Psychology of Religion

A study published in Psychology of Religion and Spirituality reveals that formerly religious individuals are more likely to experience a sense of not belonging and conceal their nonreligious identity compared to those who were never religious. This trend was observed...

A new longitudinal study of parents and children in the United Kingdom found that children whose mothers were more likely to have internalizing problems, like feeling anxious or withdrawn, which can lead to disorders like depression. On the other hand,...

A new study has found that both Christian nationalism and biblical literalism are independently associated with a greater tendency to believe in conspiracy theories. When people believed in both Christian nationalism and biblical literalism, their distrust of government officials increased...

Two new social experiments showed that people prompted to experience both gratitude and indebtedness at the same time were more likely to behave in a prosocial way. Wanting to repay a debt produced better prosocial outcomes than having to repay...

People who perceived God as a frequent gift giver are more inclined to attribute positive events to God and experience gratitude towards God, according to new research published in The Journal of Positive Psychology. The findings highlight the role of...

People who use psychedelic drugs for entheogenic purposes tend to also have heightened spiritual development, according to new research published in the Journal of Psychedelic Studies. The new findings provide insight into how entheogenic drug use is related to spirituality...

Reminders of death tend to reduce meaning in life among atheists who are told that atheism is common but not among those who are told atheism is rare, according to new research published in Frontiers in Psychology. The findings suggest...

New research published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology sheds light on the complicated relationships between prayer, daily life experiences, and psychological well-being. The findings indicate that the content of people's prayers tends to reflect the nature of their...

Struggles related to spirituality and religion are commonly experienced in the face of suffering, according to new research published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. Interestingly, this is particularly true among those with high religious engagement.

People who attribute events to God in their daily life tend to have higher levels of meaning in life, according to new research published in The Journal of Positive Psychology. The study, which utilized daily diary methods, investigated the potential...

A new study in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy sought to investigate the relationship between sexual values and sexual incongruence as well as the effects of religiousness on this relationship. The findings indicate that religiousness predicts sexual incongruence,...

A study published in Public Understanding of Science has found that many nonreligious people stereotype Christians as incompetent in science because they believe that Christianity and science conflict with each other. The study also found that when Christianity and science...

New psychology research indicates that religion provided little protection against racism-induced mental health issues among Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings have been published in the Journal of Religion and Health.

A new study has uncovered a link between high levels of Catholic collective narcissism and acceptance of myths about child sexual abuse. The findings, which were published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, could help inform efforts to combat...