Psychology of Religion

A study published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology suggests that appealing to the moral elements of Buddhist teachings might encourage more people to donate blood. The researchers found that people with stronger Buddhist beliefs were more likely to say they...

Heightened religiosity is associated with reduced sexual satisfaction among committed couples, according to new research in the Journal of Family Psychology. But there is an important exception: Religious individuals who believe their sexual relationship with their partner is sacred tend...

A longitudinal study has found that religion and spirituality are not important psychosocial factors in influencing body weight, finding no association between religious or spiritual coping, religious service attendance, obesity, and weight change.

Atheists might be seen as less attractive romantic partners compared to their theist counterparts, at least among college students in the Southern United States, according to new research published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships.

Findings from a study published in Personality and Individual Differences revealed a small positive correlation between religiosity and life satisfaction. However, the 20-year study found no evidence of a causal relationship between the two variables — changes in a person’s...

New research provides evidence that thinking about God can stifle the creativity of believers, particularly among those who adopt a passive follower mindset after contemplating their Creator. But believers appeared to be just as creative as their faithless counterparts when...

People who grew up in a home with relatively little credible displays of faith are more likely to be atheists, according to new research published in Social Psychological and Personality Science. The study indicates that cultural transmission -- or the...

A new study from PLOS One sheds light on the way people conceptualize God by exploring the metaphors people use when asked to describe God. According to the findings, people commonly use human imagery and power-related terms to describe God,...

New research has found that some "dark" personality traits are associated with religious and paranormal belief. The study, published in the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, sheds light on how different types of personalities are related to different types of supernatural...

The extent that a person perceives injustice within their society tends to coincide with reduced life satisfaction. Interestingly, a study published in Personality and Individual Differences found evidence that living in a country with greater religiosity weakens this effect. The...

According to a study published in the journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, people discriminate against atheists when it comes to the expression of beliefs in the workplace. Across three studies, people were consistently less likely to say they would...

More religious countries tend to have higher confidence in vaccines, according to a new study published in the journal Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics. "I am generally interested in cultural differences, with religiosity as one of the key variables of interest....

A study among pilgrims attending the Ardh Kumbh Mela festival in India found that religiosity and belief in reincarnation were linked to reduced death anxiety. The findings, published in the journal Death Studies, lend support for incorporating spirituality or religion...

Research published in Social Psychological and Personality Science suggests that people can hold both positive and intensely negative stereotypes about a stigmatized group. The findings suggest that people stereotype atheists as immoral — unconsciously believing a serial killer is more...

Religion and neurology often seem at odds; an extension of the questionable chasm separating spirituality and science. Indeed, in attempting to explain religious faith, neuroscientists have often sought to highlight subtle differences in brain structure that might confirm a deficiency...