Lecture Notes 11/24/08

Psych 313: Psychology & Religion 11/24/2008 Lecture Rites of Passage video will not be on exam No readings Powerpoint Presentation will be on exam Jonestown video and presentation will be on exam Religion and maturation Genetic predisposition? Twin studies show 50% heritability of religion Question ? Is the relativey high heritability of religion specifically toward religion, and how much? Traditional Christian Doctrine that God placed a god-shaped vacuum in the human heart The idea with this is that we have an inclination and desire specifically for God as Christians conceive it Hard to maintain globally since some Christians have some weird ideas about God Surprising if there was a global genetic predisposition to the doctrine of the trinity Gould said it was just a byproduct of things that we?re adapted for May be that certain personalities and temperaments are more likely to be religious, and those are heritabe Heritability is the amount of a trait that is due to genetic influence in a particular environment Allport?s Ideas Rote behavioral routines Saying grace, now I lay me down to sleep Egocentrism, by seeing things as how they relate to them Prayer as a means of getting things (?cosmic vending machine?) Adult ideas interpreted Experience disappointment at some point when the God that they want to do something doesn?t do it Self-transcendent religiosity Adherence to denomination Age: 5-7 years. Characteristics: Affiliation absolute, unchangeable Age: 7-9 years. Characteristics: Affiliation a property of family Age: 10-14 years. Characteristics: Recognition of religious alternatives Development of faith Not based on any experiments or research but rather gleaned from psychologists and psychoanalysists Stage Ages Primal faith Infancy Intuitive/projective faith Early childhood Mythical/literary faith Elementary school years (telling stories) Synthetic/conventional faith Early adolescence Individuative/reflective faith Late adolescence/young adulthood Conjunctive faith Midlife or beyond Universalizing faith Unspecified Biases: Lots of religions teach the literal truth of an ideology, and during the elementary years people focus on stories. Saying that it is only a gradeschool thing may offend religions such as Islam who still teach literal ways Development of God concept Fairy-tale stage: A kind of legendary, mythical figure like Santa, Superman, God, Easter Bunny, Peter Rabbit, etc? Realistic stage: People treating God as a ?Big Guy in the sky? Typical depiction in cartoons and references Individualistic stage: Unlimited variation Could be kind of force, energy, kind of person Adolescent religion Influences Parents Education Peers Doubt Presentation Emerging adulthood Ages 18-25 Heightened amounts of risk-taking and self exploration in multiple domains, including spirituality Formation of religious or spiritual identity progresses along with formation of overall identity Newer demographic Cornwall (1989) Investigated determinants of religious behavior Focused on moral communities as reinforcers of religious thought Strong in-group ties and weak out-group ties ( more easily influence by group Concentric circles, from outer to inner being: Peers, Church, Family, and Individual Surveyed 1,874 Mormon households through mail Asked about 5 potential religious determinants Religious behavior, personal community relationships, religious belief / commitment, religious socialization, demographics Found religious belief / commitment strongest factor Strong association between personal community relationships and religious ehavior Effect of in-group ties on religiosity Barry and Nelson (2005) Study of college students at Mormon, Jesuit Catholic, and public universities Compared development of members of religious sub-groups to those in mainstream culture Attempted to determine influence of religion on potential differences in emerging adulthood University can do one of two things: Reinforce standards and beliefs of specific culture Produce a climate conducive to the exploration of identity and beliefs Emerging adulthood Mormon students Adopting beliefs that surrounded them in university culture Emphasized norm compliance, interdependence, family capacities Jesuit and public university students Unsettled, searching for identity, did not consider themselves qualified for adulthood Students at Jesuit university believed in God, practiced their faith, and adhered to social norms more than public university students How do a sample emerging adult?s religious beliefs and commitment correlate with her friendships and relationships with in- and out-group members of the religious community? Ties with in-group members of religious community Ten closest friends resulted in 90/50 and 100/20 for % Christian/devout practicing Catholics ?Spiritual toolbox? ? the way emerging adults develop their faith, picking and choosing what they agree and disagree with