> > I think this conversation is typical of most conversations in academia.
> > There has been, and continues to be, a huge bias against religion in
> > most departments of psychology, and by most psychologist, in which
> > religion is seen as a primitive belief system that is clearly inferior
> > to science.
>
> It is true that psychologists as a group tend to be irreligious,
> even more so than natural scientists. Whether this reflects a
> bias is perhaps a debatable point.
I disagree (somewhat) -- the research that Allen Bergin and others have done
would show that psychologists tends to be less religious than people in the
general community, but the disparity is not that as large as people think (the
"religiousness gap")
> I think it is a natural (not
> universal) consequence of studying human behavior in a scientific
> way, learning about all of the ways that people can deceive
> themselves about the truth, learning scientific methods and
> criteria, and, in some cases, even studying religion and related
> phenomena directly.
That's an interesting opinion, and it suggests that people who go into
psychology will eventually become less religious, less theistic (I'm not sure
of the right words here). Perhaps people who go into psychology are already
less religious. After all, Paul Vitz (a Christian writer) has suggested
psychology is almost like a cult of self-worship. Now, that might seem a
little strong, but for those who don't like/believe in worshipping a supreme
being, logic might dictate they will migrate into an area that definitely does
not support that world view.
>My own view is that the rise in
> "new age" religions is just one more manifestation of the rise
> in an anti-scientific worldview.
I disagree. In my experience it seems that people who are endorsing "new
age" religions do so because they are bored with, frustrated by, disillusioned
from a traditional religion. They seem to be looking -- in their own minds --
for something more liberal, more interesting, less restrictive, etc. It seems to
have little to do with being anti-scientific.
Regards,
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Jim Guinee, Ph.D. Director of Training, Counseling Center
Adjunct Professor, Dept. of Psychology/Counseling
Dept. of Health Sciences
President-Elect, Arkansas College Counselor Association
University of Central Arkansas
313 Bernard Hall Conway, AR 72035
(501) 450-3138 (office) (501) 450-3248 (fax)
"Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning."
Proverbs 9:9
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