The introduction of the psychology of religion to The Netherlands: ambivalent reception, epistemological concerns, and persistent patterns

Between 1905 and 1910, several Dutch scholars independently "discovered" the rapidly growing psychology of religion. The "empirical" character of this psychology as developed in America provoked very diverse reactions, the differences in which arose from the very different mentalities existing within religiously different segments of Dutch society. This paper focuses on an illustrative example: a dissertation by Johannes G. Geelkerken (1879-1960), which remains one of the best sources of information on the presuppositions and foundations of the early empirical psychology of religion. The ideological, institutional, and national context of Geelkerken's work is discussed. Although the pattern of early development of psychology of religion in The Netherlands was atypical for Europeanized cultures, it has persisted into the present.     

Mourning Religion? Celebrating Transformation! From Loss to Gain,from Depression to Melancholia

The article raises some questions about issues in the recently published volume Mourning religion, edited by Parsons et al. (2008).     

Methodological concerns in the psychology of religion: Continuities,losses and transforming perspectives

This article seeks solutions to what has recently been called the ‘crisis' in the psychology of religion by returning to the programs of its founding fathers. It explores some of the methodological debates that followed the translation of William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience into German. More was at stake than the commonly drawn distinction between empirical and hermeneutical approaches to religion, or between quantitative and qualitative methods. What was at stake was the need for another kind of psychology in general. This article pays special attention to Wilhelm Wundt's fundamental criticism of James and of others in the psychology of religion. Despite the problems inherent in both James' and Wundt's aborted general psychology programs, each nonetheless contains approaches that may yet serve as an impetus to contemporary research on religion. Contemporary developments in cultural psychology in particular complement current research in the psychology of religion.     

Studying the specificity of spirituality: lessons from the psychology of religion

Psychological research on spirituality need not start from scratch: the psychology of religion provides substantial knowledge and experience that can be drawn on when psychologists want to do research on spirituality. Spirituality, while certainly not identical with religion or religiosity, is a human phenomenon to which many methodological insights from the study of religion may be applied, although it is also a domain where many mistakes from the history of the psychology of religion are likely to be repeated. After presenting some thoughts on the conceptualization of spirituality, and reflecting on the type of psychology required to do research on spirituality, the paper points out some hidden agenda's in the psychologies of religion and spirituality. Focusing on and keeping in mind the specificity of spiritual conduct, the paper discusses a number of practical aspects of empirical research on spirituality.     

Methodological concerns in the psychology of religion: Continuities, losses and transforming perspectives

This article seeks solutions to what has recently been called the ‘crisis’ in the psychology of religion by returning to the programs of its founding fathers. It explores some of the methodological debates that followed the translation of William James' The Varieties of Religious Experience into German. More was at stake than the commonly drawn distinction between empirical and hermeneutical approaches to religion, or between quantitative and qualitative methods. What was at stake was the need for another kind of psychology in general. This article pays special attention to Wilhelm Wundt's fundamental criticism of James and of others in the psychology of religion. Despite the problems inherent in both James' and Wundt's aborted general psychology programs, each nonetheless contains approaches that may yet serve as an impetus to contemporary research on religion. Contemporary developments in cultural psychology in particular complement current research in the psychology of religion.     

The development of early psychology of religion: a Dutch falsification of the received view

This article takes issue with the received view of the history of the psychology of religion. Contrary to the presentation of "the" psychology of religion by Beit-Hallahmi in JHBS (1974) as declining after 1913, this article (1) states that the psychology of religion has never been a homogeneous enterprise, but rather a multiform one, with very different developments in different countries, and (2) presents the history of the Dutch Godsdienstpsychologische Studievereeniging [Study Association for the Psychology of Religion; GPSV] as one of the falsifications of the received view. The GPSV existed in the 1920s and as one of its most notable activities, it organized in 1926 the first international conference for the psychology of religion, an event described in some detail.     

Like a Phoenix from Its Ashes? On the Fate and Future of the International Association for the Psychology of Religion

This paper provides some information on the International Association for the Psychology of Religion (IAPR, Internationale Gesellschaft für Religionspsychologie, founded 1914), especially on its recent organization and on its revitalized yearbook Archiv für Religionspsychologie (Archives for the Psychology of Religion). The present self-understanding of the IAPR is presented, its interdisciplinary character is discussed and some suggestions for practical aims are provided.     

Methodological issues in the psychology of religion: toward another paradigm?

Recent evaluations have identified the psychology of religion as a field in crisis and have called for a new multilevel interdisciplinary paradigm. However, a critical meta-perspective on methods reveals a broad range of methodologies, each appropriate for particular levels of complexity in the psychology of religion. No single methodology is appropriate for every level, nor can higher levels of complexity be explained by data from lower levels. The authors identify the different types of research practiced in the psychology of religion and critically discuss philosophical presuppositions involved in two major methodological traditions, the empiricist-analytical and the hermeneutical, often identified as quantitative and qualitative traditions, respectively.     

The Psychology of Religion in Europe—A Contextual Report

Pastoral Psychology -     

Religion and Self: Notions from a Cultural Psychological Perspective

After a brief introduction of a cultural psychological perspective, this paper turns to the concept of self. The paper proposes to conceive of that reality to which the concepts of self refer as a narrative, employing especially autobiographies and other ego-documents in empirical exploration. After discussing some psychological theories about “self,” the paper points out that they may well be applied in research on personal religiosity.