The valuable contribution of cognitive science of religion is the insight on the propensity of the human mind for dealing with supernatural agents, and their ability for access to the human mind. Science has the expertise on nature. These insights on nature serve as a platform for further understanding religious phenomena and truth-claims.
Cognitive Science of Religion has been often, according to Barrett (2007, p.12) falsely, associated with an anti-religious agenda. Dawkins (2006), for instance, uses the same findings in his effort to free the world of religious thought. There are others who scorn the possibility of applying the findings of evolutionary science to religion (Pinker, 2006).
Bering and Johnson (2005) justify the existence of the cognitive hardware described above, by pointing out to the logic of the adaptive process, in the language of evolution:
We have inherited the general template for religiosity because those early humans who abandoned the prospect of supernatural […]
Psychology of Religion
Psychology of Religion
6 Evolutionary Psychology of Religion
7 Psychology of Anomalous Experiences
Anomalous Experiences are ‘abnormal’ experiences that exhibit some altered consciousness or liminal states. These experiences may range between psychotic experiences and religious experiences.
The present lecture describes some of these experiences (Religious Conversion, Possession, Hearing voices and Speaking in tongues) by exploring the possible variety of experiences that could be present. Finally offers some common criteria for discernment. Pretty long lecture.
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8 Fowler’s stage model of faith development
Stage 0: Primal Faith (Age: 0-2). Actually a “pre-stage” since the various structures of the subsequent stages are not available for the same empirical verification as the remaining stages. Fowler sees the mutual interaction between infant and primary caregiver during the first, pre-verbal year of life as providing a foundation for faith in the emergence of basic trust vs. mistrust (Erikson 1968). (It could be suggested that a fundamental sense of hope emerges here, since for Erikson that is the outcome of negotiating the conflict between trust and mistrust!)
Stage 1: Intuitive-Projective Faith (Age 2-7). The acquisition of language marks the emergence of the first true stage which is characterized by the abundant imagination of the pre-school child. This emotional and idiosyncratic faith involves powerful images and a fluidity of thought not bound by the logic of later cognitive structures (cf. Piaget 1970). For Piaget, God “God” is a powerful creature of the imagination, not […]
9 Religiosity & Spirituality Through Life-Long Development
Fowler’s Model of Faith Development is one useful model. It does not discuss the specific issues related to religiosity and spirituality through life-long development. In this lecture we focus on such issues. This lecture will cover the following area:
Children’s Spirituality
Youth and Religion
Conversion: Focusing particularly on youth
Gerotranscendence (Spirituality of people in the later years of life)
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