"A belief is a subjective attitude that a proposition is true or a state of affairs is the case."
This topic explores the different factors that influence the development and maintenance of religious beliefs and practices, including cultural and social factors, personal experiences, and cognitive processes. It also examines the role of commitment in religious practice, and how it influences behavior and identity.
Definition of religion: The different ways of understanding and defining religion.
Theoretical perspectives on religion: Different psychological theories that attempt to explain religious belief and commitment.
Thealogy and ontology: Exploring the nature of the divine and the relationship between the divine and the human.
Religious development: How individuals develop their religious beliefs and how religious beliefs impact personal development.
Religious socialization: How religious beliefs are transmitted within families and communities.
Religious identity: How individuals construct and identify with their religious beliefs.
Religious diversity: Exploring the variety of religious beliefs and practices across cultures and societies.
Religious cognition: How individuals process and interpret religious information and experiences.
Religious coping: How individuals use religious beliefs and practices to cope with stress and adversity.
Religious experiences: Examining the various types of religious experiences individuals report having.
Religion and mental health: Exploring the relationship between religious belief and mental health outcomes.
Religion and well-being: Examining how religious belief contributes to well-being and life satisfaction.
Religious fundamentalism: Understanding the psychological characteristics and consequences of religious fundamentalism.
Cross-cultural research on religion: Exploring religious belief and practices across different cultures and societies.
Critiques of religion: Examining criticisms of religion and its impact on individuals and society.
Intrinsic religiosity: This refers to an individual's internal motivation and personal commitment to their religious beliefs. It is characterized by a strong desire to be close to God or a higher power, and an emphasis on the importance of faith in daily life.
Extrinsic religiosity: This refers to an individual's external motivation for their religious beliefs, such as seeking social approval or personal gain. It is characterized by a focus on religious practices and observances rather than on personal beliefs.
Quest religiosity: This refers to an individual's search for deeper meaning and purpose in their religious beliefs. It is characterized by a willingness to question traditional religious doctrine and an openness to different spiritual practices.
Fundamentalism: This refers to a strict adherence to traditional religious beliefs and practices. It is characterized by an unwavering belief in the literal interpretation of religious texts and a rejection of modern secular values.
Mysticism: This refers to an individual's experience of union with a divine or spiritual reality. It is characterized by a belief in the existence of a higher consciousness or divine presence, and a desire for spiritual transcendence.
Atheism: This refers to an individual's rejection of the existence of God or a higher power. It is characterized by a belief in science and empirical evidence rather than faith or religious doctrine.
Agnosticism: This refers to an individual's uncertainty or indecisiveness about the existence of God or a higher power. It is characterized by a belief that the question of God's existence is unknowable or irrelevant to daily life.
New Religious Movements: This term refers to a wide range of religious movements, often characterized by unconventional beliefs and practices. They often emphasize personal spiritual growth and individual decision-making rather than strict adherence to religious doctrine.
"A subjective attitude is a mental state of having some stance, take, or opinion about something."
"In epistemology, philosophers use the term 'belief' to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false."
"To believe something is to take it to be true; for instance, to believe that snow is white is comparable to accepting the truth of the proposition 'snow is white'."
"Holding a belief does not require active introspection. For example, few carefully consider whether or not the sun will rise tomorrow, simply assuming that it will."
"Beliefs need not be occurrent but can instead be dispositional. For example, a person who if asked about the color of snow would assert 'snow is white'."
"There are various ways that contemporary philosophers have tried to describe beliefs... as representations of ways that the world could be, as dispositions to act as if certain things are true, as interpretive schemes for making sense of someone's actions, or as mental states that fill a particular function."
"Some have attempted to offer significant revisions to our notion of belief, including eliminativists about belief who argue that there is no phenomenon in the natural world which corresponds to our folk psychological concept of belief."
"Formal epistemologists aim to replace our bivalent notion of belief with the more permissive, probabilistic notion of credence."
"Notable examples include: 'What is the rational way to revise one's beliefs when presented with various sorts of evidence?', 'Is the content of our beliefs entirely determined by our mental states, or do the relevant facts have any bearing on our beliefs?', 'How fine-grained or coarse-grained are our beliefs?', and 'Must it be possible for a belief to be expressible in language, or are there non-linguistic beliefs?'" Quote sources: