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The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice
When faced with a crisis, why do some people turn to religion to help them cope, while others turn away? Is religious belief merely a defense or a form of denial? Is religion a help or a hindrance in times of stress? Building a much-needed bridge between two different worlds of thought and practice religion and psychology this volume sensitively interweaves theory with first-hand accounts, clinical insight, and empirical research. The book underscores the need for greater sensitivity to religion and spirituality in the context of helping relationships, and suggests a range of ways that clinicians might work more effectively with religious issues in therapy.
548 pages, Hardcover
First published May 23, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 15, 2017
This book describes in the most complete way the link between religion and coping through multiple studies and illustrations. To make sure his readers understand thoroughly, the author first explains the two concepts separately before combining them in the third part of the book. Each concept mentioned is then followed by various illustrations (be it one of his own patient, famous people or historical elements) in order to show the implications on a practical level. I especially appreciated the mentions of his own patients; it adds a personal touch and shows how thorough the author is.
I chose to read this book in the context of a course of psychology of religions, but I honestly didn't expect it to be this rich in terms of mentioned subjects, theories and especially empirical studies. What's more, at the end of the book, in addition to the notes and references (a lot of references) there are multiple appendixes, with all mentioned scientific articles.
Every researcher has their own opinions about the subject they are studying, the thing is to stay objective if possible and try to look at the bigger picture. In my opinion, Pargament is doing just that. In terms of analysis, the author tries to depict the whole picture: for example when talking about religion and coping, he shows the situations in which they converge but also the ones in which the diverge. He showed all the ways religion contributes to coping, good and bad ways. This is one of the main conclusions of the book: it's variable. In some situations, religious coping is beneficial whilst in some other it's detrimental to the individual.
As a psychology student, i found the part about religious coping in psychotherapy especially interesting. He also mentions the opinions of famous figures, such as Freud, to whom religion is nothing more than a defence mechanism. The author goes on to say how maladaptive defence mechanisms are: they may reduce anxiety for the time being, but on the long term it backfires. The authors shows how difficult situations arise when a patient/client starts speaking about religion and his relationship with God. Mostly, therapists and counsellors have received few trainings about religion in therapy and how to talk about it. It's still a new term and new field, but the author is optimistic, with time and adapted training, things are changing.
I also learned a lot of things about my own culture and religion. Pargament showed how culture influences religious practices. He gave the example of how differently Muslim mothers mourn their children in two different mainly Muslim countries: Bali and Egypt. Though it's the same religion, the culture makes the mourning completely different between those two countries.
One thing though that bothered me a is the multiple references to Israelis studies. He did declare in the introduction his Jewish background and warned against his possible biases, but in the book this felt like an excuse to keep using those studies from a "controversial" (to stay politically correct) population. I was becoming increasingly angry in the first part of the book because of the lack of diversity; indeed there were very few (and in some chapters none) mentions of studies/elements about Muslims, while there were a lot mentioning Jewish and even Christian related elements. Of course, this is personal, the book is already dense as it is, but let's say that you can always get better.
Other than that, if you're interested by religion and coping, I think you could hardly find a more complete book than his one. It considers all points of view, so that you can have a global perspective on all concepts. It's a must read!
I chose to read this book in the context of a course of psychology of religions, but I honestly didn't expect it to be this rich in terms of mentioned subjects, theories and especially empirical studies. What's more, at the end of the book, in addition to the notes and references (a lot of references) there are multiple appendixes, with all mentioned scientific articles.
Every researcher has their own opinions about the subject they are studying, the thing is to stay objective if possible and try to look at the bigger picture. In my opinion, Pargament is doing just that. In terms of analysis, the author tries to depict the whole picture: for example when talking about religion and coping, he shows the situations in which they converge but also the ones in which the diverge. He showed all the ways religion contributes to coping, good and bad ways. This is one of the main conclusions of the book: it's variable. In some situations, religious coping is beneficial whilst in some other it's detrimental to the individual.
As a psychology student, i found the part about religious coping in psychotherapy especially interesting. He also mentions the opinions of famous figures, such as Freud, to whom religion is nothing more than a defence mechanism. The author goes on to say how maladaptive defence mechanisms are: they may reduce anxiety for the time being, but on the long term it backfires. The authors shows how difficult situations arise when a patient/client starts speaking about religion and his relationship with God. Mostly, therapists and counsellors have received few trainings about religion in therapy and how to talk about it. It's still a new term and new field, but the author is optimistic, with time and adapted training, things are changing.
I also learned a lot of things about my own culture and religion. Pargament showed how culture influences religious practices. He gave the example of how differently Muslim mothers mourn their children in two different mainly Muslim countries: Bali and Egypt. Though it's the same religion, the culture makes the mourning completely different between those two countries.
One thing though that bothered me a is the multiple references to Israelis studies. He did declare in the introduction his Jewish background and warned against his possible biases, but in the book this felt like an excuse to keep using those studies from a "controversial" (to stay politically correct) population. I was becoming increasingly angry in the first part of the book because of the lack of diversity; indeed there were very few (and in some chapters none) mentions of studies/elements about Muslims, while there were a lot mentioning Jewish and even Christian related elements. Of course, this is personal, the book is already dense as it is, but let's say that you can always get better.
Other than that, if you're interested by religion and coping, I think you could hardly find a more complete book than his one. It considers all points of view, so that you can have a global perspective on all concepts. It's a must read!
August 20, 2023
This book helped a lot in understanding how religion and spirituality help people in coping. I loved the clarity and style of the writer. The book has used a lot of scientific data and critically analysed both sides of religious coping.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews