets lonely, loves, has loyalties, is jealous, feels compassion, and is vindictive.

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The Psychology of 'Us' vs. 'Them'

Roya R. Rad, MA, PsyD | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Psychology of War, Suicide Bombers, War on Terror, Terrorism, A Peaceful Revolution, Psychology of Religion, Racial Identity, Identity Conflict, Peace, Psychology of Terrorism, September 11th, Middle East Peace, Afghanistan War, The Giving Life, Healthy Living News
Roya R. Rad, MA, PsyD

Except those who are suffering from some form of radical fixations, psychopathology, trauma, personality disorders, or those who are simply uninformed...

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God Never Fails

Valerie Tarico | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Psychology of Religion, Prayer, Christianity, Faith, Resilience, Genocide, Rwanda, Africa, Religion News
Valerie Tarico

I'm in Rwanda, winding south from the capital, Kigali, toward a village called Banda. Banda is on the edge of Nyungwe National Park, one of the last ...

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Solar Powered Bibles for Haiti: Why Some Christians Feel Compelled to Exploit Disaster

Valerie Tarico | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Haitian Relief Efforts, Religion, Psychology of Religion, Haiti, Christian Fundamentalism, Healthy Living News
Valerie Tarico

While Doctors without Borders was struggling to get anesthetics for amputations into Haiti, an Albuquerque group queued up aid of their own sort: 600 solar powered talking Bibles.

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Like Alcohol, Religion Disinhibits Violence, Doesn't Cause It

Valerie Tarico | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Homophobia, Child Witches, Christian Violence, Psychology of Religion, Fort Hood, Hasan, Religion, Healthy Living News
Valerie Tarico

Religions elicit peak experiences like mystic euphoria, submission, love and joy. They also elicit protective reactions like anger and fear, the emotions most likely to underlie violence.

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Christian Belief Through The Lens of Cognitive Science: Part 6 of 6

Valerie Tarico | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Christianity, Psychology of Religion, Cognitive Science, Laplace, Psychology of Belief, The Inner Life, Healthy Living News
Valerie Tarico

Science is remarkably close to offering a full naturalistic explanation of individual religious experiences, everything from certain belief to moral indignation to mystical rapture to spiritual transformation.

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The Ethics of Insight

Carol Smaldino | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Psychotherapy, Carol Smaldino, Morality, Distraction, Psychology, Psychology of Religion, Ethics, Religion and Morality, Politics of Distraction, The Shadow, Erik Erikson, Carl Jung, Politics News
Carol Smaldino

Distraction is the redirection of attention from the social, economic, political, and climate emergencies that afflict us locally and globally.

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Christian Belief Through the Lens of Cognitive Science: Part 5.75 of 6

Valerie Tarico | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Christianity, Psychology of Religion, Psychology of Belief, Healthy Living News
Valerie Tarico

Just like the born again Christians who feel transformed by faith, those who feel freed from faith want to share their discovery with those they love.

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Christian Belief Through the Lens of Cognitive Science: Part 5.5 of 6

Valerie Tarico | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Christian Belief, Psychology of Religion, Cognitive Science, Confirmation Bias, Psychology of Belief, Healthy Living News
Valerie Tarico

All of us are biased to seek information that fits what we already believe. Confirmatory evidence jumps out at us, and we find it emotionally appealing.

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Christian Belief Through the Lens of Cognitive Science: Part 5 of 6

Valerie Tarico | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Christian Belief, Psychology of Religion, Memetics, Psychology of Belief, Healthy Living News
Valerie Tarico

The need to adapt may seem at odds with the recent success of fundamentalism, but in actual fact, fundamentalism is an adaptation to a changing world.

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Christian Belief Through the Lens of Cognitive Science: Part 4 of 6

Valerie Tarico | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Christian Belief, Religious Conversion, Psychology of Religion, Born Again, Psychology of Belief, Evangelicals, Healthy Living News
Valerie Tarico

The born again experience doesn't require a specific set of beliefs, but rather a specific social/emotional process; dogmas or explanations are secondary. It's not an experience unique to Christianity.

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Christian Belief Through the Lens of Cognitive Science: Part 3 of 6

Valerie Tarico | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Christian Belief, Psychology of Religion, Cognitive Science, Psychology of Belief, Knowing, Healthy Living News
Valerie Tarico

As scientists learn more about how our brains work, certitude is coming to be seen as a vice rather than a virtue.

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