Psychology and Religion

by Michael Argyle

Michael Argyle's new book is an introduction to the psychology of religion from one of the world's most famous experimental psychologists.

Genres: Religion, Psychology

296 pages, Paperback

First published December 23, 1999

About the author

Social psychologist. He is regarded as one of Britain's best known and most productive academic psychologist of the twentieth century. He first read Mathematics, but had to serve in WWII as a navigator in the Royal Air Force, he read Moral Science and Experimental Psychology at Cambridge. From 1950 to 1952 he worked at the Psychological Laboratory at Cambridge, and in 1952 he became lecturer in Social Psychology at Oxford University, where he spent the whole of his academic career, being promoted to Reader in 1969. He was also tutor in psychology at Balliol College and a Founding Fellow of Wolfson College. Throughout his career, he showed strong preferences for experimental methods in social psychology, having little time for alternative approaches such as discourse analysis. Sonia Argyle (1922-1999) was his first wife.

Reviews

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

After having followed the PEW surveys on religion and public life for many years, I thought an extended treatment of the subject might be interesting. It might be, but perhaps in another book.

While some interesting fact pops up here and there, this book reaffirms my belief that psychology is not science. It consists of polling and then trying to explain the poll results. I have found much more elucidating descriptions from evolutionary psychologists; this book feels too academically remote. British.

Also, the research spans the whole of the 20th C. plus makes several USA & UK comparisons, with little historical context to situate the research. The leaps in time and distances involved dilute the impact of the research and leaves the facts not adding up to much, for me anyway.

I am open for other book suggestions......?

[Mohammadreza Alihoseiny · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب نظراتی که درمورد دین و روانشانسی داده شده است را به خلاصه‌ترین شکل ممکن (و البته ناقص‌ترین شکل) بیان می‌کند. ارزش اصلی کتاب اشاره‌ی آن به تعداد زیادی پژوهش در زمینه‌ی دین است. امّا از آنجایی که نویسنده خود یک مسیحی معتقد است، بعضی مواقع نتایجی می‌گیرد که ربط چندانی به گزاره‌هایی که خودش به عنوان حقیقت بیان کرده است ندارند.