The "psychology of religion" often prioritizes Western voices and ideas, but there is increasing awareness of alternative conceptualizations. Few efforts have summarized the field's global knowledge base using an established theoretical framework. A holistic appreciation of the field is critical to support reflective and pro-active expansions of knowledge.
This project provides an overview to serve as both a state-of-the-art summary and an impetus for developing new knowledge related to the psychological principles underlying the universal & unique facets of human spiritual experiences.
To achieve the breadth of this goal, the editorial team is comprised of senior scholars from Brazil, India, Sweden, Turkey, and the US. Guided by a theoretical framework, this team will strategically select 32 authors from different global and intellectual positions. These authors will craft chapters addressing uniform topics (e.g., past, present, and potential future indigenous approaches; available resources including all manner of texts and support networks; theoretical orientations; employment contexts and prospects) for the purpose of allowing comparison across chapter content.
Additionally, the theoretical framework outlined by the editorial team will provide a second level at which readers may use the text. Employing dimensions of secular-rational and survival-self expression, it will be possible to compare chapters on the basis of these intellectual aspects that are not limited by geographic constraints.
The text will be published by Cambridge University Press, providing a powerful dissemination network to benefit advanced undergraduate, graduate, and professional seminars in psychology, sociology, religious studies, and allied fields. Offering a systematic, multi-dimensional, theoretically framed global comparison to these audiences will provide a common point of contact for their subsequent creative collaborations, leading to new knowledge in the field.
