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Is Religion Special?

Authors :
Moon JW
Cohen AB
Laurin K
MacKinnon DP
Source :
Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science [Perspect Psychol Sci] 2023 Mar; Vol. 18 (2), pp. 340-357. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Aug 22.
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

Religion makes unique claims (e.g., the existence of supernatural agents) not found in other belief systems, but is religion itself psychologically special? Furthermore, religion is related to many domains of psychological interest, such as morality, health and well-being, self-control, meaning, and death anxiety. Does religion act on these domains via special mechanisms that are unlike secular mechanisms? These could include mechanisms such as beliefs in supernatural agents, providing ultimate meaning, and providing literal immortality. We apply a critical eye to these questions of specialness and conclude that although it is clear that religion is psychologically important, there is not yet strong evidence that it is psychologically special, with the possible exception of its effects on health. We highlight what would be required of future research aimed at convincingly demonstrating that religion is indeed psychologically special, including careful definitions of religion and careful attention to experimental design and causal inference.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1745-6924
Volume :
18
Issue :
2
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
35995046
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916221100485